Payments to Indians and black farmers given OK

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

American Indian landowners and black farmers who for years have waited for Washington to address their claims of government mistreatment won a hard-fought victory Tuesday as Congress cleared legislation to pay the groups $4.6 billion to settle a pair of historic class-action lawsuits.

The measure passed the House in a 256-152 vote and now goes to President Barack Obama, who promised during his campaign to work toward resolving the long-standing disputes and others involving the government’s past discrimination against minorities.

The package would award some $3.4 billion to American Indians over claims they were cheated out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department for resources like oil, gas and timber. Another $1.2 billion would go to African-Americans who claim they were unfairly denied loans and other assistance from the Agriculture Department.