[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22835-22836]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2030
                            HISTORIC MOMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, you know, people often come up and say we are 
at an historic moment. Every moment is a part of history because at 
some time what we are doing is going to be recorded but we really are 
at another defining moment in American history here this week and this 
weekend.
  And the American people need to know that House Republicans are 
fighting for the right values and for what 99 percent of Americans have 
been telling us for the past week. I am also happy to report that most 
House Republicans agreed with their constituents even before they began 
hearing from their constituents, and that's a good thing for the 
American people to know because that means our resolve is even stronger 
than it would have been if some of our Members had been of a different 
mind but changed their mind once they started hearing from their 
constituents.
  House Republicans are fighting to ensure that the rescue bill, the 
economic rescue bill doesn't give a blank check to Wall Street at the 
expense of taxpayers on Main Street. People have been calling me all 
day today. I had a call just before I came on the floor asking me are 
we all right. I am here to reassure the American people that from our 
side of the aisle we are all right. We are doing fine, and we are 
standing strong. And I think it is very important that we say that.
  But I think also we need to say what some of the specific things we 
are fighting for and we are fighting against. We are fighting to make 
sure that we don't slide into socialism in this country. And we are 
fighting against the special interests, the pork barrel and the very 
groups that helped get us into the situation that we are in now. I want 
to say that we are working hard to get out of any bill that is 
presented here that has pork barrel provisions added by the Democrats, 
that would reward the people who support them and give them all their 
money.
  Let me talk about three of those groups. Number one, the trial 
lawyers. Believe it or not, the Democrats have figured out a way to put 
into this economic recovery bill a great gift to the trial lawyers, and 
that is something that is called around here a cram down provision.
  It would allow people who don't think their mortgage rate is fair to 
go to a bankruptcy judge and ask that bankruptcy judge to change the 
conditions of their mortgage. That is an abomination. But what it would 
do is give a lot of work to trial lawyers. We have said there is a 
marker here, we will not vote for any economic recovery plan that is 
going to do that because it would undermine the effectiveness of any 
economic recovery effort by making it even harder to value these 
securities.
  There is another gift in the draft presented by the Democrats to big 
labor. This gives Washington's powerful big labor bosses a big handout 
by having them have ``say on pay'' or proxy access provisions that the 
Democrats have added to this.
  And then a group that people have asked me about ACORN. There is a 
big gift in here to that group. It includes a giveaway that would force 
taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund to a discredited ally of the 
Democratic Party. ACORN's fraudulent voter registration activities on 
behalf of Democratic candidates are well known.
  This bill that the Democrats have presented would return any profits 
made in the long term from the economic rescue package partly back to 
ACORN. In fact, the first part of it would go to ACORN for their often-
illegal help in helping Democrats get elected.
  I have, Mr. Speaker, a long list of their most recent scandals and 
unlawful activities. Seven ACORN workers were charged with committing 
the biggest voter registration fraud in Washington State history. That 
was from the Seattle Times.
  Another article from the Wall Street Journal, ``Late last year, a 
handful of ACORN canvassers in Washington State admitted that they had 
falsified voter registrations by illegally filling out hundreds of 
forms with names such as Dennis Hastert, Leon Spinks and Fruito Boy 
Crispila.''
  I don't have time in the short time I have available to read all of 
these excerpts from articles, but I would like to put them all in the 
Record.
  Mr. Speaker, I want the American people to know, Republicans are 
fighting for you.

       ``ACORN is a long-time advocacy group with whom Obama was 
     once associated. Recently, though, ACORN workers in two 
     states have pleaded guilty to election fraud, an unlikely 
     recipient of federal largess.'' Fox News Report, 9/26/08.
       ``Seven ACORN workers were charged with `committing the 
     biggest voter-registration fraud in [Washington] state 
     history.' '' The Seattle Times, 7/26/07.

[[Page 22836]]

       ACORN workers submitted ``just over 1,800 new voter 
     registration forms, but there was a problem. The names were 
     made up--all but six of the 1,800 submissions were fakes... 
     The ACORN workers told state investigators that they went to 
     the Seattle public library, sat at a table and filled out the 
     voter registration forms. They made up names, addresses, and 
     Social Security numbers and in some cases plucked names from 
     the phone book. One worker said it was a lot of hard work 
     making up all those names and another said he would sit at 
     home, smoke marijuana and fill out the forms.'' Fox News 
     Channel, 5/02/08.
       ``Late last year, a handful of ACORN canvassers in 
     Washington state admitted that they had falsified voter 
     registrations by illegally filling out hundreds of forms with 
     names such as Dennis Hastert, Leon Spinks and Fruito Boy 
     Crispila.'' Wall Street Journal, 7/31/08.
       ``Eight workers for a get-out-the-vote effort in St. Louis 
     city and county have pleaded guilty to federal election fraud 
     for submitting false registration cards for the 2006 
     election, authorities said today. The workers were employed 
     by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now 
     (ACORN), gathering voter registrations.'' Associated Press, 
     4/02/08.
       ``Acorn has had a number of missteps. This month its 
     founder, Wade Rathke, resigned after news emerged that his 
     brother Dale had embezzled nearly $1 million from Acorn and 
     affiliated groups eight years ago--information the group kept 
     from law-enforcement authorities and most members. Dale 
     Rathke left the organization only last month.'' Wall Street 
     Journal, 7/31/08.
       So how exactly will ACORN be rewarded if the Democrats get 
     their way? Very simple: behind closed doors, ACORN-friendly 
     language was slipped into the Democratic economic rescue 
     proposal by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-
     CT) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney 
     Frank (D-MA). Take a look:
       Transfer of a percentage of profits.
       1. Deposits. Not less than 20 percent of any profit 
     realized on the sale of each troubled asset purchased under 
     this Act shall be deposited as provided in paragraph (2).
       2. Use of deposits. Of the amount referred to in paragraph 
     (1)
       1. 65 percent shall be deposited into the Housing Trust 
     Fund established under section 1338 of the Federal Housing 
     Enterprises Regulatory Reform Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); 
     and
       2. 35 percent shall be deposited into the Capital Magnet 
     Fund established under section 1339 of that Act (12 U.S.C. 
     4569).
       Remainder deposited in the Treasury. All amounts remaining 
     after payments under paragraph (1) shall be paid into the 
     General Fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public 
     debt.
       What does this mean? The Wall Street Journal breaks it down 
     in an editorial published today:
       ``What we have here essentially are a pair of government 
     slush funds created in July as part of the Economic Recovery 
     Act that pump tax dollars into the coffers of low-income 
     housing advocacy groups, such as Acorn.''
       ``Acorn, one of America's most militant left-wing 
     `community activist groups,' is spending $16 million this 
     year to register Democrats to vote in November. In the past 
     several years, Acorn's voter registration programs have come 
     under investigation in Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri and 
     Washington, while several of their employees have been 
     convicted of voter fraud...''
       That's right. Rather than returning any profits made in the 
     long-term from the economic rescue package, Democrats want to 
     first reward their radical allies at ACORN for their help--
     often illegal help--in getting Democrats elected to office. 
     Families, seniors, small businesses, and all American 
     taxpayers deserve better than what Democratic leaders are 
     attempting to jam down their throats.
       The rescue package should not become a ``Christmas tree'' 
     for the Democratic Majority's far-left wing political agenda 
     that seeks to shower taxpayer dollars upon groups like ACORN. 
     On behalf of beleaguered taxpayers across the nation, House 
     Republicans will continue to fight to remove the ACORN 
     payback and any other Democratic poison-pills from the 
     economic rescue package.

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