Posted by Laura Glendinning in News and Analysis on December 22, 2009
LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) – Congress passed a law signed by President Obama earlier this year that the scandal-plagued Association of Community Organizations For Reform Now was banned from receiving Federal funding. A judge has overturned that, but even if the law is upheld, the group could still receive grants under the new health bill.
Minority Health Offices Part of Senate Bill
A report in The Weekly Standard outlines the way it went down. Illinois Senator Roland Burris managed to get an amendment onto the bill creating an Office of Minority Health in each of Federal agencies. In addition, Senator Harry Reid made sure language in the bill noted “community and consumer-focused nonprofit groups” can get grants to “conduct public education activities to raise awareness of the availability of qualified health plans.” ACORN is precisely the type of group which routinely receives such grants, and the current law prohibiting their receiving money from Washington does not spell out their not offering health-related services. The 6 agencies which will be directed to create a minority office are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Senator Burris wanted to make “sure that diabetes and the other diseases that are affecting minorities are really studied by HHS in all of these pilot programs.”
Democrat Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has promised to “look into” who will receive such grants.