| Congressional Ban Declared Unconstitutional
The federal court ruling appears to be quite straightforward, as many had expected:
House Ban on Acorn Grants Is Ruled Unconstitutional
By JANIE LORBER
WASHINGTON - The federal government must continue to provide grant money to the national community organizing group Acorn, a federal court ruled Friday, saying that the House violated the Constitution when it passed a resolution barring the group from receiving federal dollars.
A judge at the United States District Court in Brooklyn issued a preliminary injunction that nullifies the resolution and requires the government to honor existing contracts with the group and review its applications for new grants unless the Obama administration appeals the decision.
The court ruled that the resolution amounted to a "bill of attainder," a legislative determination of guilt without trial, because it specifically punishes one group.
That provision plays a crucial, but rarely necessary, role in maintaining the balance of powers, said Eric M. Freedman, a professor of constitutional law at Hofstra Law School. "It says that the Congress may not act as judge, jury and executioner. That is precisely what the Congress sought to do in this case, and the district court was entirely right to enjoin it."
In the opinion, Judge Nina Gershon wrote of Acorn, "They have been singled out by Congress for punishment that directly and immediately affects their ability to continue to obtain federal funding, in the absence of any judicial, or even administrative, process adjudicating guilt."
The Justice Department said it was still reviewing the ruling Friday night.
So, Obama might still want to keep fighting his allies. No longer news, really.
Progressive Leaders Support ACORN
Here are just a few of the statements of support.
Nan Aron, President, Alliance for Justice:
"We are pleased to see former Attorney General Harshbarger's recommendations to ACORN.
"This independent report serves as a valuable reminder that in barring ACORN from competing for federal contracts when no lawbreaking had occurred, Congress rushed to judgment and violated fundamental constitutional rights.
"Heavily doctored video footage that has never been released in its entirety was used to stampede Congress into a politically driven panic.
"Congress should now turn its attention to its real responsibilities -- including supporting America's nonprofit organizations that speak for the voiceless, make democracy work, and provide essential services in our communities' time of crisis."
Wade Henderson, President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights:
"We welcome today's report on ACORN from former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger. We're confident that the recommendations in the report will benefit ACORN and help restore public trust in this vital community service organization.
"The results of this independent investigation should also be a reminder to Congress, the media, and others who rushed to condemn ACORN before knowing all the facts. The real embarrassment here is the unwarranted persecution of a nonprofit organization that has worked diligently for nearly 40 years to improve the lives of America's poor and minority communities.
"Those who need ACORN and benefit from its unheralded work don't have TV and radio shows and aren't interested in scoring political points. They only want their fair shot at achieving the American dream. It's time to stop bashing ACORN and to help our fellow Americans achieve the economic justice they deserve."
Alan Charney, Program Director, USAction:
"Now that former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger has concluded his independent inquiry, we hope that ACORN will fix what needs to be fixed and move on to do the work that needs to be done. Hundreds of thousands of low-income homeowners still face the threat of home foreclosure. Millions more face the threat of job loss and catastrophic health care costs. For many low-income people, particularly including people of color and immigrants, ACORN's work is important and its voice is indispensable."
Robert L. Borosage, Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future:
"Today's report on ACORN from former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger provides a clear view of the controversy around ACORN. It concludes that ACORN needs to tighten internal procedures, and strengthen its management.
"Harshbarger also confirms what those who looked beyond the frenzy realized. ACORN's staffers committed no acts in response to the infamous secret video hit team - no acts legal or illegal. Instead, an organization that has done remarkable work organizing and empowering the poorest Americans was targeted and slurred by a right-wing hit team, then persecuted by legislators who should have known better. They should be ashamed to rush to judgment on the basis of videotapes that were clearly doctored and edited, even as the video team refuses to make the full tapes available.
"ACORN has a proud record of service empowering the most vulnerable. It has begun to reform its management and tighten its procedures. Now it is time to stop hunting ACORN - and time to shine light on the not-so-hidden agenda and disreputable tactics of those who have targeted ACORN for assault."
