WASHINGTON (AP) – American Indians and black farmers will be paid $4.6 billion to address claims of government mistreatment over many decades under landmark legislation President Barack Obama signed Wednesday. The legislation “closes a long and unfortunate chapter in our
The whole Pigford affair brings up a host of issues that need to be addressed. Was there racial discrimination at the U.S. Department of Agriculture? All the sources we talked to said yes. Was there a need to redress the
From The Hill: The Senate’s approval of a $1.15 billion settlement for black farmers meant to deal with decades of past discrimination capped a roller-coaster year on the issue for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Vilsack was in the legislative trenches
**Post UPDATED with video of the press conference: [youtube Ww32uKxEmAE nolink] **** [youtube rLiE7KQaUMM nolink] **** [youtube GPOY48ddf3o nolink] **** From the Hill: House Republicans on Wednesday charged that a multibillion-dollar settlement with black farmers supported by the Obama administration
Congressman Steve King (R-IA), a Member of the House Agriculture and House Judiciary Committees, has written Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to request a meeting next week to discuss allegations of serious fraud in the disbursement of Pigford v. Vilsack settlement
Congressman Steve King (R-IA) has issued the following statement in response to the press conference held this week between former USDA employee Shirley Sherrod and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. During the press conference, Sherrod revealed that she would not
From the Associated Press: Shirley Sherrod, the Agriculture Department official ousted during a racial firestorm last month, declined Tuesday to return to the agency, though she said it was tempting. Sherrod and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that she may
From the Associated Press: Ousted Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said Thursday she will sue a conservative blogger who posted an edited video of her making racially tinged remarks last week. Sherrod made the announcement in San Diego at the
Over at The Daily Beast, editor Tina Brown weighs in on the Sherrod kerfuffle: Let’s NOT have a conversation about race. The calls for Obama to now make the Shirley Sherrod debacle a teachable moment fills me with panic that
Wow. What an amazing transformation America saw across the mainstream media spectrum yesterday. Suddenly their collective righteous indignation-gene kicked in over false charges of racism. The real question is, how long will this last? I’m guessing right up until it’s
From Politico: Agriculture Department spokesman Chris Mather said Sherrod was let go because of what she said in March that was captured on the videotape, not due to her actions in regard to the farmer two decades ago. “She was
Correction: While Ms. Sherrod did discuss withholding help from a white farmer, it was not during her tenure with the USDA *** This morning, we broke video of a USDA official, Shirley Sherrod, recounting for attendees at an NAACP awards
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing renewed criticism this week with scientists charging that the government arm inaccurately labeled ethanol a “renewable fuel” last February. According to reports, at the same time that it revised its renewable fuel standards,
Last month, Capitol Confidential reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could be set to give the already well-subsidized ethanol industry a big boost by approving an increase in the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline from 10 percent to