Chaffez moves to cut program:

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h2915ih.txt.pdf

Earmarks are scorned as the epitome of runaway federal spending, yet maybe there's hope to fix the problems they bring.

Earmarks -- defined as funds requested by members of Congress for specific projects, usually in their home territory -- are not inherently bad. Lawmakers do, and should, have input on where our tax money goes. But as it's done now, earmarks too often are side deals to legislation. As such, they sneak through Congress, opening the door to political payoffs, sleaze and outright graft.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-3rd, recently introduced a resolution, H.Res. 1221, to help clean up the process by changing the rules of the House of Representatives. He's not for an absolute ban anymore, even though that was a central plank of his campaign for Congress. "What we need is openness, transparency and reform," Chaffetz told the Herald last week. "We've got to change the favor factory."

To understand how degraded the process has become, think back to those high school government lessons. First, authorization bills establish programs. Then Congress must pass appropriation bills to pay for them. Bills must be debated and approved by subcommittees, then full committees. Then each chamber votes. If different versions pass, senators and representatives meet in a conference committee to work out a single version. Then of course the president must sign the bill.

Read more at the Herald Extra

Yesterday, Democrats in the United States House of Representatives ignored the will of the American people and passed the final version of President Obama’s health care reform bill. Despite our tireless efforts to stop it, we have just witnessed the government takeover of health care, complete with public funding for abortion, massive new tax increases and unconstitutional mandates on individuals.

Nancy Pelosi has promised that if they can kick through this door, more legislation will follow. Democrats in Congress have met the firm resistance of America on the other side of that door, but they have still managed to kick it open.

The Democrats must be stopped. We need to slam the door on them and their destructive agenda.

If you’re as fired up as I am, and you want to make a difference, please consider donating to my campaign for reelection. We must send a clear message to the powers in Washington, DC. They need to be reminded that they serve at the consent of the governed.

Under the false pretense of compassion Democrats have taken a commodity and proclaimed it to be a right. Many Members of Congress actually believe it is their duty to legislate new rights to the American people. But these so-called rights they concoct actually strip freedom from many in order to grant privileges to a few. They have either forgotten, or do not believe, that God gives people rights -- governments do not.

We cannot allow our federal government to strip from us more personal freedom and liberty. The Democrats in Congress, along with the President of the United States, have made it clear that they have no interest in what the American people want. They will not stop until they are fully satisfied or soundly defeated.

With your help, we can fight back.

This health care debate has never really been about health care. For the Democrats in Washington, DC this debate is about power and control. For the rest of us, it’s about preserving America, our way of life and our children’s future.

Over the past fifteen months I have worked tirelessly to fight corruption, reign in federal spending and limit government intrusion into our lives. Please help me continue that fight by donating to my campaign for reelection. I cannot continue without your support.

Working for Uncle Sam comes with some great perks, like job stability, posh benefits packages, and in many cases, average salaries that are higher than what the same job pays in the private sector.

That's why Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is irked that nearly 100,000 civilian federal employees owe the IRS $962 million in back taxes. He thinks they should pay up or be fired.

Chaffetz has introduced a bill that calls for the federal government to "ferret out" civilian employees who have "seriously delinquent tax debt" and prevent the hiring of other tax delinquents.

More than 3 percent of the 2.8 million federal civilian employees owed the Treasury unpaid federal income taxes in 2008, according to the IRS. If you include retirees and military service members, the numbers go from nearly 100,000 up to 276,000 current or former workers who owe $3 billion in taxes.

Read more at ABC News

WEST JORDAN — Disabled Vietnam veteran Paul House needed his cancerous prostate removed because of potential exposure to Agent Orange on the battlefields of Southeast Asia.

But the West Jordan man also says his wartime experiences serving as an infantryman in Cuchi Province left him suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, although a claim he filed several years ago relating to PTSD was rejected because his service record contained nothing indicating that he'd been in combat.

House recalled that he and his unit were awarded Combat Infantry Badges after they'd been in the field 90 days, which would support his PTSD claim. Unable to locate the citation, he launched a letter- and e-mail-writing campaign to Utah's three members of the House of Representatives, seeking their assistance. House said he heard back from Jim Matheson and Rob Bishop, both who encouraged him to contact then-Congressman Chris Cannon, who represented the 3rd District where House lived.

Read more in the Deseret News

Washington » Rep. Jason Chaffetz has a message to government employees who owe tax money: Pay up or lose your job.

The Utah Republican introduced legislation Wednesday that would allow federal agencies, Congress and the White House to fire workers who are frequent tax scofflaws.

The government, Chaffetz says, is paying 276,300 people who are behind on $3 billion in tax payments, including 678 on Congress' payroll and 50 who work in the executive office of the president. Chaffetz's targets are those people classified by the Internal Revenue Service as owing a "seriously delinquent tax debt."

"Federal employees have an obvious obligation to pay their federal income taxes," Chaffetz said. "Because they draw their compensation from the American taxpayers, federal employees owe it to the taxpayers themselves to pay their taxes. If not, they should be fired."

The IRS already has the authority to terminate contracts for workers who aren't current on their tax payements, and Chaffetz argues that other government entities need the same power to jettison employees who don't pay their government due.

Chaffetz plans to tie his measure to President Barack Obama's call to bar funding for federal contractors who are behind on their taxes. The bill is headed for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Thursday and Chaffetz says he will also offer an amendment to insert his language into the president's proposal.

In January, Obama pushed Congress to crack down on "deadbeat companies" with federal contracts, saying that across the country Americans meet their obligations and those receiving government money should do the same.

"It is simply wrong for companies to take taxpayer dollars and not be taxpayers themselves," Obama said.

Courtesy Salt Lake Tribune