Topline

 A group of white farmers in the Midwest filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Thursday, alleging their exclusion from a federal pandemic loan forgiveness program targeted at minority farmers is a violation of their constitutional rights. 

Key Facts

The program, launched as part of the American Rescue Plan passed in March, set aside roughly $5 billion in loan forgiveness for “socially disadvantaged” farmers and ranchers who have been disproportionately harmed by Covid-19.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines “socially disadvantaged” farmers and ranchers as those who “have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group,” including Blacks, American Indians, Hispanics, Alaskan natives, Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of white farmers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Ohio, argues their exclusion from the program due to their race denies them equal protection under the law.  

The USDA said in a statement it had started a review of the complaint. 

In the meantime, the department said it would continue to implement debt relief to “qualified” socially disadvantaged farmers until the review was complete. 

Key Background

Communities of color have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic and also accessed federal business assistance programs at lower rates. Black farmers received only 0.1% of Covid-19 relief funds in a package the Trump administration announced at the start of the pandemic, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the Washington Post in March.

Tangent

On Monday, a legal organization founded by former Trump aide Stephen Miller filed a related lawsuit on behalf of Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in his capacity as a private citizen. The lawsuit brought by America First Legal alleged that the program discriminates against white farmers and ranchers who have “unquestionably suffered” because of their ethnicity, including Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews and eastern Europeans. The USDA said it had also started a review of that complaint.