Capital City Project – by Joe Schoffstall
Federal funding surged to a radical immigration group under the Obama administration after a former top member of the organization joined the Obama team in 2009.
In 2009, Cecilia Muñoz was appointed as the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama administration. She served in this position until January of 2012 when she became the President’s Domestic Policy Advisor and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, a position which coordinates the domestic policy making process in the White House.
Muñoz is the former Vice President for the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), one of the most radical groups today behind the push for a compete overhaul of the United States immigration system. She is married to Amit Muñoz-Pandya, a human rights lawyer and former counselor to the Open Society Institute, which was established and funded by liberal billionaire George Soros.
Prior to Muñoz joining the Obama administration, La Raza received $4.1 million in federal funds. When President Obama brought her aboard in 2009, he issued a special “ethics waiver” since it violated his lobbyist ban. In 2011, it was reported by Judicial Watch that between 2009 and 2010, the funding increased from $4.1 million to $11 million — more than doubling and nearly tripling.
During 2010, La Raza also received $2.5 million in funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for reasons such as housing counseling. The Department of Education doled out $800,000, and the Center for Disease Control gave nearly a quarter of a million.
A section of La Raza’s website is devoted solely to addressing these funds, under a portion titled ” The Truth About NCLR”, which claims critics are wrong about how the federally given money is spent. “Some critics have implied that federal funding earmarked to NCLR for housing and community development financing has been used, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, to advance our public policy efforts on immigration. This is simply untrue,” it states on the site.
It continues, “Our housing and community development financing is carried out through our subsidiary, the Raza Development Fund (RDF). Established in 1999, the mission of RDF is to bring private capital and development assistance to local organizations serving Latino families in areas such as affordable housing, primary health care, and educational facilities. The RDF board of directors includes experts in housing and community programs as well as representatives from a number of prominent private financial institutions, including Bank of America, State Farm Insurance Company, Citi, and JPMorgan Chase.”
Later, it justifies the expenditures of the funds by saying no funding earmarked to RDF is retained by NCLR.
“RDF uses the funds appropriated by Congress under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Fund for the sole purpose of supporting its lending activities. Moreover, RDF’s policy is that all earnings from its lending activities are to be reinvested in the fund for the sole purpose of advancing its mission. Thus, no federal funding earmarked to RDF has been retained by NCLR for any purpose; on the contrary, NCLR supports RDF by deploying considerable resources of its own to assist Latino-serving community-based organizations in developing community facilities and housing programs.”
La Raza is still heavily active and vocal in today’s current immigration battle as their president and CEO, Janet Murguia, recently appeared on MSNBC calling protesters who drove away buses of illegal aliens from being dumped in their town appalling and extremists.
Murguia is a former deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton. According to La Raza’s website, she also sits on the board of directors of the American Heart Association and the Partnership for a Healthier America. Additionally, she is on the executive committee of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and serves as the board chair for the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. Her sister, Mary Helen, and brother, Carlos, are both federal judges.
Joe Schoffstallis a Reporter and Editor at Capitol City Project. Previously, he worked as a Multimedia Reporter at the Media Research Center (MRCTV, CNSNews.com).
His work has been featured on numerous outlets including the Drudge Report, Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, Yahoo News, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and The Huffington Post– among many others.
You can contact Joe by emailing Joe@CapitolCityProject.com.
Yea, checks in the mail,,,
Who is John Galt!
Why are we giving these racist bastards anything?