U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) today announced his support for legislation prohibiting organizations that have been indicted for violations of state or federal election laws, or employs people who have, from accessing taxpayer dollars through Department of Housing and Urban Development programs. 

 

The Taxpayer Protection and Anti-Fraud Act will protect taxpayers against groups like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) which has submitted thousands of fraudulent voter registrations to county election boards across Missouri and elsewhere. In fact, ACORN has come under fire from federal law enforcement agencies for illegal practices in 11 states and over the past several years more than a dozen ACORN workers have been charged with election fraud in Missouri.

 

“Groups like ACORN are a known threat to our democratic system of government and taxpayers should not be picking up the tab for these groups that regularly engage in serious and proven illegal activity,” Luetkemeyer said.  “Easy access to taxpayer dollars has allowed ACORN to fund these fraudulent activities for years. It is my duty to taxpayers to close the door to federal funding on groups that have violated the public trust.”

Since 1997, ACORN has received more than $53 million in direct federal funding – and all the while it and its employees have been investigated, and often charged, with voter registration fraud. The indictments come from Republican and Democrat prosecutors just doing their job to uphold the law in more than a dozen states across the country including Missouri.