For more than ten years black and American Indian farmers have waited (many growing old in the process) for closure to a class action lawsuit settled in 1999. The lawsuit was aimed at redressing decades of racial discrimination by the USDA.

Unconcionably, earlier this month the Senate failed yet again to finalize the case and minority farmers have been forced to continue to wait for justice during one of the country's hardest economic periods.

So far, the settlement has been tangled up in much arguing over spending and deficits. Certainly Democrats and Republicans alike must come together in order to solve this problem. But without strong leadership from Senator Mitch McConnell in calling other Republicans to the table, minority farmers - who will already have to regroup and re-engergize their efforts in early September after the August recess - may languish on without justice.

Let Senator Mitch McConnell know this August that America is ready to stand up for minority farmers, and so should he.