Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller this week joined a lawsuit against the federal government. Miller claims the COVID relief plan passed in March discriminates against white farmers and ranchers.
Miller, a rancher himself, joined the lawsuit as a private citizen, not as a public official. 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 Department of Agriculture, according to the Texas Tribune, 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.
America First Legal, a conservative group that claims, “the radical left is using its power inside and outside of the government to destroy our country,” filed the lawsuit. The organization says the Constitution forbids government action that discriminates based upon race, alleging the Biden administration is “actively engaging in outright racial discrimination.”
