Boehner Challenges HUD on New $17.2 Million Grant for ACORN

Release:

WASHINGTON, DC – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today sent a letter to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Steven Preston, urging him to protect taxpayers and withhold funding from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) until credible congressional oversight hearings are completed in a manner that clears the organization of wrongdoing. Boehner’s request follows last week’s announcement that NeighborWorks America, a government-created entity which directs tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to state housing agencies and nonprofit groups, has awarded two taxpayer-funded grants totaling $17.2 million to the group. In October, Boehner sent a letter to President Bush requesting that all federal funds be withheld from ACORN after the Associated Press reported that the scandal-tarnished organization was under investigation by the FBI for a “coordinated national scam” of voter registration fraud.

“ACORN is not an organization that should be subsidized by taxpayers’ hard-earned money,” Boehner wrote. “ACORN, which for years has been closely connected with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, appears to have played a key role in the irresponsible schemes that led to the recent financial meltdown that has already cost Americans trillions of dollars in the form of government bailouts and lost retirement savings. Congress has not yet held investigatory hearings to examine the details of ACORN’s involvement in these schemes. Until credible oversight hearings are conducted and completed in a manner that clears ACORN of wrongdoing, the organization should not receive taxpayer money.”

Earlier this year, Boehner released an analysis showing that ACORN already has received at least $31 million in federal funding from various federal agencies since 1998. This total does not count the untold millions more that ACORN has received indirectly through state and local agencies that receive federal block grants.

“I ask that you direct Federal Housing Commissioner Brian D. Montgomery, who serves on the board of directors of NeighborWorks with five other federal officials, to exercise his authority as a director to prevent the release of the funds awarded last week,” concluded Boehner. “The American people have a right to know that their tax dollars are being used responsibly by the federal government and those to whom it provides federal grants. Until such assurances are provided concerning ACORN through appropriate federal oversight and investigation, the organization should not receive another penny from American taxpayers.”

NOTE: Boehner’s letter today to Secretary Preston follows and is available here. The letter sent by Boehner to President Bush in October is available here.