Chaffetz starts group to kill wasteful federal programs

Rep. Jason Chaffetz co-created on Wednesday the new Sunset Caucus in Congress, full of Republicans who are dedicated to forcing old, wasteful government programs to ride off into the sunset.

"We are $1.8 trillion in debt and digging deeper every day. We simply cannot keep running the country on a credit card," Chaffetz said at a Capitol press conference announcing the new caucus that he will co-chair with Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas.

"With the federal government operating more than 240 education programs, 342 economic development programs and 71 business support programs, it will not be hard to find wasteful and duplicative programs that government has no business spending taxpayer dollars on," he said.

Each member of the new caucus is agreeing to champion through legislation the elimination of at least one federal program. Chaffetz, as a co-chairman, is personally leading the attack on three programs.

One is a $28 million annual subsidy for mohair, the fabric made from yarn made from the silky hair of the Angora goat. Chaffetz said mohair subsidies were originally authorized to hold down the cost of military uniforms, but the military has not used mohair in uniforms since the Korean War.

He is also attacking the $30 million spent annually on the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. He said it was established in 1963 to help states and local governments acquire new land and make improvements in their parks. Chaffetz said local governments should be responsible for maintaining their own parks.

Finally, Chaffetz will also lead the fight on $14 million in annual funding for the International Fund for Ireland, which was established in 1986 by the British and Irish governments to encourage reconciliation between nationalists and unionists throughout Ireland.

Chaffetz said regardless of the worthiness of that goal, U.S. taxpayer money should not be spent to help the internal problems of a wealthy country such as Ireland.

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