II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 278 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance for socially 

disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and socially disadvantaged groups, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2021 

Mr. WARNOCK (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. LUJA ́N, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. 

LEAHY, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

Forestry 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance 

for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and socially disadvantaged groups, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Relief for 

5 Farmers of Color Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) various factors have contributed to the loss 

2 of Black farmers, Indigenous farmers, and farmers 

3 of color in the United States, including— 

4 (A) mass and systemic loss of farmland 

5 owned and operated by minority farmers; 

6 (B) institutional civil rights violations by 

7 the Federal Government; 

8 (C) difficulties accessing debt and credit 

9 capital; and 

10 (D) other legal challenges that make it dif11 ficult for minority farmers and farmworkers to 

12 participate in the United States farm economy; 

13 (2) a 2019 Government Accountability Office 

14 report found that socially disadvantaged farmers and 

15 ranchers have more difficulty getting loans and cred16 it from the Department of Agriculture, which can 

17 help beginning farmers break into the business and 

18 help existing farmers continue running their oper19 ations; 

20 (3) the finding described in paragraph (2) high21 lights the systemic racism that has hindered farmers 

22 of color for generations and continues as of the date 

23 of enactment of this Act; 

24 (4) beginning in 1830, Native American re25 moval was a federally sanctioned practice, the imVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S278.IS S278

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1 pact of which still detrimentally impacts Native 

2 American farmers today, including— 

3 (A) the moving of tens of thousands of 

4 original inhabitants from traditional land; 

5 (B) the disruption of land ownership and 

6 tenure; and 

7 (C) the reorientation of traditional farm 

8 production techniques; 

9 (5) according to the Census of Agriculture— 

10 (A) approximately 80 percent of land was 

11 lost by Black farmers from 1910 to 2007; 

12 (B) in 1910, 14 percent of United States 

13 farmers were Black; and 

14 (C) in 2012, less than 2 percent of United 

15 States farmers were Black; 

16 (6) heirs’ property refers to land that is infor17 mally passed down from generation to generation 

18 without a legally designated owner; 

19 (7) due to lack of access to the legal system 

20 during Reconstruction and distrust of the legal sys21 tem during the Jim Crow era, many Black families 

22 have relied on heirs’ property to keep land in their 

23 families, which has resulted in title issues now hin24 dering many Black families from obtaining credit; 


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1 (8) Hispanic farmers were unlawfully discrimi2 nated against by the Department of Agriculture with 

3 respect to credit and loan transaction and farm dis4 aster benefits; 

5 (9) there are various laws, regulations, and 

6 questionable practices that have led to and are asso7 ciated with land owned by Black farmers, Indige8 nous farmers, and farmers of color being acquired 

9 by developers, contrary to the will of the farmers 

10 and land workers; 

11 (10) numerous reports over 60 years have 

12 shown a consistent pattern of discrimination at the 

13 Department of Agriculture against Black farmers, 

14 Indigenous farmers, and farmers of color; 

15 (11) in 1965, the United States Commission on 

16 Civil Rights found evidence of discrimination in pro17 gram delivery and the treatment of employees of 

18 color at the Department of Agriculture; 

19 (12) in the 1970s, the Department of Agri20 culture deliberately forced Black farmers, Indigenous 

21 farmers, and farmers of color off their land through 

22 corrupt loan and financing practices; 

23 (13) a 1982 report of the United States Com24 mission on Civil Rights concluded that racial dis25 crimination was continuing within the Department 


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1 of Agriculture, and, despite lawsuits and court or2 ders, the discrimination continued in carrying out 

3 the farm loan programs in the headquarters and the 

4 network of field offices of the Department of Agri5 culture; and 

6 (14) a 2008 Government Accountability Office 

7 report stated there were ‘‘significant deficiencies’’ in 

8 addressing civil rights issues by the Department of 

9 Agriculture and recommended new measures to ad10 dress the backlog of civil rights issues at the Depart11 ment of Agriculture. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) FARM LOAN.—The term ‘‘farm loan’’ means 

15 a loan administered by the Farm Service Agency 

16 under subtitle A, B, or C of the Consolidated Farm 

17 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922 et seq.). 

18 (2) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 

19 The term ‘‘qualified nonprofit organization’’ means 

20 an organization— 

21 (A) that is a nonprofit; 

22 (B) that has not less than 3 years of expe23 rience providing meaningful agricultural, busi24 ness assistance, legal assistance, or advocacy 


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1 services to socially disadvantaged farmers or 

2 ranchers; and 

3 (C) at least 50 percent of the members of 

4 the board of directors of which are members of 

5 a socially disadvantaged group. 

6 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

8 (4) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMER OR

9 RANCHER.—The term ‘‘socially disadvantaged farm10 er or rancher’’ has the meaning given the term in 

11 section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva12 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)). 