Eric Burns, President, Media Matters for America:
"This investigation, which confirms that there was no illegal conduct on the videotapes, introduces an entirely new element to conservative media's witch hunt against ACORN.
"It will be telling to see how much, or how little, coverage Andrew Breitbart, Glenn Beck, Fox News and other right-wing media leaders will devote to the results of this investigation. They did everything they could to push the fake story of widespread corruption at ACORN. Will they consider the truth to be as newsworthy?"
Report Recommendations
Here is a presentation of the report's nine recommendations from the executive summary:
ACORN's current leadership understands full well what must be done. If nothing else, the organization's recent crisis and turmoil has educated its leadership and staff about the importance of prevention.
With our recommendations in hand, ACORN now has a roadmap for reform. Our experience tells us that these recommendations, acted on with a sense of urgency, are crucial to reclaim, maintain and strengthen ACORN's ability to serve its members and constituents.
The following nine (9) recommendations, discussed in detail in Section VII, are neither an epitaph nor an absolution for ACORN, but are a roadmap to reform and renewal, if implemented in their entirety in concert with other measures to regain the public's trust.
1. ACORN should return its organizational focus to its core competency - community organizing and citizen engagement empowerment, with related services - and transition away from the provision of services that may be provided more effectively and efficiently by others.
2. ACORN should consolidate, simplify and centralize its local and national organizational staffing, monitoring and supervision.
3. ACORN should develop a simplified national organization and board structure consisting of just two entities - a 501(c)(3) for charitable, non-profit fundraising, advocacy and education with a majority of independent members, and a 501(c)(4) for support of ACORN community organization and political activity, with at least one-third independent members.
4. ACORN should continue to implement the comprehensive internal governance program and strategy, including internal controls, compliance and codes of ethics, designed to educate and guide staff, volunteers and board members, that was recommended and has been adopted within the past year.
5. ACORN should recruit an independent ethics officer and/or independent inspector general to oversee and implement the governance and compliance program at the national level, and an independent member of the national board should chair a board-level ethics and governance committee.
6. ACORN should hire an appropriately qualified and experienced chief operating and financial officer, comptroller and in-house auditing staff.
7. ACORN should continue to strengthen its legal capacity to guide its governance reforms, coordinate the dissolution of all extraneous ACORN organizations and represent the organization's interests in litigation and investigations.
8. ACORN should require all of its state and local affiliates to agree to oversight by the national staff and board, and to adhere to appropriate national standards, including financial audits, training and supervision.
9. ACORN should formalize a strong, independent national advisory group and charge it with the responsibility to report within six months, and thereafter annually for two years, to the national board on the progress of the reform action plan.
ACORN's transformation may succeed if its current leaders move rapidly to implement effective legal, best practices and appropriate regulatory compliance and governance systems. ACORN will then be in a position to regain and reinforce the trust and credibility required to successfully pursue a mission on which hundreds of thousands of citizens depend.
The roadmap for reform is clear, but it will not occur overnight and will require perseverance and patience.
Governance and Management--NOT The Bavarian Illuminati
Here's the section of the report on governance and management, which makes it quite clear that ACORN's organizational problems were the exact opposite of the conservative fantasy about ACORN:
FINDINGS: GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
As part of our investigation, we examined and evaluated ACORN's management, administration and governance. ACORN's governance and managerial weaknesses are deeply rooted in the policy and philosophy of the founder and his leadership team, and stem from the errors and poor judgments they made. The reform leadership, many of whom also served in the Rathke era, is now reaping what Rathke sowed, in combination with the fallout from their own failure to question or challenge him, and their inability to transform ACORN quickly and completely after taking over.
There is a general consensus among leaders, organizers and observers that, under the prior administration, ACORN grew too large too quickly, and efforts were not made to grow in a reasonable, cautious manner or with an adequate infrastructure. This growth applies to organizing and services, although the most dramatic growth occurred in instituting and expanding the services function within the past five years.
