[JURIST] The US congress voted late Wednesday to override President George W. Bush's veto [JURIST report] of the new Farm Bill [HR 6124 materials]. The override passed easily in both chambers, with votes of 80-14 in the Senate and 317-109 [roll calls] in the House. Bush had vetoed the legislation earlier Wednesday, calling it fiscally irresponsible. The original version of the text sent to Bush for signature last month inadvertently omitted [JURIST report] a section providing for foreign food aid. AP has more.

The future of a landmark discrimination case [NBFA press release; JURIST report] brought by the Virginia-based National Black Farmers Association earlier this month against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) [official website] depended on the passage of the bill. The legislation includes a provision [AP file report] that expressly permits new claims of improper discrimination in the allocation of USDA resources, including loans, disaster relief, and other resources. The new Farm Bill also reopens the class-action suit to farmers who were left out of a 1999 settlement after missing a filing deadline and thousands more who argue that the terms of the settlement were inadequate.