When Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon told the audience at the congressional hearing on I.R.S. abuse and E.P.A. overreach, “Lets stick to the Constitution and we will balance the budget next week,” the packed house erupted in applause.
“We are not here to talk about phony scandals,” said Salmon. “These are real.”
Congressman Paul Gosar hosted the field hearing which included Arizona representatives Salmon, David Schweikert, and Trent Franks at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona.
The hearing started late and the pastor, who was supposed to deliver the invocation, never showed. After Franks agreed to deliver a prayer, the fireworks flew.
Gosar called the hearing to discuss “issues that not only impact Arizonans, but also affect Americans across the country.” On the matter of the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, he said, “Using the most feared government agency is an abuse that cannot stand.”
Salmon said that Attorney General Eric Holder “does not have the credibility to investigate the IRS.” Salmon called for a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS, and he called for the fair tax “in order to eliminate the IRS.”
Schweikert said, “They (IRS) use the tax code as a bludgeon,” and called for “radical action” in changing the tax code.
“We have an administration that is political all the time,” said Schweikert. He called Washington “arrogant” and described the near impossibility of obtaining public documents and even data sheets used by the administration in determining environmental policy and positions.
All agreed that the EPA is an “out of control agency.” Franks called it the “Employment Prevention Agency.” Gosar, Salmon and Schweikert were fiery in their defense of the Navajo Generating Station.
Horne testified as to the harm of the EPA’s ‘sue and settle’ tactics and is representing the State of Arizona in its lawsuit against the EPA to stop ‘sue and settle’. Horne also testified that the EPA has obstructed the discovery process in the matter and advised Arizona that it was “not in the public’s interest to disclose public documents on EPA ‘sue and settle’ cases.
The EPA is trying to force the station to make $500 million in modifications to the plant. The station recently submitted a proposal to the EPA to delay installation of the scrubbing technology. The congressmen argued that the EPA has no business regulating Arizona business.
“Why the heck are we standing by with this rotten deal?” Salmon said. “What I’m learning, especially with a president who thinks he’s king of the entire world, the only way we can control him is with the purse strings.”
“If we have to hog-tie the president, the four of us, we need to do it,” Salmon concluded. The EPA’s demands would cause electricity costs to soar.
Schweikert was interrupted in his defense of the NGS by one environmentalist who claimed the station was unhealthy, to which Schweikert responded that the claim was based on “willful ignorance.”
Horne then asserted that the EPA admitted the over $500 million in modifications were not called for as a result of health concerns.
The purpose of the hearing was to take testimony from constituents in regard to problems or concerns they have with the IRS or the EPA. Witnesses also offered testimony on the impact a closure of the Navajo Generating Station would have on Arizona.
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