New Mexico Nonprofit Group Under Investigation
August 27, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
The federal government will investigate the finances of a nonprofit group in New Mexico that promotes abstinence through sex-education training, reports The Albuquerque Tribune.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services will look into how Best Choice spent $1.9-million in federal and state grants under its former executive director, Kevin Jackson.
Mr. Jackson was fired from Best Choice and resigned as mayor of Rio Rancho in May after accusations that he double-billed vacations and other purchases to both the city and the charity. The article did not give Mr. Jackson’s response to the accusations.
This investigation comes as Congress debates the future of programs that promote abstinence.
President Bush has championed such programs since his election in 2000, and in its version of the federal budget the House of Representatives recently agreed to increase spending on them by $27-million, to $141-million. However, in its budget, the Senate cut abstinence programs by $25-million to $85-million.