ACORN leadership at every level is thin (though ACORN would describe it as being "lean and mean"); the infrastructure needed to manage and oversee a sprawling federation has not been developed; and key policing mechanisms and staffing, such as a chief financial officer, or independent members of boards of trustees, have not been integrated into the organization. However, in the post-Rathke period, ACORN's leadership has made reforms in finances and governance a priority, including developing detailed bylaws, whistle-blower and documentretention policies, and implementing independent auditing, codes of conduct and ethics, uniform and basic human resources and employment policies, and intensive board education and selection criteria. These reforms are explained in more detail in Appendix C.
This focus, however, has not yet been matched by a similar attention to key management, human resources and field operation functions, creating vulnerabilities for the entire organization. Most local offices still tend to be overly influenced by the person running that office, largely due to the organization's informal and loose operational structure. Supervision also appears to be ad-hoc, if not lax, in part due to a continued belief that minimal infrastructure is the best way to maximize the resources that go to the individuals served by the organization. Employees routinely are charged with responsibilities beyond their experience. In addition, promotions appear to be awarded based on effective organizing, not on management, skills.
City and state organizers are expected not only to oversee organizing functions, but also to oversee the services that ACORN provides to its members. However, many organizers acknowledge that they lack a passion for or interest in service programs, or are not trained to supervise services and often rely on others to perform these functions.
Findings About The Videos
Here are is the list of key findings about the videos:
Based on our investigation, we offer the following comments:
1. Three of the six videos - Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. - involved only ACORN Housing employees, over which ACORN has no control.
2. The released videos offer no evidence of a pattern of illegal conduct by ACORN employees. In fact, out of the three videos involving ACORN employees, at least two involve extenuating circumstances.
3. The ACORN employees captured on video were members or part-time staff. They were not organizers or supervisory level employees.
4. None of the individuals captured on video consented to being video- or audiotaped, and four of the states where the videos were recorded appear to prohibit such taping without consent.
5. In offices where the videographers spoke with organizers, videos were not released.
6. Police reports regarding the video incidents were filed in Philadelphia and San Diego.
7. The released videos were edited or manipulated by the videographers and/or individual(s) acting on their behalf.
8. There is no evidence that any action, illegal or otherwise, was taken by ACORN employees on behalf of the videographers.
9. Experienced forensic investigators would be able to determine the extent to which the released videos have been manipulated to distort, rather than merely shape, the facts and the conversations, as ACORN alleges.
Viewed from the perspective of managerial oversight, the videos stand as a symbol of ACORN's organizational and supervisory weakness. The disparate ways in which ACORN staff handled the videographers' visits highlight the organization's failure to deploy best practices at the grassroots level to ensure proper screening and intake processes, supervision and training. In addition, ACORN itself failed to adequately investigate the totality of the circumstances of the visits prior to taking action against its own employees and, hence, was in no position to defend itself.
Final Comment
There are two points I would like to make in conclusion. One is that "too rapid growth" was cited as one of ACORN's problems. I have no reason to dispute that. But why did that happen? Simply from informal observation, I would have to say that the answer is, there's a tremendous unmet need out there--a need for both services and for effective political representation. Those at the top have an over-abundance of both. Those that are not are starved for both.
The second is simply to repeat what I've stated several times: ACORN's real problems stem not from being the all-powerful super-secret top-down organization of Glenn Beck's fevered imagination. They stem from the exact opposite--from being too poorly organized and overseen.
This is precisely the same sort of problem that ACORN encountered with voter registration problems, although such problems are more controllable in other areas than they are in voter registration drives, where such problems are likely to persist even if ACORN successfully implements all nine recommended reforms. Some struggles are necessarily messy. The way to avoid that particular mess is for federal law to completely transform the nature of voting, making registration virtually universal and hassle free. |
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