http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/hud/ en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:04:51 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414694/posts Here are a few stories to bring holiday cheer for taxpayers. First, we have an Associated Press report that several hundred thousand federal bureaucrats have serious tax delinquencies. The Department of Housing and Urban Development always ranks high on the list of government entities that should be abolished, so it’s interesting to see that HUD bureaucrats are most likely to be dodging their taxes: More than 276,000 federal employees and retirees owed back income taxes as of Sept. 30, 2008, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service. The $3.04 billion owed was up from $2.7 billion owed by federal... CATO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414694/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:04:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1173004/posts <p>IF YOU ENJOYED the election crisis of 2000, you’re going to love what Democrat leaders are cooking up for November.</p> <p>"George Soros has purchased the Democratic Party," charges Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson. (2) Some might dismiss Miss Iverson's comment as hyberbole. However, Soros' massive soft-money contributions have indisputably given him power over Democrat strategy.</p> RichardPoe.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1173004/posts#comment Sat, 17 Jul 2004 00:55:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398333/posts A handful of House Republicans did their best on Tuesday to shame Democrats and the Obama administration for its supposed connections to the controversial anti-poverty group ACORN. Republicans also voiced complaints that Democrats are not moving forward with investigations into the organization that is alleged to have committed widespread voter fraud to support Democratic candidates, in violation of the group's tax-exempt status. "ACORN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said at Tuesday's two-hour long partisan forum attended by eight Republicans but no Democrats. Another source of frustration for Republicans is a legal decision from... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398333/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:44:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2378908/posts The public release of an independent actuarial study of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was delayed late Tuesday as the firm conducting the review completes additional tests. The supplemental tests come after FHA questioned the accuracy of the actuary’s modeling. The audit of FHA’s fiscal year 2009 — which ended in September — was scheduled for release today in conjunction with a press conference addressing the FHA’s fiscal health and financial outlook. A US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spokeswoman indicated hours before the scheduled release that the report would not be completed in time, and FHA commissioner... HousingWire.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2378908/posts#comment Thu, 5 Nov 2009 04:30:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369959/posts "These ideals, when voiced by generations of citizens, are what made it possible for me to stand here today. These ideals are what made it possible for the people in this room to live freely and openly when for most of history that would have been inconceivable. That is the promise of America. That is the promise we are called to fulfill. And day by day, law by law, mind by changing mind, that is the promise we are fulfilling." – President Obama, HRC National Dinner, October 10, 2009 I came to work in the White House because I thought... White House Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369959/posts#comment Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:31:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2359767/posts If you live in Westchester County, get ready for public housing and higher taxes at a town near you. County residents will be forced to pay the price for the fraudulent actions of County Executive Andrew Spano, who was caught red handed in an embarrassing scheme that defrauded the Federal government of $180 million. In February 2009, a Federal Court Judge found Westchester County an “utter failure” when it comes to access to fair housing and that Westchester County provided “false or fraudulent” documentation to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) amounting to racial discrimination. After six months... Political Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2359767/posts#comment Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:15:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354837/posts Evidence continues to accumulate from far and wide that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is lousy with corruption. The latest revelations come from Louisiana and Oklahoma. In the former, the local ACORN Housing Corp. office received contracts worth a combined $625,000 from the City of New Orleans for repairing existing low-income housing and developing new units in poor neighborhoods. The contracts were paid for with funds from federal Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. An investigation by the Pelican Institute think tank of New Orleans, however, found that no work... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354837/posts#comment Sun, 4 Oct 2009 23:01:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352862/posts “But whether you try to implement some or all of these recommendations, there must be someone committed to follow-up. There must be a review mechanism, and a means of holding people accountable after any final decisions are made. If you do not make some hard choices now and ensure they are carried out, they almost certainly will be made for you.” –Elizabeth Kingsley of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg Eisenberg LLP, in a prophetic legal memo to ACORN dated June 19, 2008, the day before ACORN’s national board ousted ACORN founder organizer Wade Rathke ACORN’s lawyer warned ACORN 15 months ago to... American Spectator via Big Government.