Revised November 23, 2009 - Scroll Down For Video

Rep. Steve King, (R) Iowa is still pushing for an official investigation of ACORN but committee chairmen are blocking the progress. It would seem that House Judiciary Chairman, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) would certainly move the process forward. He originally seemed to favor an investigation but is now using the on-again-off-again game as a delaying tactic.

In March Conyers suggested a probe.
On June 22, he was the keynote speaker at an ACORN convention.
In July, he dropped the idea of investigating the organization.
In September, he once again called for a probe.
And now, according to Rep. King, Conyers is again delaying the process.

Even more disgusting are the actions of Chairman of the House Constitution Committee, Jerold Nadler, (D- NY) who, according the The Villager, has been giving advice to ACORN's attorney. (Shouldn't he be asked to resign?)

The community organizing group, ACORN, filed a federal lawsuit on November 12 claiming they have a right your money. According to AP, ACORN has been cut off by not just the government but by banks and most of its private foundation funding sources. This has severely hampered its housing operations and raises the possibility that it will not survive in its current form, claims the suit.  

The document also claims that Congress' decision to drop all funding to the group and its affiliates was unconstitutional because it punitively targeted an individual organization. Read a pdf of the Acorn lawsuit.

Congressman Steve King, who fortunately for taxpayers, continues the good fight, emphasizes that Congress has a right to fund or not fund whomever. Considering ACORN operates like organized crime, I can't help wondering what Bobby Kennedy would do.

Here's what you can do. Contact your representatives now. Click here for e-mails and fax numbers.Then click on a name for e-mail. This will send you to an e-mail form on the member's web site or simply provide an e-mail address for your own email program.

Watch Steve King's recent comments on Fox News then scroll down for information about Acorn's internal investigation.


First published on November 6 - The Internal Acorn Investigation

Henry Cisneros worked with Acorn when he was HUD Secretary and as Mayor of San Antonio. We asked him recently about the internal investigation being conducted by former Massachusetts Attorney General, Scott Harshbarger, and about the future of Acorn. Cisneros said the future of the organization was an open question. He also felt that the problems were related to the complexity of the subjects Acorn dealt with and not its rate of growth.

Cisneros, Executive Chairman of Cityview, is a member of the ACORN Advisory Council that also includes John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress, a Soros funded organization; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Board Member, RFK Foundation, former MD Lt. Governor; Andrew Stern, International President, Service Employees International Union that has close ties to Acorn; John Banks, registered lobbyist for Consolidated Edison; Eric Eve, Senior VP of Global Consumer Group, Community Relations, part of Citigroup; Harvey Hirschfeld, President, Lawcash, a company promoting more affordable "ethical legal funding;" and Dave Beckwith, Executive Director, The Needmor Fund, a Toledo community organizing group.

Harshbarger, who is now an attorney with Boston law firm, Proskauer Rose LLP,  specializes in corporate defense and investigations. In a released statement he said, "I have been asked by the leadership of ACORN to conduct an independent and comprehensive inquiry and review of the management of its service to communities. The CEO and Board have also asked me to make a full report, including recommendations for restoring ACORN's full capacities to carry out its mission on behalf of low and moderate income families."

Carrying out its mission may be more difficult as the financial noose tightens around ACORN. Amendments were added to the Department of the Interior, Department of Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills for fiscal year 2010 that would ban ACORN from receiving funds appropriated through these bills.  These amendments were agreed to and included in their respective underlying appropriations bills when each passed the Senate.

Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) comments on his Senate web site, "While these amendments are a positive step to prevent numerous federal agencies from funding ACORN out of their budgets for fiscal year 2010, broader legislation is required to ensure that ACORN has received its last penny of taxpayer-provided funding.  For this reason, I cosponsored S. 1687, the “Protect Taxpayers From ACORN Act,” which would prohibit the federal government from providing any federal funds to, or engaging in activities that promote, ACORN."

Read the full text of S.1687, sponsored by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE). In addition to Shelby, other co-sponsors include Sen Barrasso, John (WY), Sen Bennett, Robert F. (UT), Sen Brownback, Sam (KS), Sen Bunning, Jim (KY), Sen Burr, Richard (NC), Sen Chambliss, Saxby (GA), Sen Crapo, Mike (ID), Sen DeMint, Jim (SC), Sen Ensign, John (NV), Sen Enzi, Michael B. (WY), Sen Graham, Lindsey (SC), Sen Gregg, Judd (NH), Sen Hatch, Orrin G. (UT), Sen Hutchison, Kay Bailey (TX), Sen Inhofe, James M. (OK), Sen Isakson, Johnny (GA), Sen Risch, James E. (ID), Sen Roberts, Pat (KS), Sen Thune, John (SD), Sen Vitter, David (LA), and Sen Voinovich, George V. (OH).  Remember that although this bills is on the Senate calendar, the controlling party can determine when or if the bill is presented for a vote.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) have formally
requested the Congressional Research Service provide a “clear and objective analysis” of the “charges and counter charges” that have recently been levied against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. This request came after some implied that the denial of Federal funds may be unconstitutional.

And what about the House Oversight Committee Report on ACORN almost four months ago?  The report was released in July by Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Issa's GOP colleagues. Issa stated, "This report is about getting to the truth and when there are significant accusations and questions outstanding regarding an organization that has benefited from millions of taxpayer dollars, those questions should be answered and the truth should be brought to light."  

The report summary says ACORN provided contributions of financial and personnel resources to indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod
Blagojevich, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and candidate Obama, among others, in what the report calls a scheme to use taxpayer money to support a partisan political agenda, which would be a clear violation of numerous tax and election laws.

And remember both the Senate and the House passed separate bills to defund Acorn on September 14 and September 17 respectively? House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has refused to call for a reconciliation. Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., refused to hold a Senate hearing on ACORN's activities claiming that additional investigations might distract lawmakers from addressing more important matters, including health care and economic recovery.

Watch for the release of the ACORN internal investigation expected toward the end of November according to Mr. Cisneros.