GOP Demands DOJ Investigation Into Pigford Farming Settlement

From Gateway Pundit:




GOP Reps Hold Press Conference & Demand Eric Holder Hold Investigation on the Great Pigford Scandal (Videos)

Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 9:22 PM

Don’t expect the democratic-media complex to come near this story…

Conservative Representatives Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Steve King (R-IA) called on the Attorney General Eric Holder to invest the Great Pigford Scandal.



More than 92,000 blacks have signed up for reparations from the Obama USDA after the Pigford case was extended this past year. That’s five times the number of blacks who were actually farming during the time period in question and would possibly qualify for the reparations.



Pigford v. Glickman was a class action lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), alleging racial discrimination in its allocation of farm loans and assistance between 1983 and 1997. The lawsuit ended with a settlement in which the U.S. government agreed to pay African American farmers $50,000 each if they had attempted to get USDA help but failed. To date, almost $1 billion has been paid or credited to the farmers under the settlement’s consent decree. Democrats want to add another $1.2 billion to the money pot and continue with the reparations.



Big Government posted video from the press conference.





Part II and Part III from the press conference are posted at Big Government.

The Hill reported on the press conference.



House Republicans on Wednesday charged that a multibillion-dollar settlement with black farmers supported by the Obama administration was rife with fraud.



At a press conference in the Capitol Visitor Center, Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) alleged that a $1.25 billion Agriculture Department settlement to resolve discrimination claims included individuals who were never farmers.



Bachmann said the discrimination claim process was subject to “massive and widespread fraud and abuse.” King also said he believes the Obama administration has ignored the fraud allegations surrounding the settlement.



“I think they have turned a blind eye to the fraud and corruption here,” King said.



The GOP lawmakers called on Attorney General Eric Holder to start an investigation into the settlement’s claimants to ensure they are genuine. In addition, they asked congressional leaders not to sign off on new appropriations for the settlement.