September 16, 2009 | House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) | Permalink
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 organization’s ties to the federal
government, including: - 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.
- 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).
Leader Boehner talked about
House Republicans’ renewed efforts to ensure no additional tax dollars
are directed to ACORN in a newly released web video: Rank-and-file House Democrats have clearly begun to get the message: the New York Post
has Rep. Michael McMahon’s (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. Of course, there’s nothing unusual about the hedging and the silence and the inaction. In his Wall Street Journal column today, John Fund detailed the lengths to which Democratic leaders have gone to protect ACORN: | “Acorn’s 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 Acorn’s access to federal funds but has been blocked by
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hand-picked Rules Committee members. Some
Democrats have grumbled. Michigan’s 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.’” (9/16/09) |
As Leader Boehner said in his web video, “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 isn’t one of them.
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 they’ve 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.” – MSNBC’s 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
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