Jason Chaffetz: “I thank the gentleman from Texas. I rise in support of S. 2170, the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012. I'd also like…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas. I rise in support of S. 2170, the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012. I'd also like to thank and commend Ranking Member Cummings and his work with Chairman Issa for bringing this bill to the floor on a bipartisan and a bicameral basis. I also want to commend Senator Mike Lee for his tireless work on this, his concern, particularly on what happened in Utah, and his good work with Senator Akaka. The bill wouldn't be here today without their good work, and I commend them both for working, again, in a bipartisan way. I am also a proud cosponsor of H.R. 4152, sponsored by Ranking Member Cummings--I'm glad to come together with him--which is the House companion to S. 2170. S. 2170 makes commonsense, long overdue reforms to the Hatch Act, which became law nearly 75 years ago. While the numerous reforms this legislation includes are all important, I'd like to highlight the critical reform made by section 2 of this bill. In May of this year, the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Federal workforce held a hearing where members heard of the ongoing problems with the Hatch Act and options for reform. At the hearing, the subcommittee heard from my fellow Utahn Jon Greiner, an individual whose experience with the Hatch Act has become far too common and is the reason why we're here today. In 2006, Mr.…”