Iowa conservatives took $3 million in tax funds

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A conservative group that has brought a string of potential presidential candidates to Iowa to lecture about the need to reduce government spending owes some of its past success to generous federal grants.

The group, The Family Leader, has since rejected federal money amid charges of hypocrisy.

The group has organized forums for Reps. Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Sen. Rick Santorum. All have called for reining in federal spending.

The same group received more than half of its funding from federal grants over a 5-year period when it operated under a different structure as The Iowa Family Policy Center.

President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative made it easier for social and religious organizations involved in community work to win federal funding.