(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama is requesting $1.15 billion from Congress—to add to a $100-million earmark he pushed through Congress in 2008 when he was a senator—to create a $1.25 billion federal fund to settle discrimination claims by what the Justice Department says is 66,000 African Americans who “farmed or attempted to farm” and were allegedly the victims of discrimination committed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the period from Jan. 1, 1981 to Dec. 31, 1996.

During that 16-year period, however, the number of African American farm operators in the United States peaked at 33,000 in 1982, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 1992, says the Census Bureau, the number of African American farmers had fallen as low as 19,000.

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Asked why there are 66,000 eligible claimants when the Census Bureau says that the number of African American farmers in the United States peaked at 33,000 during the period in question, a Justice Department spokesperson said that since the alleged discrimination took place over a 16-year period when different individuals were moving in and out of farming that using a single year, such as 1982, as a reference point “doesn’t work.”

USDA echoed the Justice Department’s comments about the number of eligible Pigford claimants compared to the Census Bureau’s statistics on black farmers.

“Current Census numbers on black farmers are not the proper guide for the number of claimants, and certainly no basis for allegations of fraud,” said Agriculture Department Spokesman Justin DeJong. “Furthermore, I can assure you that regardless of any allegations of fraud in Pigford I, this Administration is committed to ensuring that anyone receiving a payment under Pigford II was the victim of discrimination and has a valid claim that deserves compensation by following the very specific criteria outlined in the 2008 farm bill.”

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Is it too late for me to file my claim. You can't prove that I wasn't a black farmer at some time during that period. Sure, my records say I was a white computer programmer, but that was just my day-job.