Five Midwestern farmers have joined together to file a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that the Biden administration’s COVID-19 loan forgiveness program is racist.
The plaintiffs, a collection of farmers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Ohio, have direct loans from the government but are ineligible for the loan forgiveness program because they are white.
According to the lawsuit, the farmers are “otherwise eligible for the loan-forgiveness program in ARPA, except for the color of their skin.”
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provided $4 billion of loan forgiveness for “socially disadvantaged” farmers and ranchers. The lawsuit alleges this includes specific racial classifications for who is eligible to receive the debt relief, the farmers need to be black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.
“Were plaintiffs eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit, they would have the opportunity to make additional investments in their property, expand their farms, purchase equipment and supplies, and otherwise support their families and local communities,” the lawsuit filed on April 6 states. “Because plaintiffs are ineligible to even apply for the program solely due to their race, they have been denied the equal protection of the law and therefore suffered harm.”
The lawsuit is requesting the court to declare that eligibility for loan modifications and payments based on racial classifications unconstitutional.
“It was just out and out racist, and I really don’t think that there should be racism allowed in the federal government at any level,” Adam Faust, plaintiff and owner of Faust Farms, told Fox News.
“I’ve never seen any government program based solely on that. I mean, if it would’ve been against any other race, everybody would’ve been on board and would’ve been complaining immediately!” Faust added.
