Opinion
Editorial: Soros poised for payback on his political investment
August 28, 2008
It’s bad enough that American taxpayers have to bail out the privately owned, tax-exempt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But it’s truly outrageous that tax dollars will also go to support activist groups involved in voter fraud and illegal immigration.
According to House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., the small print in the $42 billion bailout bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush requires these two government-sponsored mortgage giants to deposit 4.2 percent of all new mortgages they underwrite into the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that will be $531 million in fiscal 2009 alone.
Here’s the catch. Bachmann warns that the trust fund — the largest expansion of federal housing assistance since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society — is required to make grants to organizations that have “demonstrated the experience and the capacity to carry out the proposed Trust Fund activity.” Which means that money can easily be siphoned off to groups such as the National Council of La Raza and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. The latter has been heavily funded by George Soros, the mega-wealthy mogul behind many liberal causes.
La Raza, which opposes efforts to stop illegal immigration, and ACORN, members of which have been convicted of voter registration fraud in numerous states, are each eligible for $230 million under Section 134: Grants for Housing Counseling Assistance. And because the trust fund is “off budget,” the grants won’t show up on any congressional balance sheets. The Fannie Mae Foundation has already contributed more than $800,000 to the ACORN Housing Corp., which was also actively involved in the sub-prime mortgage disaster. La Raza testified before the Financial Services Committee in favor of the housing trust fund on numerous occasions. Little wonder. It’s a perfect way to hide payoffs to activist groups that in turn support political candidates who promise to keep their funding spigot on full blast.
These morsels are just a taste of what’s to come if Barack Obama wins the White House and Democrats gain veto-proof majorities in the Senate and House. As an opening bid in his $6 billion anti-poverty program, Obama seeks a Social Investment Fund Network with a White House office to disburse funds to “social entrepreneurs and leading non-profits” that are inspiring “change in their communities.” Translated: Obama will give billions more tax dollars to radical non-profits like Soros’ ACORN and LaRaza. Soros – who is also a long-time Obama donor - must want a return on his investment.
According to House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., the small print in the $42 billion bailout bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush requires these two government-sponsored mortgage giants to deposit 4.2 percent of all new mortgages they underwrite into the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that will be $531 million in fiscal 2009 alone.
Here’s the catch. Bachmann warns that the trust fund — the largest expansion of federal housing assistance since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society — is required to make grants to organizations that have “demonstrated the experience and the capacity to carry out the proposed Trust Fund activity.” Which means that money can easily be siphoned off to groups such as the National Council of La Raza and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. The latter has been heavily funded by George Soros, the mega-wealthy mogul behind many liberal causes.
La Raza, which opposes efforts to stop illegal immigration, and ACORN, members of which have been convicted of voter registration fraud in numerous states, are each eligible for $230 million under Section 134: Grants for Housing Counseling Assistance. And because the trust fund is “off budget,” the grants won’t show up on any congressional balance sheets. The Fannie Mae Foundation has already contributed more than $800,000 to the ACORN Housing Corp., which was also actively involved in the sub-prime mortgage disaster. La Raza testified before the Financial Services Committee in favor of the housing trust fund on numerous occasions. Little wonder. It’s a perfect way to hide payoffs to activist groups that in turn support political candidates who promise to keep their funding spigot on full blast.
These morsels are just a taste of what’s to come if Barack Obama wins the White House and Democrats gain veto-proof majorities in the Senate and House. As an opening bid in his $6 billion anti-poverty program, Obama seeks a Social Investment Fund Network with a White House office to disburse funds to “social entrepreneurs and leading non-profits” that are inspiring “change in their communities.” Translated: Obama will give billions more tax dollars to radical non-profits like Soros’ ACORN and LaRaza. Soros – who is also a long-time Obama donor - must want a return on his investment.
