Discrimination Allegedly Affecting White Farmers by the Biden Administration in Secret
The Biden Administration's Farm Loan Forgiveness Program under scrutiny for perceived racial bias
A whistleblower has accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of secretly discriminating against white farmers when it came to loan forgiveness, under the current Biden Administration.
The USDA employee, who spoke to NewsNation, reported that the agency, while under Biden, implemented a program that profiled farmers based on race and only forgave loans for minority borrowers, excluding white ones.
"It was to pay off anyone who wasn't a white male's loan," the whistleblower stated. "That was the only qualification for this loan forgiveness."
The green-light for the program was reportedly hidden within the American Rescue Plan Act, which legally enabled the government to pay up to 120 percent of the outstanding debt of "socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers."
After the program was found unconstitutional, the Biden Administration allegedly sent an email to minority farmers about the Inflation Reduction Act, designed to offer financial assistance to borrowers who were over 60 days behind on payments. However, white farmers were left uninformed about this reprieve, which provided $3.1 billion of relief.
James Dunlap, a white farmer from Baker City, Oregon, shared his frustration, stating, "It wasn't about hardship. It wasn't about financial situations. It was about that box you checked under ethnicity line under your application."
Dunlap works two additional jobs to keep his farm afloat, yet he didn't qualify for the loan forgiveness. The Oregon farmer joined a long list of farmers who sued the Biden Administration over the American Rescue Plan Act, claiming it was race-based and violated the Constitution.
According to a federal judge, white farmers had been constitutionally harmed in ways that "cannot be undone." Post the court's decision, the Biden Administration still sent the Inflation Reduction Act email.
The January 10, 2023, letter, obtained by NewsNation, shared "information about new payments and/or loan modifications that may assist you." The email was only sent to those who qualified as a "socially disadvantaged farmer" under the American Rescute Plan Act.
The whistleblower also alleged that USDA workers were instructed to tell some minority farmers to stop paying, so their loans would be forgiven. "It's not right," he said, "it was discriminatory, unethical."
In a statement to NewsNation, a current USDA spokesperson did not address the specifics of the program but criticized the Biden Administration for leaving the agency in "complete disarray and dysfunction."
The USDA spokesman, however, did mention that the new Secretary of Agriculture under the Trump Administration, Brooke Rollins, is reviewing the situation.
The controversy surrounding the loan forgiveness program persists, as critics argue for an end to the race-based, discriminatory policies, while supporters maintain the need for affirmative action to address the historical disadvantages faced by minority farmers.
The USDA employee accused the agency of implementing a loan forgiveness program that profiled farmers based on race, favoring minority borrowers and excluding white ones, under the Biden Administration's Farm Loan Forgiveness Program. Despite a federal judge ruling that white farmers had been constitutionally harmed, the Biden Administration continued to send out information about the Inflation Reduction Act's financial assistance only to those who qualified as a "socially disadvantaged farmer," sparking controversy over the program's race-based policies.