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352862/posts#comment Thu, 1 Oct 2009 22:29:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2347833/posts Judicial Watch Files Lawsuit against HUD to Obtain ACORN Documents Seeks Records Related to HUD's Taxpayer Support of Controversial Community Organization Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5188 WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 /Standard Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to obtain records related to federal grants provided to the controversial "community organization" Association for Community Reform Now (ACORN). Judicial Watch filed its original Freedom of Information Act request on July 17. HUD... Earnedmedia.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2347833/posts#comment Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:59:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2345493/posts The story in a nutshell: Bertha Lewis is the CEO of ACORN. In a review of Lewis’s contacts list, which was leaked to RedState, Bertha Lewis has the office, cell phone, home number, and private personal email address of Patrick Gaspard. Patrick Gaspard holds Karl Rove’s position in the White House and was Obama’s Political Director during the campaign. In addition to Patrick, Bertha has Patrick’s brother Michael in her rolodex. She lists Michael as working at the Advance Group. The Advance Group is ACORN’s lobbying organization. In other words, besides having Obama’s political director’s contact info, the political director’s... Red State http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2345493/posts#comment Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:23:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2344447/posts ACORN, a social justice organization with roots in [New Orleans], battles a string of scandals. The announcement stuck to a wall outside the entrance to ACORN's local office in the 2600 block of Canal Street quietly signals the trouble afoot. In English and Spanish, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now tells walk-up clients that ACORN's housing office has shut itself down for two weeks to immerse itself "in an intensive training program." The sign is a symptom of a tumultuous week in the history of a controversial poor people's social justice movement -- one founded by a New... The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2344447/posts#comment Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:14:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340082/posts An ACORN affiliate has just submitted applications for over $6 million in government funding, despite the controversial videos of the organization’s workers aiding a child prostitution “promoter.” Employees with the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) in Washington D.C., Baltimore and Brooklyn told uncover investigators posing as a pimp and a prostitute how they could circumvent the law. ACORN has already fired four of the workers. But it claims the tapes have been “doctored” and “edited.” A third video implicating the ACORN workers was released today. Meanwhile, the ACORN Institute, one of many ACORN affiliates, has applied for... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340082/posts#comment Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:08:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340159/posts September 15, 2009 Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking Republican on the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today wrote to committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General, Kenneth Donohue, calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into the activities of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Shelby’s call for an investigation follows recent news reports surrounding the arrest of individuals in Florida for falsifying voter applications while employed by ACORN leading up to the 2008 elections, as well as video of employees in... Press Room News Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340159/posts#comment Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:28:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338150/posts Conservatives have cheered the Census Bureau's decision to sever ties with ACORN because it had lost confidence in the group, but the hidden-camera videos that prompted ACORN to fire four workers this week could raise more questions about the federal funding ACORN receives for housing outreach.... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338150/posts#comment Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:27:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338163/posts Conservatives have cheered the Census Bureau's decision to sever ties with ACORN because it had lost confidence in the group, but the hidden-camera videos that prompted ACORN to fire four workers this week could raise more questions about the federal funding ACORN receives for housing outreach. ACORN Housing Corporation received $1.6 million to provide housing services to low-income communities in this fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, according to USASpending.gov, a federal government Web site for tracking government grants. The Department of Housing and Urban Development Grants has given $8.2 million to ACORN in the years between 2003 and 2006, as... Foxnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338163/posts#comment Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:54:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334226/posts Barney Frank wants Cabinet post By Bob Cusack - 09/07/09 05:07 PM ET Rep. Barney Frank is interested in capping his political career as a member of the president’s Cabinet, according to a new biography of the Financial Services Committee chairman. Frank (D-Mass.) told author Stuart Weisberg that he would like to be Housing and Urban Development secretary. However, the 69-year-old lawmaker stresses that his departure from Congress is not imminent. He first wants to pass more legislation on affordable housing, saying, “I want at least two years with President Obama and a solidly Democratic Senate so that we can... