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Jason Chaffetz

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Jason Chaffetz
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Utah's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2009
Preceded byChris Cannon
Personal details
Born
Jason E. Chaffetz

(1967-03-26) March 26, 1967 (age 57)
Los Gatos, California
Political partyDemocratic (1985-1990)
Republican (1990-present)
SpouseJulie Chaffetz
Children3
ResidenceAlpine, Utah
Alma materBrigham Young University
OccupationBusinessman
WebsiteCongressional website

Jason E. Chaffetz (pronounced /ˈtʃeɪfɨts/; born March 26, 1967) is the U.S. Representative for Utah's 3rd congressional district, first elected in 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Chaffetz was born in Los Gatos, California and raised in Arizona and Colorado with his younger brother Alex. His father had a Jewish upbringing and his mother was a Christian Scientist.[1] Chaffetz converted to Mormonism during his last year of college.[2] He attended Brigham Young University (BYU) on an athletic scholarship, and was the starting placekicker on the BYU football team in 1988 and 1989. He still holds the BYU individual records for most extra points attempted in a game, most extra points made in a game, and most consecutive extra points made in a game.[3]

During his college years, Chaffetz was a Democrat. His father had previously been married to Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis's wife, Katherine, and his half-brother is former actor John Dukakis.[4] Despite their different political affiliations, Chaffetz remains close with his brother and the Dukakis family.[5] While a student at BYU, he was a Utah co-chairman for Michael Dukakis's 1988 campaign for U.S. President. After college, Chaffetz joined the local business community. His work included being a spokesman for Nu Skin International, a multi-level marketing company.[6]

Early political career

Chaffetz became a Republican after meeting Ronald Reagan in 1990, when Reagan visited Chaffetz's employer, Nu Skin, as a motivational speaker. However, his political views had been drifting more to the right even while working for Dukakis.[7]

In 2004, Chaffetz was the campaign manager for Utah gubernatorial candidate Jon Huntsman. Huntsman won the race and after he took office in January 2005, Chaffetz became his chief of staff.[8] In November 2005 Chaffetz left to manage his own company, "Maxtera Utah", a corporate communications and marketing company.

In 2007, Chaffetz was appointed by Governor Huntsman as a Trustee for Utah Valley University. He has also served as its President, a member of the Highland City Planning Commission, and as the Chairman for the Utah National Guard Adjutant General Review.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2008
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Utah, 2008 § District 3

On January 1, 2007, before the 110th Congress was even seated, Jason Chaffetz announced he was "testing the waters" for a Congressional run against six-term incumbent, Chris Cannon, for the Republican nomination in this heavily Republican district.[9][10] Nine months later, on October 1, 2007, Chaffetz formally entered the race for the Republican nomination - the real contest in a district with an R+26 value on the Cook Partisan Voting Index in 2008. That same day, David Leavitt issued a press release announcing his campaign had raised $100,000 to challenge Cannon.[11] Leavitt, brother to popular 3-term Utah Governor and Bush Administration cabinet member Micheal Leavitt, more than doubled Chaffetz in fundraising for that quarter.[12] A March 2008 Deseret News/KSL TV poll by Dan Jones & Associates released two days before the party caucuses showed Jason Chaffetz with 4% support.[13]

After the nearly 1200 3rd District delegates were elected on March 25, 2008, Chaffetz sent a mailer telling delegates he would run a different kind of campaign. He would have no paid staff, no campaign office, no free meals for delegates, no campaign debt and no polling. He committed to spend between $70 and $80 per delegate, telling voters, "How you run your campaign is indicative of how you're going to be in office."[14][15]

Although Cannon was one of the most conservative members of the House, Chaffetz ran well to his right. He claimed that Cannon “has failed us for not instituting conservative principles," consistently calling for a return to the core conservative principles of fiscal discipline, limited government, accountability and a strong national defense. He campaigned on stronger measures to fix legal immigration and remove the incentives for illegal immigration, an issue he continued to press throughout the campaign.[4][16] The week before the convention, David Leavitt told the Salt Lake Tribune, "If Jason Chaffetz beats me [at the convention], Chris Cannon will be the congressman. Jason Chaffetz has no resources, no organization."[17]

At the May 10, 2008 Utah Republican State Convention Chaffetz won 59% of the 3rd District's delegates to Cannon's 41%; if he had won 60% a Republican primary would have been bypassed, with Chaffetz winning the nomination.[18]

In the primary, polls showed a close race. A Dan Jones poll released May 22, 2008 showed Cannon leading Chaffetz 39 percent to 37 percent among likely voters.[19] A subsequent poll released June 21 showed a statistical tie, favoring Cannon 44-40 with a 5.5% margin of error.[20] On June 24, 2008, Chaffetz defeated Cannon by a vote of 60% to 40%.[21] It was considered an upset victory as Cannon was endorsed by George W. Bush,[22] the state's two U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, and nearly all of the state Republican establishment. Cannon also outspent Chaffetz by 6 to 1.[23] Cannon's primary defeat spurred worry among Republican incumbents.[24]

Chaffetz faced Democrat Bennion Spencer in the 2008 general election, along with Jim Noorlander of the Constitution Party. Chaffetz's firm position against asking for earmarks created some controversy during the general election campaign.[25] Chaffetz said, "Until there's reform, I will not ask for them. They're a cancer within the system and I want to extract them." Ultimately, Chaffetz won election with 66% of the vote.

