A federal judge in Florida this week blocked the Department of Agriculture’s debt relief program for minority farmers. A white farmer in Florida challenged the program, facing farm loans and financial hardship during the pandemic. The farmer claims the debt relief program discriminated against him by race. A District Judge this week blocked the $4 billion program, ruling the farmer had established a “strong likelihood” of the policy violating his right to equal protection under the law, according to Reuters. A separate judge in Wisconsin granted a temporary restraining order on the program earlier this month. USDA is defending the debt relief program, saying USDA employees and programs have discriminated against socially disadvantaged farmers by denying loans and delaying payments. House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott, A Black Democrat from Georgia, weighed in on the lawsuits earlier this week. Scott says, "I strongly support and thank Secretary Vilsack for standing up and fighting for this critical, urgent and much-needed legislation.”
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