Washington » A House committee on Thursday pulled back legislation that would bar federal contractors behind on their taxes from gaining more government work after Rep. Jason Chaffetz tried to extend that to cover federal workers delinquent on their taxes.
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Edolphus Towns pulled the underlying legislation -- a push by President Barack Obama to crack down on contractors who don't pay their tax bills--- when Chaffetz said he wanted a vote on his amendment that would give federal agencies the power to terminate workers who have fallen far behind on their taxes.
The president's plan on hold, Towns promised a hearing on the Utah Republican's measure to hold federal workers to the same standard as federal contractors.
"The principle is still the same whether it's a contractor or a federal worker," Chaffetz said, arguing that 100,000 people on the federal payroll are classified by the Internal Revenue Service as seriously delinquent on their taxes, owing about $1 billion.
Democrats didn't dispute Chaffetz's point, but balked at rushing the ability to fire tax scofflaws without understanding how agencies might deal with the new-found power or how much it would affect civil service laws.
"They deserve better than frankly our rushing to judgment on something so important," said Rep. Gerald Connolly, a Democrat who represents Fairfax County, Va., home to many federal workers in the Washington region.
Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said Chaffetz's effort may cause the opposite result of recouping owed taxes since an unemployed, former federal worker won't have income to pay back a dime.
