SACking ACORN

Taxpayers in the 19th District are fed up with the corrupt organizations their tax dollars have supported. It’s time for this liberal Congress to stop protecting ACORN and end all misuse of public funds. Yesterday, I became a cosponsor of the Suspend ACORN Certification (SAC) Act, a bill aimed at preventing the misuse of public resources designated for federally-approved housing counseling activities.

Currently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lists ACORN as a certified, accredited housing counseling agency, allowing it to access federal counseling grants and leverage other state, local, and private resources using their “HUD-approved” status.

The IRS and Census Bureau have already cut ties with ACORN, and I believe it’s time for HUD to do the same.

In the past ACORN has been linked to voter fraud and most recently, ACORN employees were accused of providing criminal tax evasion advice. Despite these accusations, ACORN still retains its HUD certification.

The SAC Act would suspend HUD certification and funding of housing counseling activities under ACORN and its affiliates pending a comprehensive audit by the HUD Inspector General. The audit would examine the use of HUD funds by ACORN and its affiliates – including state chapters and organizations sharing staff, directors, and finances.

An organization like ACORN doesn’t deserve public funding. We need to ensure that there are guidelines set in place to investigate groups like ACORN that have been involved in shady businesses. As your representative in Congress, I will continue to fight to make sure this organization and others like it stop receiving your hard-earned tax dollars.