2010
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Utah, 2010 § District 3

Chaffetz defeated Democratic nominee Karen Hyer and all third-party candidates, garnering 72% of the vote.[26] The Salt Lake Tribune, often critical of Chaffetz, endorsed him in the race, writing, "U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, has delivered as advertised for Utah's 3rd District."[27]

2012
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Utah, 2012 § District 3

In early 2012 Chaffetz worked as a representative of the Mitt Romney presidential campaign during primary season, shadowing the campaign of rival GOP candidate Newt Gingrich to offer rebuttals to reporters following Gingrich speeches.[28] "I'm just trying to offer a little perspective," said Chaffetz at one of Gingrich's Florida stops.[29]

Tenure

Chaffetz announced at the start of the Congressional term in 2009 that he would be sleeping on a cot in his office rather than renting a Washington, D.C. apartment.[30] Chaffetz said, "I'm trying to live the example that it doesn't take big dollars in order to get where we want to go. I can save my family $1,500 a month by sleeping on a cot in my office as opposed to getting a fancy place that's maybe a little bit more comfortable."[30] His family will continue to live in Alpine. "We are now $10 trillion in debt. $10 trillion. Those are expenses that have to be paid at some point", he said. If he can tighten his belt in these tough economic times, Chaffetz said, Congress should be able to as well.[30]

Chaffetz appeared on the "Better Know A District" segment of The Colbert Report on 6 January 2009, where he was defeated by Stephen Colbert in leg wrestling.[31]


Cut, Cap and Balance

In June 2011, Chaffetz sponsored HR 2560, the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. HR 2560 capped FY 2012 discretionary appropriations at $1.019 trillion, which was $31 billion below FY 2011 discretionary spending, and provided $126.5 billion for war spending. HR 2560 imposed a cap of $681 billion on "other" mandatory spending. Excluded from the $681 billion cap were Social Security, Medicare, veterans programs, and interest payments. HR 2560 gradually reduced federal government spending as a percent of gross domestic product from 24.1% in 2011[32] to 21.7% in 2013 and 19.9% in 2021. HR 2560 also allowed for an increase in the debt ceiling of $2.4 trillion, as requested by President Obama, conditioned upon approval by both Houses of Congress of a qualifying Balanced Budget Amendment which would then be sent to the states for approval. HR 2560 passed the House of Representatives but was rejected by the Senate.[33]

Social Security Reform

In November 2011, Chaffetz announced a seven-point Social Security proposal.[34] The seven provisions include using a chained CPI-W for calculating annual COLAs, increasing normal retirement age, adding progressive price indexing to primary insurance amount calculations, means-testing benefits for high income beneficiaries, increasing the number of years for calculating average indexed monthly earnings, indexing special minimum benefits to wages instead of CPI, and increasing benefits by 5% for retirees when they reach age 85.[35]

Medicare

In August 2012 during an interview on CNN O’Brien called out Chaffetz after he tried to claim that that Medicare plans offered by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), would not turn the program into a voucher system. “Let’s keep to the facts that President Barack Obama did take $700 billion out of Medicare,” Chaffetz told O’Brien. “We’ve now had this conversation 15 times at least,” O’Brien noted, shaking her head. “As you know, it’s not taking money out of Medicare, right? It’s a decrease in spending over time and it’s a decrease that you yourself, I assume, voted for, right? In Paul Ryan’s budget in 2011 and 2012, he had that same number in his budget. Didn’t you vote for that?” “It’s not exactly the same number,” Chaffetz replied. “I did vote in favor of the two budgets.” “At the end of the day, that same number crunching was voted on by virtually every single Republican in 2011 and then again in 2012. That is fair to say,” O’Brien pointed out, adding that both Romney and Ryan had promised to “save” Medicare by turning it into a “voucher program.”[36]

