GOP pressures Obama, IRS to sever Acorn ties

From POLITICO

By Glenn Thrush September 15, 2009 The House GOP leadership wants President Obama and the IRS to sever the services' ties with Acorn after an expose showed Acorn staffers with the group's low-income tax prep service offering advice to clients posing as a youth prostitution ring. The IRS letter calls on Commissioner Douglas Shulman "to sever all ties... Currently, ACORN serves as partner with the IRS to assist low and middle class individuals with free tax preparation." The leaders, including Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and GOP Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) pointed to recent comments by Ron Smith, IRS Chief of Community and Volunteer Partnership, that "ACORN has had the most significant growth of all of our national partners." In their letter to Obama, the leaders cite the Census bureau's decision to cut ties, adding: "It is evident that ACORN is incapable of using federal funds in a manner that is consistent with the law. Immediate action is necessary to ensure that no additional tax dollars are directed to ACORN. Simply put, ACORN should not receive another penny of American taxpayers’ money." [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]