A U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee denied Secretary Vilsack and the Department of Justice, and handed USDA another defeat on August 2, 2021.

The DOJ had sought to stay farmer Robert Holman’s Tennessee case pending resolution of Sid Miller’s case in Texas. Holman, who sued Secretary Vilsack and the Farm Service Agency Administrator, got a U.S. district court to say to the Secretary take a flying leap.

What’s this all about?

You have heard about the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This is the Act passed by Congress that was to “…provide a payment in an amount up to 120% of the outstanding indebtedness of each socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher as of January 1, 2021.”

The Tennessee court had already told Mr. Holman that he could have a preliminary injunction; and also at the same time issued an order that banned Secretary Vilsack from disbursing funds to black and disadvantaged farmers nationwide.

Related: USDA loses again on race-based statute

The DOJ and USDA claimed Mr. Holman is a member of two classes. The court refused to abandon Mr. Holman and have his fate determined by the Miller case in Texas.

Bob Holman farms in Obion County near Union City, TN. He and his father started farming on land the family had owned for over 150 years and grows corn and soybeans. He had taken out loans in 2016 and 2018 and both would be covered under the terms of ARPA. However, Mr. Holman is not a member of any of the racial groups that are eligible for loan forgiveness.

He is also upset about the fact that he and other Caucasians are subject to a provision “…of existing law that prohibits them from obtaining further loans from the Department if they receive any form of debt forgiveness on FSA loans.”

In fact, Mr. Holman’s Promissory Notes state very clearly “The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, [or] national origin….” Judge Thomas Anderson, Chief judge of the Western District, claimed the Miller case was not “completely aligned” with Mr. Holman’s interests.

Mr. Holman is quite concerned about the provision involving race and he says the eligibility for future loans is left unadjudicated in the Miller case in Texas. He also claims he “…would have no say whatsoever in the pace at which the Miller case would proceed.”

The judge in the Western District in very polite language scolds the Department and their lawyers by saying “…Defendants have not shown that a stay is warranted in this matter, and their motion to stay proceedings is DENIED.” The DOJ and Secretary Vilsack must believe that ARPA will eventually be found constitutional by some appellant court. This appears to be a “fool’s errand”.

The ARPA program was a creation of President Biden and the Democrat-led Congress. Under the program, there was to be farm loan forgiveness for non-white farmers. These farmers would have their federal farm loans forgiven plus they would receive another 20% to cover taxes and other items. This program would apparently apply to every farmer except those who were Caucasian. The U.S. Supreme Court, on numerous occasions, has pointed out that one way to stop benefits solely based on race is to “…stop discriminating on the basis of race.” Action by the federal government to single out race is simply unconstitutional!

Numerous parties have also jumped in and filed lawsuits simply because cases like Mr. Holman’s are slam dunks. Presumably, new leadership in the office of General Counsel USDA will stop this nonsense. Time will tell.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress.