Consumer Law

Resolving Injustices - Pigford and Cobell

By Joe Consumer

There is a bit of good news coming out of Washington.  Yesterday afternoon, President Obama signed a good law that appropriates money to resolve two huge past governmental injustices ? and somehow both the House and Senate passed this with no threatened filibuster.  (Please note this historic moment because we may not see another for years.) 

First is the $1.25 billion Pigford II settlement, something we?ve covered before (here, here.) Basically, during the early 1980s, African-American farmers began a movement to try to force the USDA to stop discriminating against black farmers over price support loans and other payments.  Timothy Pigford, a North Carolina farmer, sued the USDA.  While some farmers then settled, tens of thousands were unfortunately unaware of the case.  This new law ensures some 80,000 other farmers will be compensated.

Second, "[t]he Cobell settlement [named for lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell], worth $3.4 billion, is for American Indians whose land trusts and oil and gas rights were mismanaged by the federal government, which withheld royalties.?

This one took awhile, as well. Seems ?the financing was stripped in the Senate over concerns about spending and lawyers? fees in the American Indian settlement. [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid was able to appease Republicans by finding offsetting spending cuts.?  I must say that the attorneys? fee issue seemed quite the red herring considering that the court overseeing the case will decide these fees.

President Obama noted,

?Elouise?s argument was simple: The government, as a trustee of Indian funds, should be able to account for how it handles that money. And now, after 14 years of litigation, it?s finally time to address the way that Native Americans were treated by their government. It?s finally time to make things right.?

Cobell, wearing a bright red outfit, seemed pleased, and smiled when the president shook her hand after signing the settlement into law.

Full post as published by ThePopTort on December 09, 2010 (boomark / email).