VOA英语2010年-US Government Settles Claims With Black, Nat

Tens of thousands of African American farmers and Native Americans will soon receive compensation for discrimination and mismanagement they allegedly suffered at the hands of the federal government. President Barack Obama is expected to sign a $4.5 billion bill just passed by the U.S. Congress to settle these long-standing claims.

Black farmers settled their lawsuit¹ against the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than a decade ago over claims of racial discrimination in federal loans and other programs that USDA administers, but disputes over who was eligible² and Congressional wrangling³ over funding for the settlement delayed final resolution.

The new law makes nearly 80,000 black farmers eligible to apply for compensation that amounts to about $50,000 each.

'Bittersweet' victory

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association, described Congressional passage of the Claims Settlement Act as long-overdue justice.

"It's very, very good that black farmers will finally have the opportunity to have their cases heard, based on their merit," he said.

But Boyd said the victory as bittersweet, because many black farmers who suffered discrimination have died before their cases could be resolved.

USDA is also taking steps to resolve claims of discrimination involving Hispanic and women farmers along the same lines as the settlement with black farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "There has been a concerted effort to do what has not been done in many cases for 10, 15, 20, in some cases 30 years, which is to try to resolve as many of these cases in as fair and equitable⁴ a way as possible."

Native American land, water

In addition to the settlement with black farmers, the new law also provides $3.4 billion to settle a variety of claims made by Native Americans. They include mismanagement by the Department of the Interior of hundreds of thousands of trust funds intended to compensate⁵ Native Americans for the use of their lands and resources.

Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes says the new law also makes historic progress on four water-rights cases in the arid⁶ American West long pursued by Native American groups.

"These four matters have been, in fact, in litigation for cumulatively⁷ over 100 years of litigation," he said. "We brought all of them to settlements."

In a written statement, Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said the law settles historic injustices⁸ and starts the U.S. government on a course to make Native American lands more productive for future generations.

1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

3 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

4 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

5 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

6 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

7 cumulatively   

adv.累积地，渐增地

参考例句：

• Mind has become self-reproducing through man's capacity to transmit experience and its products cumulatively. 通过传递生活经验和积累创造的产品，人类的智慧在不断地进行着自我丰富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At first, the drug does no harm, but cumulatively its effects are bad. 这药开始对人没有害处，但连续服用后果就坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。