Farmers Get $800 Million in Debt Relief Under Contested Program

The Agriculture Department sent almost $800 million to delinquent borrowers and foreclosed farmers in the first phase of legislation that spurred legal action from minority farmers.

The funding, which the agency announced Tuesday, was authorized in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ climate, health care, and tax law (Public Law 117-169), passed in August. The law included a total of $3.1 billion in distressed farmer debt relief.

Congress initially enacted a debt relief program to rectify decades of discrimination against minority farmers as part of last year’s American Rescue Plan Act (Public Law 117-2). After White ...