President Obama

In January 2010, Chaffetz was called upon to question President Obama at a meeting of the GOP Conference.[37] Chaffetz applauded Obama for some of the promises made during the campaign, but asked why promises to broadcast healthcare debates on CSPAN, keep lobbyists out of senior positions, go line-by-line through the health care bill and end earmarks had not been kept. Video of the Q&A went viral and received extensive media coverage.[38][39][40][41]Upon hearing that U.S. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2009, Chaffetz said he had "lost all respect for the award", claiming "it used to be one of distinction, but [now] it is hard to give it any credibility".[42]

Nuclear waste

In November 2009 Chaffetz co-sponsored a bill in the House with Rep. Jim Matheson to block the importation of foreign nuclear waste into the United States, putting him directly at odds with Rep. Rob Bishop and Utah's Senators Bennett and Hatch who had historically supported importing foreign nuclear waste into Utah with restrictions.[43]

Homeland Security

In December 2009, Chaffetz championed legislation to limit the use of full-body imaging scanners at airports unless a metal detector first indicated a need for more screening. The images have come under intense scrutiny from privacy groups for allegedly letting security administrators view images of undressed passengers.[44]

Chaffetz and TSA have had a rocky relationship since he joined Congress. In his freshman year, in what critics have described as political grandstanding, he accused TSA agents at his hometown airport in Salt Lake City of unfairly targeting him to pass through a full-body scanning machine — a device Chaffetz believes is invasive. The Republican lawmaker said he believed he was targeted partially for his opposition to granting TSA screeners collective bargaining rights. The union representing some of the officers said at the time that agents followed proper procedure and that an officer who had recently returned from military service in Iraq didn’t recognize Chaffetz.[45]

Afghanistan

Chaffetz criticized the surge of 30,000 troops President Obama authorized for the war in Afghanistan, saying that the United States does not have a clear policy or exit strategy.[46][47][48]

Benghazi Attack

Chaffetz has been outspoken against the White House and State Department’s handling of the attacks on the Libyan Embassy. The Administration first stated the attacks were sparked by a spontaneous protest, then later stated the violence was a planned terrorist attack. "There was a very conscious decision made, I believe — my personal opinion is that they wanted the appearance of 'normalization' there in Libya and building up of an infrastructure, putting up barbed wire on our facility would lead to the wrong impression. Something that this administration didn’t want to have moving forward."[49]

He has criticized UN Ambassador’s Susan Rice’s initial comments calling them “somewhere between an outrageous lie and total falsehood.”[50]

Chaffetz himself has been criticized for politicizing the Benghazi incident, acknowledging in an interview with CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien that he had "voted to cut the funding for embassy security" and that House Republicans had consciously voted to reduce the funds allocated to the State Department for embassy security since winning the majority in 2010. "Absolutely," Chaffetz said. "Look we have to make priorities and choices in this country."[51]

Resolutions

Chaffetz has pledged to vote against what he calls "trivial resolutions," including those dealing with sports, such as congratulating the winning team of the Super Bowl. Chaffetz feels that the House could be taking up more important legislation.[52]

Protection for Greater Sage Grouse

Chaffetz opposes federal protection for Utah's resident Greater Sage Grouse, a bird whose population has shrunk from 16 million 100 years ago to about 200,000 today. In 2007, a court ruled that political tampering by Julie A. MacDonald, then-deputy assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, had "tainted" the bird's assessment, and a new review was ordered. In March 2010, the U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar assigned the bird "warranted but precluded" status, paving the way for its future protection.[53]

