[Liz]

The Keepseagle case (Keepseagle v. Vilsack) was a landmark 2010 class-action lawsuit wherein the Obama Administration settled claims against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for systemic “racial discrimination.”

The USDA was sued for denying low-interest loans and loan servicing to Native American farmers and ranchers over a multi-decade period.The $760 million settlement provided the following:
<><>Compensation & Debt Relief
<><>$680 million was allocated for direct monetary compensation
<><>$80 million was set aside for the forgiveness of farm-loan debts.

It required the USDA to modify its farm loan programs, create an ombudsman position, and establish a Federal Advisory Council for Native American farmers to ensure equal access to credit.

The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF): Because a large portion of the settlement funds went unclaimed, a subsequent 2018 court order distributed roughly $266 million in remaining funds to establish this charitable trust. It is the largest Native American philanthropic trust dedicated solely to supporting Native agriculture.

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For a complete overview of the lawsuit and the resulting agricultural fund, visit the Cohen Milstein Case Study or the Native American Agriculture Fund.

US Reaches $760 Million Settlement with Native American ...Oct 20, 2010

[Liz]

Patriots, Call Congress
US Capitol switchboard
(202) 224-3121.

Call the White House
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
TTY/TTD Comments: 202-456-6213

Send a letter to the White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Message: Trump officials are validating Hunter Biden’s outrageous lie that he was prosecuted only because he was Joe Biden’s son. Acting AG Todd Blanche and VP JD Vance inexplicably cited Hunter as their exemplar of bipartisan largesse to showcase Trump’s $1.7 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for victims of lawfare. Naming Hunter is a terrible idea, possibly even dreamed up by execrable deep-staters to deny justice to the real victims of Biden’s lawfare machinations.

[nathanbedford]

Both the Keepseagle case and a whole series of civil rights cases, supervision of police cases, and agriculture cases are in theory similar to the Anti-Weaponization Fund under discussion here because both set up a compensation system without specific congressional participation.

Although the cases done by Obama and Biden were done arguably under a better claim of color of constitutional legitimacy, they constitute a greater threat to democracy because they enabled the executive branch to establish policy without specific participation of Congress. Trump's funds is less dangerous because it only dispenses money, although without close reference to federal standards encoded by law.

As a constitutional conservative, I don't like the creation and dispensation of taxpayer monies by an unchecked executive branch even though with respect to the anti-weaponization compensations I fully support the claims and the justice of the claims.

When policy amounts to the making of a law, it should pass through Congress and the president's veto power to be constitutionally legitimate.

Biden and Obama exploited this device to force left-wing policy on states, counties, cities, Indian tribes and individuals without checking in with the legislative branch.

Biden and Obama got away with their end run around the Constitution and, typical of our history, a bad precedent now might well be cited to establish another bad precedent.