Rep. Jerrold Nadler Holds a Markup of H.R. 558, the African- American Farmers Benefits Relief Act of 2007; and H.R. 899, the Pigford Claims Remedy Act of 2007
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Rep. Jerrold Nadler Holds a Markup of H.R. 558, the African- American Farmers Benefits Relief Act of 2007; and H.R. 899, the Pigford Claims Remedy Act of 2007
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES HOLDS A MARKUP OF H.R. 558, AFRICAN-AMERICAN FARMERS BENEFITS RELIEF ACT OF 2007; AND H.R. 899, PIGFORD CLAIMS REMEDY ACT OF 2007
JUNE 21, 2007SPEAKERS: REP. JERROLD NADLER, D-N.Y. CHAIRMAN REP. ARTUR DAVIS, D-ALA. REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, D-FLA. REP. KEITH ELLISON, D-MINN. REP. JOHN CONYERS JR., D-MICH. REP. ROBERT C. SCOTT, D-VA. REP. MELVIN WATT, D-N.C. REP. STEPHEN I. COHEN, D-TENN.REP. TRENT FRANKS, R-ARIZ. RANKING MEMBER REP. MIKE PENCE, R-IND. REP. DARRELL ISSA, R-CALIF. REP. STEVE KING, R-IOWA REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OHIO REP. LAMAR SMITH, R-TEXAS EX OFFICIOWITNESSES: SEN. CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, R-IOWAJOHN ZIPPERT, DIRECTOR, PROGRAM OPERATIONS, THE FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN COOPERATIVES LAND ASSISTANCE FUNDCASSANDRA JONES HAVARD, ' ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF LAWPHILLIP L. FRAAS, ATTORNEY AT LAW,A. DONALD MCEACHIN, D-74TH DISTRICT, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATESDR. JOHN W. BOYD JR., PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION[*] NADLER: Good morning. This hearing of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will come to order.Today's hearing will examine legislation introduced by two of our colleagues on the subcommittee that would deal with persistent injustice perpetrated against African-American farmers by the United States Department of Agriculture.Normally, at this point, we would go to opening statements, but since our first witness, the distinguished senator from Iowa, has a hearing to attend, we will come back to the opening statements after Senator Grassley testifies.Our first witness is the distinguished senator from Iowa, Charles Grassley, who needs no introduction. Suffice it to say that the senator is himself a family farmer. He served in the House from 1974 to 1980 when he was elected to the Senate.He was, among other achievements, the author of chapter 12 of the bankruptcy code, which provides special relief for distressed family farmers. While we have long disagreed on many other issues having to do with the bankruptcy code, I am proud to have worked with Senator Grassley to make chapter 12 a permanent part of the code.I would add that our purpose today is not to talk about bankruptcy but to do all we can to protect family farmers who have been treated unjustly by our government and keep them away from bankruptcy.I want to welcome our colleague from the other body to the subcommittee today.Senator, your written statement will be made part of the record in its entirety. I would ask that you now summarize your testimony in five minutes or less. To help you stay within that time limit, there's a timing light at your table. When one minute remains, the light will switch from green to yellow and then red when the five minutes are up.Thank you, and we await your testimony.GRASSLEY: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I'd also thank Chairman Scott, Chairman Conyers and Congressman Davis for their support of this very important issue. And I would also thank Congressman Chabot and his staff for hard work that they've put in to this legislation.I know only one black farmer in Iowa, but justice knows little about state lines, and my state has a long history of supporting fairness and support for farmers. My efforts for this bill is in that tradition.Ironically, the Department of Agriculture has expanded in size and influence in the last several decades. The numbers of black farmers in this country has declined dramatically. In the 1920s, more than 900,000 black farmers owning or operating more than 16 million acres of land. Today, statistics reveal that fewer than 18,000 black farmers own or operate less than 3 million a...See the full content of this document
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