Two bills have been introduced into the US House of Representatives that we feel you should support and ask your representatives to support also.  H.R. 3571 (the Defund ACORN Act), and H.R. 3679, the Against Corporations Organizing to Rip-off the Nation Act of 2009 (ACORN Act).

HR 3571 (Defund ACORN Act) states that the federal government is prohibited from funding "Any organization that has been indicted for a violation under any Federal or State law governing the financing of a campaign for election for public office...Any organization that has filed a fraudulent form with any Federal or State regulatory agency...", and we believe that this should pass WITHOUT AMENDMENT.

HR 3679 (The ACORN Act) is modeled after H.R. 3571 but respects the Constitution by requiring a corporation to be guilty of a felony before federal funds are cut off. The bill:

• Prohibits a corporation with a felony conviction from receiving any federal contracts, grants, or funds in any form for five years after the conviction.
• Prohibits federal employees or contractors from promoting corporate felons for five years.
• Prohibits corporate felons or any applicable individual from contributing to a candidate for federal office, to a political party, or to a federal political action committee for five years.
• Limits the corporation or any applicable individual to no more than $1 million annually for lobbying Congress or federal officials for a 5 year period.
• Provides presidential waiver authority if federal contracts, grants, and other agreements with corporate felons are determined to be in the national interest.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has been a target for years, with desperate attempts to discredit, disparage and defund their activities in support of poorer communities, and in their attempts to extend the franchise to some who would not otherwise vote in elections.

We, ourselves, do not find ACORN at fault for the illegal taping of their employees and the statements that those employees made.  We DO feel that if ACORN is held accountable for actions that they did not take and illegalities that they did not commit, then those in the defense industry and other government contractors that have been CONVICTED of those crimes should likewise be held accountable.

We ask you to contact your representatives and encourage them to support BOTH bills!

Subject: Defund Fraud, Waste and Abuse

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I ask that you support HR 3571 and vote for it WITHOUT AMENDMENT. I also ask that you support and vote for HR 3679 to insure that crooks and crooked organizations will no longer be able to defraud the government and waste taxpayers money through abuses of federal contracts.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]