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Republicans Take Aim At Mandatory Donations to Left-Wing Groups

Associated Press

Do federal prosecutors have a slush fund? That question is behind a bill currently under consideration by Congress, one that is about to get a vote next week. 

House Republicans say the Department of Justice is subverting congressional spending power by using settlements from financial institutions to funnel money to left-wing groups. Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke says he raised the issue with the DOJ but didn’t get very far. Here’s Goodlatte during a Judiciary Committee hearing back in May.

“In response to these concerns, the Department of Justice has doubled down. In response to these concerns, the Department of Justice has doubled down. Just last month a major DOJ bank settlement required $240 million in financing and/or donations toward affordable housing."

That’s why Goodlatte introduced the Stop Slush Fund Act of 2016, which prohibits donations made as part of settlement agreements. Democratic Congressman John Conyers opposes the bill. 

“For some unlawful conduct, such as discrimination based on race or religion, secondary remediation of harms may be the only remedy."

In the last two years, according to a Judiciary Committee investigation, the Department of Justice used mandatory donations to direct almost a billion dollars to advocacy groups. Supporters of the bill say that money should be directed by Congress — not federal prosecutors. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the House next week.

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