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334226/posts#comment Mon, 7 Sep 2009 23:01:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2328944/posts THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG MONDAY, AUGUST 31ST, 2009 AT 6:13 PM Green Impact Zone Posted by Adolfo Carrión, Jr. We have just arrived in Kansas City where, tomorrow, we will continue our discussion of smart growth and smart planning for America’s metropolitan areas. Special Assistant to the President on Urban Policy Derek Douglas, Special Advisor for Green Jobs Van Jones, and I will be joined by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari. Together, we will meet with local elected officials, stakeholders, and community members to discuss the development of the Green Impact Zone, an... WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2328944/posts#comment Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:53:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317298/posts WASHINGTON - The Obama administration, in a major shift on housing policy, is abandoning George W. Bush’s vision of creating an “ownership society’’ and instead plans to pump $4.25 billion of economic stimulus money into creating tens of thousands of federally subsidized rental units in American cities. The idea is to pay for the construction of low-rise rental apartment buildings and town houses, as well as the purchase of foreclosed homes that can be refurbished and rented to low- and moderate-income families at affordable rates. Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317298/posts#comment Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:01:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315894/posts In June we got peek at Obama’s plans to destroy America’s white middle class suburbs. Now we have new evidence Obama is using race to turn America into the socialist gulag in his dreams for America. The first plan unveiled the idea of the federal government demolishing large sections of Flint Michigan and Detroit and relocating their residents to middle class suburbs. Today comes another plan to flood traditional Republican suburbs with exactly the people these middle class Americans moved away from. No place to run The Department of Housing and Urban Development has been changed into the Department of... The Collins Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315894/posts#comment Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:10:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315423/posts HIGH POINT -- Residents of a local public housing facility recently had to cease holding religious services there after officials told them the activities ran afoul of federal regulations. Worship services by residents of Elm Towers were in violation of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rules, which forbid "inherently religious activities" for organizations that receive HUD funds, according to the High Point Housing Authority. Elm Towers residents had been gathering for years on Sunday mornings and sometimes Wednesday evenings for Christian worship services led by a local minister in a common room on the first floor of the... http://www.wxii12.com/news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315423/posts#comment Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:02:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2291146/posts Question: Is it true that the government is considering a plan that would reimburse new-home buyers if the value of their property declines later? Answer: One of the biggest supporters of such a plan is Joe Hanauer, who rose to fame while heading one of the largest real estate outfits in Chicago and now serves as chairman of Move Inc., which operates Internet realty giant Move.comHanauer has already met with several congressional representatives and officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to "sell" them on the proposal, which he believes could help jump-start the housing market by... Palm Beach Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2291146/posts#comment Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:59:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2287220/posts Housing authority eyes potential federal budget cutUpdated 07/06/2009 06:29 PM By: Ed Scannell WINSTON-SALEM – A potential cut in federal funding to the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem is threatening to put hundreds of families out on the street. It's a scenario being played out in communities across the country. The head of the authority was hopeful the Department of Housing and Urban Development would come up with money for the vouchers the families use to help pay their monthly rent. HUD told the authority to use its $3 million in reserves to cover the cost of housing vouchers to some... News 14 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2287220/posts#comment Tue, 7 Jul 2009 13:52:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2245136/posts As I told the Washington Examiner a few hours ago after reviewing the Obama stimulus bill and the proposed fiscal 2010 budget for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), ACORN and other left-wing advocacy groups could have a shot at pocketing up to $8.5 billion this year. Here's how I arrived at the $8.5 billion figure. The $800 billion-plus stimulus bill, which is now formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or Public Law 111-5, originally set aside $5.2 billion that could flow directly or indirectly into the coffers of ACORN and its... Capital Research Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2245136/posts#comment Wed, 6 May 2009 05:23:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243001/posts After a lifetime of public service and a painful illness, Jack Kemp has died. Our prayers are with his family. National Review Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243001/posts#comment Sun, 3 May 2009 01:49:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242343/posts President Barack Obama has settled on a train-wreck of a nominee for Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). On Tuesday, the Senate, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee approved Ronald Sims in a voice vote. They did so despite having credible information indicating financial mismanagement and ethical transgressions, including two egregious abuses of a state freedom of information law. Sims has been King County Executive in Washington state since 1996. Under his watch, local government was fined after it failed to produce documents concerning construction of the Qwest sports stadium. The Supreme Court of Washington, in a blistering ruling... The Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242343/posts#comment Fri, 1 May 2009 21:47:45 GMT