13 (5) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED GROUP.—The 

14 term ‘‘socially disadvantaged group’’ has the mean15 ing given the term in section 2501(a) of the Food, 

16 Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 

17 U.S.C. 2279(a)). 

18 SEC. 4. DEBT FORGIVENESS ON FARM SERVICE AGENCY 

19 LOANS. 

20 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to ad21 dress the historical discrimination against socially dis22 advantaged farmers and ranchers and address issues re23 lating to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19)— 

24 (1) in farm loan programs; and 

25 (2) across the Department of Agriculture. 


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1 (b) DEBT FORGIVENESS.— 

2 (1) DIRECT LOANS.—The Secretary shall for3 give the obligation of each socially disadvantaged 

4 farmer or rancher who is a borrower of a farm loan 

5 made by the Secretary to repay the principal and in6 terest outstanding as of the date of enactment of 

7 this Act on the farm loan. 

8 (2) GUARANTEED LOANS.—The Secretary shall 

9 pay to each lender of farm loans guaranteed by the 

10 Secretary an amount equal to the principal and in11 terest outstanding as of the date of enactment of 

12 this Act on all farm loans held by the lender, the 

13 borrowers of which are socially disadvantaged farm14 ers and ranchers, such that the borrowers shall be 

15 relieved of the obligation to repay the principal and 

16 interest due on those guaranteed farm loans. 

17 (3) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 (A) CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN NOT RE19 QUIRED.—The Secretary shall not require a 

20 borrower of a farm loan for which debt forgive21 ness may be provided under paragraph (1) or 

22 (2) who has self-identified as a socially dis23 advantaged farmer or rancher under a farm 

24 loan existing as of the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act to submit an application for debt forgive2 ness under paragraph (1) or (2). 

3 (B) OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT.—The Sec4 retary shall provide to each socially disadvan5 taged farmer or rancher who is a borrower of 

6 a farm loan for which debt forgiveness may be 

7 provided under paragraph (1) or (2) and who 

8 has not self-identified as a socially disadvan9 taged farmer or rancher under a farm loan ex10 isting as of the date of enactment of this Act 

11 an opportunity to submit to the Secretary an 

12 application for debt forgiveness under para13 graph (1) or (2). 

14 (4) PROHIBITION ON FUTURE ELIGIBILITY RE15 STRICTION.—The Secretary shall not restrict the eli16 gibility of a borrower for a future farm loan based 

17 on the receipt of loan forgiveness under this section. 

18 (c) FUNDING.—There is appropriated to the Sec19 retary, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise ap20 propriated, to carry out this section $4,000,000,000 for 

21 the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

22 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SOCIALLY DIS23 ADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS AND 

24 SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED GROUPS. 

25 (a) EQUITY COMMISSION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 an equity commission composed of— 

3 (A) officers of the Department of Agri4 culture; 

5 (B) individuals with an interest in the ac6 tivities of the Department of Agriculture; 

7 (C) socially disadvantaged farmers or 

8 ranchers with not less than 10 years of experi9 ence in farming or ranching; 

10 (D) individuals with expertise in civil 

11 rights; and 

12 (E) employees or board members of quali13 fied nonprofit organizations. 

14 (2) DUTIES.—The equity commission estab15 lished under paragraph (1) shall— 

16 (A) examine past discrimination by the De17 partment of Agriculture; 

18 (B) examine and evaluate discrimination 

19 occurring in programs administered by the De20 partment of Agriculture; and 

21 (C) provide recommendations to the Sec22 retary to address and mitigate future discrimi23 nation by the Department of Agriculture, in24 cluding— 

25 (i) budgetary recommendations; and 


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1 (ii) recommendations for improving 

2 the structure of Farm Service Agency 

3 county committees to better serve socially 

4 disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. 

5 (b) NATIONAL CENTER FOR MINORITY FARMER AG6 RICULTURAL LAW RESEARCH AND INFORMATION.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall 

8 make a competitive grant to a school of law, or a 

9 legal research entity, in the United States to estab10 lish the National Center for Minority Farmer Agri11 cultural Law Research and Information (referred to 

12 in this subsection as the ‘‘Center’’). 

13 (2) ACTIVITIES.—The Center shall— 

14 (A) conduct international, Federal, State, 

15 and local legal research on the legal issues of 

16 minority farmers and farmworkers relating to 

17 farmland, credit, land ownership, and related 

18 food and agricultural issues; 

19 (B) provide information, community legal 

20 education, policy research, and guidance on 

21 legal issues relating to minority farmers and 

22 farmworkers to— 

23 (i) practicing attorneys, including at24 torneys providing pro bono assistance, rep25 resenting minority farmers and farmVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S278.IS S278

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1 workers, including advice and brief serv2 ices; 

3 (ii) minority farmers and individuals 

4 assisting minority farmers on legal issues; 

5 (iii) food, agriculture, farmworker, 

6 and farm organizations; 

7 (iv) local, State, and Federal agencies; 

8 (v) members of Congress; and 

9 (vi) other persons who are assisting 

10 minority farmers and farmworkers in ad11 dressing the legal issues described in sub12 paragraph (A); and 

13 (C) coordinate a national network of attor14 neys— 

15 (i) providing legal assistance to minor16 ity farmers and farmworkers; or 

17 (ii) working on issues relevant to mi18 nority farmers and farmworkers. 

19 (3) AVAILABILITY.— 

20 (A) CENTER.—The Center shall make 

21 available to the National Agricultural Library 

22 the research, community legal education, policy 

23 research, guidance, advice, and information of 

24 the Center. 


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1 (B) NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY.— 

2 The National Agricultural Library shall make 

3 available to the public the research, community 

4 legal education, policy research, guidance, ad5 vice, and information provided by the Center 

6 under subparagraph (A). 

7 (4) COLLABORATION.—The Center shall col8 laborate with— 

9 (A) the National Agricultural Library; and 

10 (B) the National Center for Agricultural 

11 Law Research and Information. 

12 (c) GRANTS AND LOANS TO RESOLVE OWNERSHIP

13 AND SUCCESSION ON FARMLAND.—The Secretary shall 

14 make— 

15 (1) grants to resolve property issues relating to 

16 ownership and succession on farmland; and 

17 (2) loans under section 310I of the Consoli18 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

19 1936c). 

20 (d) COOPERATIVES SERVING SOCIALLY DISADVAN21 TAGED GROUPS.—The Secretary shall provide financial 

22 assistance to cooperative development centers, individual 

23 cooperatives, or groups of cooperatives— 

24 (1) that serve socially disadvantaged groups; 

25 and 


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1 (2) a majority of the boards of directors or 

2 other governing boards of which are composed of in3 dividuals who are members of socially disadvantaged 

4 groups. 

5 (e) PILOT PROJECTS.—The Secretary may establish 

6 pilot projects to provide technical and financial assistance 

7 to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, including 

8 projects that focus on land acquisition, financial planning, 

9 technical assistance, and credit. 

10 (f) HISTORICAL DISCRIMINATION.—The Secretary 

11 may provide financial assistance to socially disadvantaged 

12 farmers or ranchers that— 

13 (1) are former farm loan borrowers of the De14 partment of Agriculture; and 

15 (2) have suffered adverse actions or past dis16 crimination or bias relating to the farm loan, as de17 termined by the Secretary. 

18 (g) FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary may 

19 support the development of agricultural credit financial in20 stitutions that are designed to serve and finance socially 

21 disadvantaged groups, including Farm Credit System in22 stitutions chartered under the Farm Credit Act of 1971 

23 (12 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.). 

24 (h) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

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1 diation, financial training, capacity building training, co2 operative development training and support, and other 

3 technical assistance to qualified nonprofit organizations 

4 that provide services to socially disadvantaged farmers and 

5 ranchers. 

6 (i) 1890 LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS AND CERTAIN

7 OTHER INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary shall support and 

8 supplement research, education, and extension activities 

9 at— 

10 (1) colleges or universities eligible to receive 

11 funds under the Act of August 30, 1890 (commonly 

12 known as the ‘‘Second Morrill Act’’) (26 Stat. 417, 

13 chapter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including 

14 Tuskegee University; 

15 (2) 1994 Institutions (as defined in section 532 

16 of the Equity in Education Land-Grant Status Act 

17 of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103–382)); 

18 (3) Alaska Native serving institutions and Na19 tive Hawaiian serving institutions eligible to receive 

20 grants under subsections (a) and (b), respectively, of 

21 section 1419B of the National Agricultural Re22 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 

23 (7 U.S.C. 3156); 

24 (4) Hispanic-serving institutions eligible to re25 ceive grants under section 1455 of the National AgVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S278.IS S278

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1 ricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

2 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3241); and 

3 (5) eligible institutions (as defined in section 

4 1489 of the National Agricultural Research, Exten5 sion, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

6 3361)). 

7 (j) GRANTS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Secretary 

8 shall provide grants to— 

9 (1) colleges or universities eligible to receive 

10 funds under the Act of August 30, 1890 (commonly 

11 known as the ‘‘Second Morrill Act’’) (26 Stat. 417, 

12 chapter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including 

13 Tuskegee University, for student scholarships; and 

14 (2) land-grant colleges and universities (as de15 fined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 

16 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

17 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)) for scholarships for students 

18 or prospective students who are— 

19 (A) members of Indian Tribes; and 

20 (B) pursuing an agricultural field of study. 

21 (k) FUNDING.—There is appropriated to the Sec22 retary, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise ap23 propriated, to carry out this section $1,000,000,000 for 

24 fiscal year 2021, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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