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Dear Mr. Lopez:
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). I appreciate hearing from you.ACORN is a community-based non-profit organization that advocates for low and moderate income families.

The organization works out of more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities across the United States, fighting for better housing and public schools, and encouraging greater community development investment from banks and governments. Recently, allegations of misconduct by some ACORN employees have surfaced. In response, Senator Johanns introduced an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act to deny federal funds to ACORN.

The bill did not appropriate any federal funds to the organization, but rather established competitive grants for which organizations can compete. As you know, I voted against the Johanns amendment. I want to be clear [that-no lisp] my vote in no way condones the conduct in question by a few ACORN employees. I believe that an appropriate investigation will determine whether these persons broke the law.

If they did, they should be prosecuted. But I voted against the Johanns amendment because condemning the organization for the acts of some of its employees goes too far. If we tried to shut down every organization, nonprofit, or company that was embarrassed by the actions of a few employees, we wouldn't have many left [including Congress]. As a prosecutor who has over and over looked at issues of when corporations rather than individuals should be charged, I don't think we can determine that yet[?].

For example, the front page of the Wall Street Journal recently showed nine American Airlines employees arrested for trafficking thousands of pounds of cocaine into the country on American Airlines planes. This was a real crime the airline employees were charged with, not, like the ACORN situation, a "Punk'd" [this term used by a US Senator?] or Candid Camera-style set-up.

In response to the American Airlines arrests there has, very properly, been no hue and cry to stop federal funds to American Airlines or to forbid federally-paid travel on that airline. The simple fact is that there is no case from these nine employees' actions, at least yet, to hold the entire airline accountable.

If we went after American Airlines prematurely, and ultimately perhaps wrongly, good people would lose their jobs, people served by the airline would be inconvenienced, and all without proper legal cause. I think the same could be true of ACORN.

Let me conclude by making a personal observation.

This had to me the feel of a stampede. As a prosecutor, I faced public pressure to take certain law enforcement actions. But one cannot yield to that when one holds the power of law enforcement in one's hands. It is the core credo of a prosecutor. From my childhood it has been my nature, from my youth it has been my experience, and through my professional life it has been my responsibility, to resist a stampede. Again, thank you for contacting me and sharing your views. Although we disagree on this issue, I hope you'll continue to stay in touch on any matter of importance to you.

Sincerely,

Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator