Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann. Proudly Serving the 6th District of Minnesota

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Washington, D.C., Apr 29 - Today, the House Financial Services Committee passed an amendment offered by U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (MN-06) that would keep organizations that are under indictment for voter fraud or other criminal activities, or that employ people indicted for such crimes, from being eligible for the housing counseling grants and legal assistance grants authorized under the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.

“Before we commit anymore taxpayers’ dollars, I want to ensure that organizations, such as ACORN, are prohibited from receiving funds while simultaneously facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations.  Although I do not support the underlying legislation, I am pleased that the Committee took these measures to provide some layer of protection for taxpayers,” said Bachmann.

According to recent testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, ACORN has been under investigation in some states for, among other things:

• “Violations of the Internal Revenue Code as a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization for intervening in partisan campaign activities;

• “Violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) which prohibits expenditures by non-profit corporations, including ACORN and Project Vote, that are made in coordination with, at the request, behest, suggestion or with the material involvement of a federal campaign; and

• “Fraudulent voter registration activities, failure to comply with state law in voter registration drives, absence of quality control and training, and the internal procedures as to how ACORN responds to allegations of illegality.”

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