State Rep. says No to ACORN

A Pennsylvania State Representative is looking to cut off all state money from the activist group ACORN. Rep. Stephen Barrar of Delaware County has tagged every state fiscal code bill with an amendment that would prohibit the state from directly sending money to ACORN and it would prevent lawmakers from using their Community Economic Development Fund grants, or WAMS, to support the organization. Barrar says he has been working on this issue for years and has had a resolution pending since June that would call on the PA Attorney General’s office to investigate the practices of the group. He says the house leadership has been reluctant to call the measure but he feels the recent media coverage of an ACORN worker advising a woman posing as a prostitute on how to hide income by among other things writing off clothing expenses, may give him the momentum he needs. He says lawmakers from across the state will start to feel pressure back home to stop any funding for ACORN and investigate their practices. He says he feels the only no votes will come from those who represent districts in Philadelphia. Barrar says he has been called a racist for his anti ACORN campaign but he says that is not true. He notes that several other states have launched investigations into the group and that President Barack Obama now says he favors an investigation into the groups practices.