Q&A with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

When Tom Vilsack became head of the Agriculture Department last year, he faced a backlog of 11,000 civil rights complaints and several unresolved class-action lawsuits from minority farmers and ranchers.

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The USDA is also being sued by Hispanic farmers and female farmers who allege discriminatory practices. What are the biggest challenges facing the USDA in terms of resolving civil rights cases and enforcing civil rights laws?

There are three different areas of concerns. One area is the pending lawsuits against the department from farmers and ranchers who feel that they have been mistreated by the department.

full article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/15/AR2010021503001.html

[posted by Ana Perales]