Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I rise today on one issue, and I promise, out of deference to my friend, who is the Presiding Officer right now, not to bring up anything about college football this past weekend. That would be for another discussion.

I rise today to urge my colleagues to take an important step to correct one of the great injustices in America, an injustice that many in this body may not have a full appreciation for because it just might not affect too many of their particular constituents. I am speaking of the injustices faced by real property owners known as heirs' property owners.

These landowners, who are typically African-American farmers and producers in the Deep South, own land that has been informally passed down within families, often for several generations, without any clear title. Sadly, that has often led to costly legal complications, prevented landowners from qualifying for Federal assistance, and, in many cases, resulted in actual loss of land ownership. This issue overwhelmingly impacts African-American land ownership, of which an estimated 60 percent is heirs' property and has created barriers to building generational wealth.

It is no coincidence that this has impacted Black landowners when you consider the challenges faced by previous generations of African Americans just to purchase their land, the obstacles they faced to obtain legal services and to have their wills prepared.

The heirs' property challenge that is facing these families today is yet another vestige of the Jim Crow era that, with some exceptions, has lasted far too long and that we must seek to correct.

These injustices have had long-lasting consequences for the families who have struggled to prove their land claims, including the untold emotional cost for those who have seen their family land taken or sold out from under them.

Because a significant portion of minority-owned rural land was passed down through generations as heirs' property, these farmers and ranchers have been unable to obtain farm numbers and, thus, access to a multitude of USDA programs. These programs are vital to these landowners, who already face significant risk and uncertainty in their work.

That is why, when I came to the Senate last year, I teamed up with my friend from South Carolina, Senator Scott, to work together to initiate changes that will start to help these farmers gain access to Federal aid and help us better understand the full spectrum of challenges they face as a result of their heirs' property status.

I am very proud of the fact that we secured several provisions in the final 2018 farm bill that address heirs' property. I thank Senators Roberts and Stabenow for their assistance. One of the biggest components that was included will allow heirs' property owners, with the appropriate documentation, to obtain USDA farm numbers so that they can gain access to the Department's programs, such as crop insurance and disaster relief.

However, that is just one of the obstacles they face today. Another provision focuses on consolidating land ownership. Heirs are often faced with issues of ``fractional'' ownership among relatives. Their own family had the fractional shares of the land that has been passed down for generations, and that increases the chances of one heir partitioning the land or causing the land to be lost due to a tax default.

Some States even require the entire property to be sold if the courts find that dividing the land would prejudice one owner.

Under these circumstances, it is no wonder that between 1910 and 1997, an estimated 90 percent of land owned by African Americans in this country was lost due to heirs' property issues. That statistic bears repeating and emphasizing. Between 1910 and 1997, an estimated 90 percent of land owned by African Americans in the United States was lost due to heirs' property issues.

Last year, together we embarked on the journey to right these wrongs. The 2018 farm bill gave authority to the USDA Secretary to make loans to eligible entities such as cooperatives and credit unions that have experience helping minority farmers so they can relend funds to assist heirs with undivided interests to resolve ownership and succession on farmland.

My amendment that we will be voting on shortly will provide $5 million to help get this program off the ground. That is the same amount of money that is included in the House version of the appropriations bill.

This is an important next step to fulfill the intent of last year's farm bill and to help these families maintain land that is rightfully theirs. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment and continuing our efforts together to remove these barriers and right these wrongs.

Mr. President, I would like to call up Amendment No. 1067, as provided for under the previous order, and I ask that it be reported by number.

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Mr. JONES. Mr. President, this amendment will continue a process that was started last year in the farm bill to correct one of the grave injustices to the African-American population here.

This bill deals with heir property--property that has gone down through generations without clear title. These landowners have been denied access to USDA programs and other instances. This amendment deals with heir property. African Americans have long been denied property based on the fact that so much of it has been passed down through the generations without clear title.

They have been denied access to the USDA programs and also have lost property. Between 1910 and 1997, an estimated 90 percent of land owned by African Americans in this country was lost due to heir property issues. Last year we began the process in this Senate with the farm bill to correct that, part of which was creating a program at USDA to loan money to help get these folks back on their feet, to get them into the programs they need. This amendment provides $5 million to start that program. It is the same amount of money that is in the House bill.

I urge my colleagues to continue this opportunity to correct this wrong and right this injustice.

Mr. President, I yield.
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