WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate voted Friday to approve $1.15 billion to pay long-promised claims to black farmers for past discrimination in government loan programs.
The Senate also voted in favor of $3.4 billion in funding to settle complaints against the Department of the Interior regarding mismanagement of American Indian finances, The Hill reported.
By unanimous consent, the Senate approved funding to pay claims to black farmers under a 1999 settlement with the Department of Agriculture in a lawsuit claiming the U.S. government denied loans to black farmers in favor of whites. The measure also provided for a temporary extension of an anti-poverty program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
"Black farmers and Native American trust account holders have had to wait a long time for justice, but now it will finally be served," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement. "I am heartened that Democrats and Republicans were able to come together to deliver the settlement that these men and women deserve for the discrimination and mismanagement they faced in the past."
In a statement issued by the White House, President Barack Obama said the Claims Settlement Act of 2010 "will at long last provide funding for the agreements reached" in the 1999 settlement and the lawsuit, brought by American Indians over the management of Indian trust accounts and resources.
"I urge the House to move forward with this legislation as they did earlier this year, and I look forward to signing it into law," Obama said.
