PrintDecember 1, 2009
Eric Holder, ACORN, and Cloward-Piven Justice
Current law prohibits the community organization ACORN and its associated groups from receiving any federal funds from any federal law currently on the books. However, the Eric Holder Justice Department has interpreted the law as allowing federal agencies to pay ACORN for "binding contractual obligations" made before the current prohibition was enacted. This questionable interpretation may go a long way toward neutralizing ACORN's funding prohibition.The actual ban reads as follows: "None of the funds made available from this joint resolution or any other prior Act may be provided to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries or allied organizations." (Emphasis added.)The Justice Department claims the phrase "provided to" is unclear and "has no established meaning in appropriations law." Justice cites terms more frequently used, such as "obligate" and...(Read Full Article)
