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Cummings Corrects Media Reports of Thursday Evening Vote
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| (Washington, DC) – This advisory is intended to correct misleading stories filed Thursday. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings did, in fact, not vote to fund ACORN on Thursday. The Congressman voted no on a “Motion to Recommit,” related to HR 3221, the single largest improvement to student loan programs in the history of the United States. The motion was a procedural stunt, used by Republicans. Rep. Issa attached an amendment to the bill and then returned it immediately to the floor. The amendment was to strip ACORN funding only from the bill at hand. A YEA vote returned the bill WITH the amendment; a NO vote returned the bill WITHOUT the amendment. This bill improves access to Perkins Loans, Pell Grants and other higher education assistance, there was no funding for ACORN in the bill. The Motion was a completely pointless procedural trick, designed to create a story that Representatives voting against it voted to approve ACORN funding. There is no truth to that story. This bill would not have funded ACORN, regardless of the vote on the motion. Now, the facts: Congressman Cummings issued a statement earlier this week: “I am aware of the issues faced by ACORN in the Baltimore and Washington areas, and the hidden camera footage obtained by a conservative web site. Obviously, mistakes were made by workers employed by the ACORN organization. Though the employees responsible have been dealt with, ACORN must be responsible for employee actions. If a law similar to that approved by the Senate were to be voted on by the House, I would have no choice but to vote yes, stripping Federal funding from ACORN. However, it is important to realize that ACORN does much good work, helping low-income families find affordable housing, file their taxes and providing other services that are otherwise unavailable. It is important for ACORN to change their management style, to provide more structure, stricter rules for employees, and a more consistent set of best practices. This will enable them to regain the public trust and support of their mission, helping those left in our nation’s shadows.” Simply put, Congressman Cummings voted against wasting time while important issues like healthcare reform and creating new jobs still lie before the Congress. Because there was no funding in the bill, this was not the same as the Senate vote. The motion and the amendment were approved. This stripped NO funding from ACORN. This misunderstanding aside, Congressman Cummings was proud to vote for the largest investment in aid to help students and families pay for college in history -- and at no cost to taxpayers. This bill is a major step forward in President Obama's initiative to make sure America once again leads the world in college graduates by 2020. It will reform the system of federal student loans to save the taxpayers $87 billion and will direct $10 billion back to the Treasury to reduce entitlement spending. The bill changes the way the student loan system functions by originating new loans through the government's Direct Loan program, but will maintain competition among private lenders and non-profits to provide top-notch customer service for student borrowers. This simple change will make college loans more reliable for students and families -- and ensure that loans operate in the best interests of borrowers by reducing many of the potential conflicts of interest that exist in the current loan system. If you have further questions about the bill, or the non-existent ACORN funding, you may reach Paul Kincaid at paul.kincaid@mail.house.gov. ### |
