Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sues Federal Government, Claims Discrimination Against White Farmers
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is suing the federal government claiming that the Biden administration’s COVID-19 relief plan passed last month discriminates against white farmers and ranchers.
Miller, a conservative Republican and rancher, states in the lawsuit filed Monday in Fort Worth federal court that he is suing in his capacity as a private citizen – not on behalf of the state.
Among several other major provisions, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 offers relief to “socially disadvantaged” farmers and ranchers, which the plan defines as people of color. Miller’s complaint against the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the definition in the program fails to include “white ethnic groups that have unquestionably suffered” because of their ethnicity, such as those of Irish, Italian, German, Jewish and eastern European heritage.
