Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today criticized the Department of Homeland Security’s “profound lack of judgment” in awarding $1 million in taxpayer dollars to ACORN. According to media reports, the funds authorized by Congress were intended for firefighters across the country.
Ranking Member Smith issued the following statement:
“It is inexcusable that federal funds, allocated by Congress to Homeland Security to help protect Americans, have been awarded to an organization under scrutiny for possible criminal conduct. The obvious reaction of ‘what were they thinking’ doesn’t quite cover the profound lack of judgment on the part of Administration officials in this case. This calls into question whether the Administration reviews the criminal records of organizations before awarding them with taxpayer dollars.
“Congress has waited far too long to address allegations against ACORN, and far too many taxpayer dollars have already been awarded to the organization. It’s time for Democrats in Congress to schedule hearings and get to the bottom of ACORN’s abuse of federal funding. And the Department of Homeland Security should provide Congress with a full accounting of any funds that have been allocated to ACORN in the last year.
“Until ACORN has proven to the American people that it can be trusted again, no taxpayer dollars should be awarded to the organization. That’s why both Houses of Congress—with strong bipartisan support—voted to cut off federal funding to ACORN. The President should listen to Congress’ intent and ensure that no federal agency provides ACORN with funds until all investigations have concluded.”
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