NCLR Gets Chunk of $40 Mil for Minority Housing Counseling

The Obama administration continues giving leftist groups huge sums to conduct minority housing counseling, this month allocating $40 million with one of the single biggest chunks of cash going to the open borders giant National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

It’s a scandal-plagued program that has received large amounts of taxpayer dollars in the last few years and there seems to be no end in sight. In fact, to justify giving leftwing groups more money to counsel poor minorities on housing issues the administration has spent $36.2 million on studies, a Judicial Watch investigation found last summer.

Incredibly, the multi-million-dollar research always concludes that housing counseling is a positive and valuable thing for low-income populations and minorities. The idea is to help minorities seeking a good home or struggling to keep one on the verge of foreclosure through community groups that benefit from public funding. Last year alone Uncle Sam gave the nonprofits $42 million to accomplish this mission.  

The NCLR, whose federal funding skyrocketed since one of its top officials got a job in the Obama White House, is always among the largest recipients. Last year the powerful open borders group got $2 million to help combat predatory lending, train poor Latinos about financial literacy and help them become homeowners. In this month’s round the NCLR, which describes itself as the “largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization,” got $1,224.655 for “comprehensive counseling.”

Other big recipients include several branches of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which aims to increase the “flow of private capital into traditionally underserved communities.” Two of the group’s Washington D.C. branches will split around $3 million, according to figures released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A similar D.C.-based group (NeighborWorks America) that claims to be “one of the country’s preeminent leaders in affordable housing and community development” is also getting close to $3 million for “comprehensive” and “training.”   

Other nonprofits, like Florida-based Centro de Ayuda Hispana (Hispanic Helps Center) and the Agricultural Labor Program Incorporated are getting smaller grants, $18,167 and $15,000 respectively. The first group specializes in helping low-income Hispanics attain a good quality of life and the second focuses on farm workers. In all, 334 groups will share this month’s $40 million allocation which is being promoted as a necessary government investment to prevent future foreclosures.

 “Make no mistake: these grants will do a lot of good,” according to Obama HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “The HUD-approved counseling agencies this funding supports are crucial in helping families manage their money, navigate the home buying process, and secure their financial futures. The evidence is clear that housing counseling works.  These grants are a smart investment to help families and individuals find and keep housing which helps promote neighborhood stability in the long term.”

As evidence Donovan offers the agency’s costly research showing the “effectiveness of housing counseling.” Judicial Watch’s investigation uncovered contracts that show the Obama administration has paid a company called ABT Associates $36.2 million to conduct the studies, titled “Foreclosure Counseling Outcome Study” and “Pre-Purchase Counseling Outcome Study.” That in itself is a scandalous waste of taxpayer dollars.