Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Final Crackdown   [Robert Costa]

For years, ACORN has been ladled federal funds by its friend on the Hill. Now, congressional Republicans are working to snip the unseemly relationship, bill by bill. On Tuesday, Sen. Mike Johanns (R., Neb.) gained unanimous support for his amendment to block ACORN from any spillover cash in the defense-appropriations bill. It was the third time this month that Johanns won Senate approval for legislation barring ACORN from taxpayer dollars. Good news, since the Washington Post reports that the bill contains “billions in earmarks.”

Across the Capitol in the House, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R., Kans.) has devised another way to crackdown on ACORN: end its tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (Watch his floor speech about it here.) Tiahrt’s recommendation comes a week after the IRS decided to break its partnership with the community-organizing group, after years of working together to provide free tax advice to low-income Americans.

Tiahrt tells NRO that the IRS must do more than abandon its ACORN tax-advice program. “The IRS must stop giving ACORN special tax treatment,” he says. “ACORN is using its tax-exempt status for corrupt purposes.” Here is the text of the resolution Tiahrt is bringing before the House:

Whereas in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, seven employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (commonly referred to as ‘‘ACORN’’) were charged with filing hundreds of fraudulent voter registrations before the 2008 elections;

Whereas in 2009 in West Reading, Pennsylvania, an ACORN employee was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison for identity theft and tampering with records;

Whereas in September 2009 in Miami, Florida, 11 former ACORN registration canvassers were arrested on allegations that they had submitted nearly 200 falsified registration forms;

Whereas Washington State fined ACORN $25,000 after several employees were convicted of voter registration fraud in 2007;

Whereas in 2007 four ACORN employees were indicted in Kansas City, Missouri, for charges including identity theft and filing false registrations during the 2006 election;

Whereas in Colorado in January 2005, two Colorado ACORN workers were sentenced to community service for submitting false voter registrations;

Whereas in Ohio in 2004, four ACORN employees were indicted by a Federal grand jury for submitting false voter registration forms;

Whereas in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, election officials estimate that ACORN submitted at least 1,500 fraudulent registrations in fall 2008;

Whereas Citizens Consulting, Inc., the umbrella group controlling ACORN, was paid $832,000 by the Obama for America Campaign of 2008 for get-out-the-vote efforts;

Whereas several other jurisdictions have also had concerns about ACORN’s fraudulent voter registration procedures, and there are an estimated 14 ongoing investigations around the country;

Whereas most recently hidden camera investigations of ACORN offices in New York, Baltimore, and Washington, District of Columbia showed workers giving advice on how to evade taxes and conceal the nature of their illegal business;

Whereas ACORN has received more than $53 million in direct funding from the Federal Government since 1994; and

Whereas it is clear that ACORN has violated the spirit of entities afforded tax exempt status and should no longer be considered as such: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (commonly referred to as ‘‘ACORN’’) should lose its ex emption from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

“This is a long track record,” says Tiahrt. “This long series of illegal activity worries me and many Americans. I don’t think it’s the grand total of ACORN’s illegal activities, either. For now, I’m looking for co-signers, and hopefully will be able to find many soon.”

“This may not be the only way of addressing the ACORN problem, but I think this is a good way of going about it. Bill by bill is fine, but since the problems are so widespread, we have to end their tax-exempt status, period. This is part of what needs to occur. A hearing process would be good, but I don’t think that would occur under the current Democratic leadership.”

Tiahrt tells us that he has been actively following the ACORN case since alleged wrongdoings were first revealed by journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles on Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com. Since those video investigations were published, O’Keefe and Giles have been sued by ACORN. Tiahrt says ACORN made a “big mistake” with its lawsuit.

“I think the discovery process will reveal more of their problems,” he says. “This is an exercise in trying to get the truth out in an open society.”

09/30 05:15 PMShare