President Obama:
I am pleased that today, the House has joined the Senate in passing the Claims Settlement Act of 2010. This important legislation will fund the agreements reached in the Pigford II lawsuit, brought by African American farmers, and the Cobell lawsuit, brought by Native Americans over the management of Indian trust accounts and resources. I want to thank Attorney General Holder and Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack for all their work to reach this outcome, and I applaud Congress for acting in a bipartisan fashion to bring this painful chapter in our nation’s history to a close.
This bill also provides funding for settlements reached in four separate water rights suits brought by Native American tribes, and it represents a significant step forward in addressing the water needs of Indian Country. Yet, while today’s vote demonstrates important progress, we must remember that much work remains to be done. And my Administration will continue our efforts to resolve claims of past discrimination made by women and Hispanic farmers and others in a fair and timely manner.
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Speaker Pelosi:
Today vote in the House to pass legislation to provide funding to settle African American farmers’ and Native Americans’ lawsuits against the federal government brings a much-delayed end to serious cases of discrimination. Settlements were reached in both of these class action lawsuits, and now we have finally ensured the federal government will honor its commitments. By compensating black farmers and Native Americans for past failures of judgment by the United States Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior, we close the door on an old injustice. And we are proud to have done so in a fiscally responsible way, not adding a dime to the deficit.
We recognize that there are other discrimination cases that remain to be resolved — including women, Hispanic and Native American farmers. It is my hope these cases will come to a similarly just conclusion.
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