Committee assignments

References

  1. ^ Peterson, Eric (June 29, 2011). "Scanning Jason Chaffetz's inner being, from godless California Democrat to the tea party prince of Utah". City Weekly. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Goldberg, J. J. (January 15, 2010). "Meet Jewish Senators 14, 15 — and 16? Plus: the House GOP's Jewish Mormon". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "BYU Football Records". BYU Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Teitelbaum,, Michael (June 7, 2007). "Immigration Issue Again Draws In-House Rivals to Utah Lawmaker". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  5. ^ http://www.rollcall.com/issues/54_137/-35334-1.html
  6. ^ Drell, Adrienne (April 30, 1991). "Nu Skin recruiting pitch lures sellers - and probers". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 16. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ McNeil,, Kate (October 18, 2008). "3D: Chaffetz profile". Herald Extra. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  8. ^ Harrie, Dan (January 4, 2005). "Huntsman ties his success as gov to Utah economy". Stateline: Pew Center on the States. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  9. ^ http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4934937&itype=NGPSID
  10. ^ http://www.heraldextra.com/news/governor-s-ex-chief-of-staff-considers-run-for-rd/article_d03a0bb2-1a27-5511-bec6-f91e3cc84927.html
  11. ^ http://archive.sltrib.com/printfriendly.php?id=7053373&itype=NGPSID
  12. ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/695220726/Money-no-problem-for-GOPs-Leavitt.html
  13. ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695263930/Cannon-facing-a-tough-contest.html?pg=all
  14. ^ http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=8667378&itype=NGPSID
  15. ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695275337/Cannon-fails-to-file-reports-on-finances.html?pg=all
  16. ^ Davidson, Lee; Bulkeley, Deborah (June 17, 2008). "Cannon tough on Immigration?". Deseret News. p. B1. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=9200982&itype=NGPSID Salt Lake Tribune
  18. ^ Pignanelli, Frank (May 18, 2008). "Chaffetz has a shot at defeating Cannon". Deseret News. p. G1. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700227979/Race-tight-between-Chaffetz-and-Cannon.html?pg=all
  20. ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700236617/Cannon-Chaffetz-in-a-tie.html?pg=all
  21. ^ Walch, Tad (June 25, 2008). "Chaffetz wins big — He turns Cannon into a lame duck". Deseret News. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ "Bush sends letter endorsing Cannon". Deseret News. May 6, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ Pyrah, Joe (June 25, 2008). "Chaffetz defeats Cannon". Daily Herald. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=9697237&itype=NGPSID
  25. ^ http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=9840877&itype=NGPSID
  26. ^ "2010 Utah General Election Results: Federal Offices—House". Deseret News. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=11493184&itype=storyID
  28. ^ Shawna Shepherd (27 January 2012), "Romney surrogates shadow Gingrich campaign" CNN
  29. ^ Jane Musgrave (27 January 2012), "Republican Jewish Coalition turns out in force for Gingrich in Delray" The Palm Beach Post
  30. ^ a b c Karl, Jonathan (2009-01-06). "Freshman Congressman Sleeps on Cot". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-01-09. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthor= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ "Better Know a District - Utah's 3rd - Jason Chaffetz". Colbert Nation. January 6, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  32. ^ http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/08-22-2012-Update_to_Outlook.pdf
  33. ^ http://rsc.jordan.house.gov/uploadedfiles/lb_71811_cutcapbalance-4.pdf
  34. ^ http://chaffetz.house.gov/sites/chaffetz.house.gov/files/SS%20Press%20Release%20with%20Maya%20Quote.pdf
  35. ^ http://chaffetz.house.gov/sites/chaffetz.house.gov/files/ChaffetzLetterFinal.pdf
  36. ^ The Raw Story. “Soledad O’Brien schools Republican Rep. claiming Ryan Medicare plan ‘not vouchers’.”, August 17, 2012. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/17/soledad-obrien-schools-republican-rep-claiming-ryan-medicare-plan-not-vouchers/
  37. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHO6MaIG60g
  38. ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/700005678/Utahs-Jason-Chaffetz-tells-Obama-face-to-face-that-he-broke-promises.html
  39. ^ http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14295472
  40. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584410,00.html
  41. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLtVRBCsnOc
  42. ^ Canham, Matt (2009-10-10). "Republicans Incredulous, Critical over Obama's Peace Prize". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 12, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthor= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ http://chaffetz.house.gov/press-release/chaffetz-supports-rid-act
  44. ^ Asimov, Nanette (December 29, 2009). www.sfgate.com "Do airport imagers invade privacy?". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  45. ^ Washington Post. “Bill Requires TSA Seek Parental OK Before Patting-Down A Child.”, April 19, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/bill-requires-tsa-seek-parental-ok-before-patting-down-a-child/2011/04/19/AF0dj03D_blog.html
  46. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/12/AR2010071205394.html
  47. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29962.html
  48. ^ http://chaffetz.house.gov/press-release/chairman-chaffetz-questions-sigar-afghanistan-transparency
  49. ^ Meghashyam, Mali. “Chaffetz Suspects Libya Security Decisions ‘coordinated’ Between White House, State Dept.”, October 19, 2012. http://thehill.com/video/house/260927-chaffetz-suspects-libya-security-decisions-coordinated-between-white-house-state-dept
  50. ^ Meghashyam, Mali. “Chaffetz Suspects Libya Security Decisions ‘coordinated’ Between White House, State Dept.”, October 19, 2012. http://thehill.com/video/house/260927-chaffetz-suspects-libya-security-decisions-coordinated-between-white-house-state-dept
  51. ^ Huffington Post. “Jason Chaffetz Admits House GOP Cut Funding For Embassy Security: 'You Have To Prioritize Things.”, October 10, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/jason-chaffetz-embassy_n_1954912.html
  52. ^ Pershing, Ben (July 21, 2010). "Norton gets in heated House floor dispute ... over a New York racetrack?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
  53. ^ Broder, John (March 6, 2010). "No Endangered Status for Plains Bird". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Utah's 3rd congressional district
2009–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States Representatives by seniority
238th 		Succeeded by

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