Monday night the U.S. Senate voted 83-7 to accept an amendment offered by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) that prevents the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) from receiving federal funding within the Transportation Housing & Urban Development appropriations bill now being considered on the Senate floor. This reaction against ACORN an organization with close ties to the Democratic Party came about after videos surfaced of ACORN giving advice to independent undercover investigators posing as a prostitute and her boss.
This advice included the best ways to cover up their illegal activities including trafficking in child prostitutes from El Salvador.
After new evidence surfaced linking the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to potentially criminal activity House Republicans sprung into action yesterday announcing a new series of steps to sever the troubled organizations ties to the federal government.
Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX-11) has called for termination of all federal funding to ACORN and its affiliates.
It has become evident that ACORN has been using taxpayer dollars to run potentially criminal businesses and unethical activities out of their offices. We simply cannot allow one more penny of hard-working American money to go towards funding this corrupt organization. It is my fervent hope that the President will terminate ACORNs funding and that ties between ACORN and the federal government are cut for good. If not we have a bill ready to take straight to the House Floor" Conaway said.
ACORN remains eligible for billions in other appropriations as well as from President Obamas stimulus bill passed earlier this year.
The fact that ACORN is more than willing to lie cheat and steal to accomplish their agenda is nothing new State Representative Debbie Riddle (R - District 150) said. Riddle said her office is
investigating whether ACORN receives any state funds and if so what can be done to freeze them while the legislature is out of session.
What is new is that Congress has finally decided to enforce some consequences to those who would ruthlessly undermine our American way of life on the taxpayers dime Riddle added.
Last week an undercover filmmaker posing as a pimp caught ACORN workers on hidden camera giving him and his partner legal advice to avoid prosecution and tax issues associated with opening a brothel and trafficking underage girls.
The video is the latest in a string of headaches for the group beginning last year with a Nevada investigation regarding an ACORN-led voter registration drive that turned in rosters filled with the names of the starting lineup for the Dallas Cowboys as well as Disney characters such as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.
The former director of the groups Las Vegas office pleaded guilty in August to charges stemming from the investigation.
Additionally the Florida County of Miami-Dade issued warrants last week for 11 ACORN employees who stand accused of falsifying hundreds of voter registration applications in that state.
A letter to President Obama signed by roughly 130 House Republicans asking him to take action to publicly disclose and terminate all taxpayer funding of ACORN was sent earlier this week.
An effort led by House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) to urge the IRS to end any referrals to ACORN offices for tax preparation consultation.
The Census Bureau took a similar step on Friday when it announced it would end its partnership with ACORN in conducting the 2010 Census under steady pressure from House Republicans including Oversight & Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA).
Rank-and-file House Democrats have clearly begun to get the message: the New York Post has Rep. Michael McMahons (D-NY) office saying he is supportive" of a measure to deny federal funding. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) says he would be open" to such a move.
Democratic leaders however are still protecting ACORN: The Baltimore Sun reports that Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) stopped short of supporting" a measure to defend ACORN while Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to comment.
In a recent Wall Street Journal column John Fund detailed the lengths to which Democratic leaders have gone to protect ACORN:
Acorns allies in Congress have long stopped every move to rein it in. Rep. Steve King (R. Iowa) for example has tried six times to get House floor votes restricting Acorns access to federal funds but has been blocked by Speaker Nancy Pelosis hand-picked Rules Committee members. Some
Democrats have grumbled. Michigans John Conyers chair of the Judiciary Committee urged a hearing be held on Acorn abuses in March but later told the Washington Times the powers that be decided against it."
Said Boehner Enough is enough." All told ACORN has received $53 million in federal funding since 1994. The American people are tired of seeing Washington spend their hard-earned money with reckless abandon. Protecting taxpayer dollars sometimes requires making tough choices. This isnt one of them."
Although it was the damning prostitution videoswhich explicitly showed ACORN workers giving advice on how to evade taxes set up a brothel and harbor underage immigrant girls as prostituteswhich prompted the quick vote ACORN already had a long history of corrupt and vile behavior.
In addition to pushing the very loose-lending policies which triggered the collapse of the housing market ACORN is also under investigation for voter registration fraud all across the country.
Among others states like Ohio Indiana Wisconsin Nevada New Mexico North Carolina and Missouri have each file charges.
Even the U.S. Census has already revoked its partnership agreement with ACORN for the official 2010 Census count in light of the prostitution scandals.
Following is just some of the media coverage of House GOP efforts to stop all federal funding for ACORN:
Republicans Try To Crush ACORN…Republican lawmakers are trying to crush this group that theyve long considered suspect. Just today: House Minority Leader John Boehner introduced
legislation the Defund ACORN Act to sever all ties between the federal government and the group. Boehner House Minority Whip Eric Cantor and GOP Rep. Dave Camp wrote the Internal Revenue Service a letter asking that agency to end its association with ACORN which helps low- and middle-income Americans with their tax preparations. And GOP Rep. Lamar Smith the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee called for the FBI and Justice Department to investigate the group."
MSNBCs First Read 9/15/09
On Tuesday the House Republican leader Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio wrote to President Obama asking him to cut off all federal financing to Acorn and its affiliates. It is evident that Acorn is incapable of using federal funds in a manner that is consistent with the law Mr. Boehner wrote."
The New York Times 9/16/09
GOP Seizes on ACORN Funding…Republican congressional leaders have launched an all-out campaign to choke off any federal dollars from going to ACORN the scandal-plagued anti-poverty
group. … After the Senate voted on Monday to bar any new federal money for ACORN the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now from the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other top Republicans began pressing President Barack Obama to use his executive authority to extend the ban to all federal agencies. … Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee called on the FBI and Justice Department to investigate the organization claiming voter registration fraud allegations have led ACORN to be subject to investigation in 15 states."
Politico 9/16/09
