Taxpayer Monies Illegally Funding ACORN Affiliate

September 19, 2011 by da Tagliare

In 2010, a federal law was passed making it illegal to use taxpayer monies to fund the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or any organization with ties to ACORN. Yet this August, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA) a $300,000 grant.

AHCOA was previously named Acorn Housing Corporation and still occupies the same Chicago office and address. They are also using the same Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number to apply for and receive taxpayer funded grants. DUNS numbers are unique to specific organizations and location. For AHCOA to be legally using the same DUNS code, it legally has to be the same organization.

However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled that AHCOA separated itself from ACORN and that under the law is no longer considered to be an affiliate or allied with ACORN and therefore can legally apply for and receive taxpayer monies.

According to the executive director or the Freedom Through Justice Foundation, Dan Epstein, the GAO’s interpretation of the law is ‘twisted’, saying: