Senate Votes to Block Federal Aid for Acorn

The U.S. Senate voted Monday to bar the nonprofit advocacy group Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, or Acorn, from receiving money in a federal spending bill, according to The Times-Picayune, in New Orleans.

The Senate’s 83-to-7 vote on the measure was the latest in a series of bad news for the organization, which champions the needs for low- and moderate-income families.

Acorn, which was accused by the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, during last year’s presidential campaign of voter-registration irregularities, is facing new charges of voter registration fraud in Florida. A recent Fox TV news report showed, via hidden cameras, Acorn employees giving tax advice to individuals who posed as a pimp and a prostitute.

And last week, the U.S. Census Bureau announced it would no longer work in partnership with Acorn in promoting next year’s census. A census representative said Acorn had “become a distraction from our mission and may even become a discouragement to public cooperation.”