A lawsuit was filed against USDA in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas – Amarillo Division last Friday (March 29) by Texas farmers for discrimination in USDA’s methodology of the 2022 Emergency Relief Pro-gram (ERP).
USDA set a dangerous precedent in the design of the 2022 ERP. While the 2020-2021 program provided adequate disaster relief based on insurance records in phase 1, USDA began shifting toward tax record evaluation in phase 2. Despite heavy feedback on the challenges with 2020-2021 ERP phase 2 from producers and agricultural groups, the shift became more drastic in the 2022 ERP.
USDA enacted a new progressive payment factor for 2022 ERP on their own accord, deviating further away from the methodology used for 2020-2021 ERP — disregarding the legislative intent of how the disaster relief should be distributed. Essentially, with the way the 2022 program was set up, farmers with some of the heaviest losses received the least amount of aid if they did not qualify as a socially disadvantaged producer or entity.
When challenged on his implementation of the 2022 program, Secretary Vilsack dismissed the unequal distribution of aid, claiming Congress did not provide him with adequate funding. If the philosophy used to develop the 2022 program goes unchecked, we will see even more discriminatory actions from USDA. We hope this suit will set a new precedent for fair and equal distribution of disaster relief funds in the future.
Representing the plaintiffs is the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a national nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending liberty who have handled similar cases in the past. PCG will keep you updated of ongoing developments within this case.