(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Among its many misguided earmarks, the Democrat “COVID relief” bill signed by Biden on Thursday allocates billions of dollars in debt relief and other assistance to farmers of color. Now that the “Pelosi Payoff” is a done deal, Kelly Griggs, who runs her 1,800-acre farm with her husband in Humboldt, Tennessee, has a few questions about the provision.
“Just because you’re a certain color you don’t have to pay back money? I don’t care if you’re purple, black, yellow, white, gray, if you borrow money you have to pay it back.”
Yeah no, Kelly. Even worse, Griggs suggested, America’s white farmers find themselves in a “like it or lump” predicament, which “really sucks.”
Farmers of color receive billions in latest stimulus package msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Coronavirus relief funding includes $5 billion for farmers of color By Khristopher J. Brooks Stimulus funds to help Black farmers
The $1.9 trillion federal spending package approved by President Joe Biden this week includes billions of dollars to help farmers of color pay off their loans, buy supplies for their land and otherwise invest in their operations.
The Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, introduced by Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, provides $4 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to forgive direct or guaranteed loans given to farmers of color. Another $1 billion will go to the USDA for farmer grants, college scholarships and other efforts for minority growers.
Black Farmers to Receive $5 Billion Coronavirus Relief Bill To Pay Off Debt, Establish Equity Commission
A Farmer walks through his crops. Image: Twitter/@LeftOfBlack
Inside President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill includes $5 billion in funds earmarked for Black farmers.
The American Rescue Plan allocated $10.4 billion for the nation’s farmers, who were struggling before the coronavirus pandemic due to Trump’s trade war. However, half of that will go specifically to Black farmers. John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association told Yahoo News, Black farmers are literally on the brink of extinction.
“We’re quite frankly, faced with extinction. If we can’t get a new generation of young people involved in agriculture and farming, Blacks and other farmers of color into farming, you won’t see it,” Boyd said.
West Virginia governor joins Your World to discuss relief bill and some states loosening COVID restrictions
The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that President Biden is set to sign includes billions of dollars in debt relief and other assistance for farmers of color.
But the incorporation of race-based criteria for that relief is leaving other farmers scratching their heads. Just because you’re a certain color you don’t have to pay back money? I don’t care if you’re purple, black, yellow, white, gray, if you borrow money you have to pay it back, Kelly Griggs, who runs her 1,800-acre farm with her husband in Humboldt, Tennessee, told Fox News in an interview.