In other news, the Justice Department has stopped defending Trump's "public charge" rule or wealth check for immigrants who may so much as qualify for public benefits.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and European Union have reached an agreement to redistribute trade quotas now that Britain is no longer a member of the union. Talks had been held up for the last two years under Trump.
Finally, the COVID spending package heading to President Biden's desk tomorrow includes a significant amount of money for disadvantage black farmers.
A little-known element of President Biden’s massive stimulus relief package would pay billions of dollars to disadvantaged farmers — benefiting Black farmers in a way that some experts say no legislation has since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Of the $10.4 billion in the American Rescue Plan that will support agriculture, approximately half would go to disadvantaged farmers, according to estimates from the Farm Bureau, an industry organization. About a quarter of disadvantaged farmers are Black. The money would provide debt relief as well as grants, training, education and other forms of assistance aimed at acquiring land.
While it’s a fraction of the $1.9 trillion bill that passed in the Senate on Saturday, advocates say it still represents a step toward righting a wrong after a century of mistreatment of Black farmers by the government and others. Some say it is a form of reparations for African Americans who have suffered a long history of racial oppression.