President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act contains a controversial provision that offers debt relief in the form of a loan forgiveness program to America’s struggling farmers — provided they aren’t white.
According to Breitbart, the seemingly racist provision was challenged in federal court, which resulted in a federal judge ruling that Biden’s attempt to address discrimination in America was, in itself, a discriminatory act.
Florida Federal Judge Marcia Morales Howard issued a nationwide temporary injunction against the debt relief program while claims against it are currently being litigated.
“The Constitution’s promise of equal justice under the law is that the government will treat people as individuals, not simply as members of their racial group,” Howard wrote in her decision.
“All Americans are entitled to equal treatment”
Judge Morales Howard went on to quote the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as noting, “In the eyes of government, we are just one race here. It is American.” The George W. Bush appointee stressed that “all Americans are entitled to equal treatment regardless of color.”
Howard observed that “the government argues that (the section) is narrowly tailored to reach small farmers or farmers on the brink of foreclosure,” which was a claim she clearly rejected.
Rather, the judge concluded that a farmer’s racial identity serves as “the sole, inflexible factor that determines the availability of relief provided by the government.”
A win for Scott Wynn
The lawsuit was initiated by Scott Wynn, a Florida-based farmer, who’s being represented legally by the Pacific Legal Foundation. According to the group’s website, Wynn’s family farm was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic — like many others — as a labor shortage combined with declining crop prices resulted in a steep revenue drop.
“A farm loan forgiveness provision is baked into the COVID-19-driven American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, but Scott is not eligible — because he is white,” Pacific Legal Foundation explained, echoing critics across the country who blasted the Biden administration for even considering such a blatantly discriminatory program, let alone actually implementing it.
“The law allows loan forgiveness of up to 120 percent but only for minority farmers and ranchers, who the law automatically treats as ‘socially disadvantaged,’ regardless of their individual circumstances,” the legal organization added.
“Because government cannot use racial classifications to decide who gets government benefits and burdens, Scott is fighting back to restore his right to equal treatment for all farmers.”
Wynn is not alone in challenging the Biden administration’s debt relief program, as Fox News reported earlier this month that a Wisconsin-based federal judge issued a similar injunction to protect struggling, non-minority farmers in the state.
The post Judge issues injunction against Biden’s discriminatory farmer loan relief program first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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