Your Move Mr. Holder: ACORN Received $200,000 From Justice Department

From The Hill:

ACORN and its affiliates received $200,000 in Justice Department grants between 2002 and 2009, according a report issued today by the department’s Inspector General.

No DOJ grants went directly to ACORN, but a handful of grants were awarded either to ACORN affiliates or to other organizations that sub-contracted with ACORN.

The report, requested by House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), also found a few instances of ACORN mismanagement of federally contracted work.

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN fraud, ACORN Institute, ACORN Investigation, acorn scandal
Posted Nov 20th 2009 at 12:44 pm in ACORN, Justice/Legal, News, Obama, Politics | 34382114 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/11/20/report-acorn-received-200000-from-justice-department/Your+Move+Mr.+Holder%3A+ACORN+Received+%24200%2C000+From+Justice+Department2009-11-20+19%3A44%3A32Publius

FEMA Grant to ACORN is Offensive

Earlier this month and despite the public scrutiny over the voter fraud and felony criminal activity associated with ACORN, the Department of Homeland Security went ahead and granted $997,402 to ACORN under the FY 2008 Fire Prevention and Safety Program. 

To most people, the timing and the amount of the grant would seem off base, but when you take into account the fact that DHS awarded ACORN–an organization with no clear expertise in fire safety and prevention–a fire prevention and safety grant, it’s just plain offensive.

With fire departments all over Louisiana – and the rest of the country – struggling to make ends meet and get the equipment and training they need to protect their local communities, the idea of a million dollar grant going to ACORN is unsettling, to say the least. 

I’ve had grave reservations about ACORN for some time, and over the past year we’ve seen numerous examples of serious allegations of wrongdoing on the part of this organization and its employees across the country.  I simply can’t see the logic behind diverting much needed funding from worthy fire departments to this organization.

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN Institute, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, Janet Napolitano
Posted Sep 29th 2009 at 1:03 pm in ACORN, Congress, Featured Story, News, Politics | 10314274 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dvitter/2009/09/29/fema-grant-to-acorn-is-offensive/FEMA+Grant+to+ACORN+is+Offensive2009-09-29+20%3A03%3A47Sen.+David+Vitter+%28R-LA%29

Exclusive: FEMA Awards Fire Prevention Grant to ACORN

Just a few weeks ago, on September 4th, FEMA handed over $1 million to the ACORN Institute, an ACORN affiliate in New Orleans. The grant is for “fire prevention.” You can find the grant here. Virtually every other organization receiving “fire prevention” grants is a fire deparment or medical facility.

Here’s some background on ACORN Institute:

An affiliate of ACORN, the ACORN Institute, has been a participant in the IRS tax assistance program. The institute prides itself as a one-stop shopping service for low-income households seeking free benefits. In addition to tax preparation, it also provides information on how to secure government aid and to prevent mortgage foreclosure. Among the ACORN Institute’s partners are Citigroup, H&R Block and the Marguerite Casey Foundation. If even many Democrats in Congress are embarrassed by their history of support for ACORN, surely these entities can be as well.

Unclear what any of that has to do with “fire prevention.” According to FEMA, anyone with questions about the grants is urged to contact them at 1-866-274-0960, or via email at firegrants@dhs.gov.

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN Institute, FEMA, fire prevention
Posted Sep 29th 2009 at 11:17 am in ACORN, Congress, Exclusives, Featured Story | 1026660 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2009/09/29/exclusivefema-awards-fire-prevention-grant-to-acorn/Exclusive%3A+FEMA+Awards+Fire+Prevention+Grant+to+ACORN2009-09-29+18%3A17%3A04Capitol++Confidential