The result of a car bombing in Iraq.

A Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED),^[1] commonly known as a car bomb, is an improvised explosive device placed inside a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle, people near the blast site, or to damage buildings or other property. Car bombs act as their own delivery mechanisms and can carry a relatively large amount of explosives without attracting suspicion; in larger vehicles and trucks, weights of up to 1000 pounds (450 kg) have been used.^[1] Car bombs are activated in a variety of ways; including opening the vehicle's doors, starting the engine, depressing the accelerator or brake pedals or simply lighting a fuse or setting a timing device.^[2] The gasoline in the vehicle's fuel tanks makes the explosion of the bomb more powerful.

Use as weapon[link]

Car bombs are effective weapons as they are an easy way to transport a large amount of explosives and flammable material to the site where the explosion should take place. A car bomb also produces a large amount of shrapnel, or flying debris, that causes secondary damage to bystanders and buildings. In recent years, car bombs have become widely used by suicide bombers.^{[citation needed]}

Countermeasures[link]

Defending against a car bomb involves keeping vehicles at a distance from vulnerable targets by using Jersey barriers, concrete blocks or bollards, metal barriers, or by hardening buildings to withstand an explosion. Since the height of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) campaign, the entrance to Downing Street has been closed, preventing the general public from getting near Number 10. Where major public roads pass near buildings, road closures may be the only option (thus, for instance, in Washington, D.C. the portion of Pennsylvania Avenue immediately in front of the White House is closed to traffic). Historically these tactics have encouraged potential bombers to target "soft" or unprotected targets, such as markets.^[3]

Operation[link]

U.S. Army Humvee attacked by a car bomb, Baghdad, Iraq.

A 2005 car bombing in Iraq, in which a second car bomb was detonated while US forces were investigating the scene of an earlier such blast, resulting in 18 casualties.

Vietcong terror car bombing aftermath scene in Saigon, 1965.

Car bomb in Iraq, made up of a number of artillery shells concealed in the back of a pickup truck.

TSA officers view the post-blast remains of a vehicle after an explosive was detonated inside it

Car bombs and detonators function in a diverse manner of ways, and there are numerous variables in the operation and placement of the bomb within the vehicle. Earlier and less advanced car bombs were often wired to the car's ignition system, but this practice is now considered more laborious and less effective than other more recent methods, as it required a greater amount of work for a system that could often be quite easily defused. While it is more common nowadays for car bombs to be fixed magnetically to the underside of the car, the underneath of passenger/driver's seat, or inside of the mudguard, detonators triggered by the opening of the vehicle door or by pressure applied to the brakes or accelerating pedals are also used.^[2]

Bombs operating by the former method of fixation to the underside of the car more often than not make use of a device called a tilt fuse. A small tube designed of glass or plastic, the tilt fuse is not dissimilar to a medical tablet tube. One end of the fuse will be filled with mercury, while the other open end is wired with the ends of an open circuit to an electrical firing system. Naturally, when the tilt fuse moves or is jerked, the supply of mercury will flow to the top of the tube and close the circuit. Thus, as the vehicle goes through the regular bumping and dipping that comes with driving over a terrain, the circuit is completed and the bomb or explosive is allowed to function.^[2]

As a safety mechanism to protect the bomber, the placer of the bomb may rig a timing device incorporated with the circuit to activate the circuit only after a certain time period, therefore ensuring that the bomber will not accidentally activate the bomb before he or she is able to get clear of the blast radius.^[2]

History[link]

Car bombs can be seen as the remote descendants of the 16th Century Hellburners, explosive-loaded ships which were used to deadly effect by the besieged Dutch forces in Antwerpen against the besieging Spanish. Though using a less refined technology, the basic principle of the Hellburner is similar to that of the car bomb.

The first car bomb may have been the one used for the assassination attempt on Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1905 in Istanbul by Armenian separatists, in the command of Belgian anarchist Edward Jorris.

In the past, groups that used car bombs have included:

• 1920: The Wall Street bombing — Italian anarchist Mario Buda (a member of the "Galleanists") parked a horse-drawn wagon filled with explosives and shrapnel in the Financial District of New York City. The blast killed 38 and wounded 400.
• 1927: The Bath School disaster — Andrew Kehoe used a detonator to ignite dynamite and hundreds of pounds of pyrotol which he had secretly planted inside a school. As rescuers started gathering at the school, Kehoe drove up, stopped, and detonated a bomb inside his shrapnel-filled vehicle, killing himself and the school superintendent, and killing and injuring several others. In total, Kehoe killed 45 people and injured 58 making the Bath School bombing the deadliest act of mass murder in a school in U.S. history.
• Zionist terrorist group the Stern Gang were the first group to use car bombs in Palestine.
• The Viet Cong guerrillas used them at the end of the First Indochina War and throughout the Vietnam War;
• The OAS used them at the end of the French rule in Algeria;
• The Sicilian Mafia used them to assassinate independent magistrates up to the early 1990s;
• The IRA used them frequently during its campaign during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and England. The Omagh bombing by the Real IRA, an IRA splinter group caused the most casualties in the Troubles from a single car bomb.
• Loyalist paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association used car bombs against civilians in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The UVF bombs in Dublin and Monaghan.^[4][5] caused the most casualties in a single day during the Troubles.
• Freelance terrorist Carlos the Jackal claimed responsibility for three car bomb attacks on French newspapers accused of pro-Israeli bias during the 1970s.
• Cleveland Irish mobster Danny Greene frequently used car bombs against his enemies, beginning in 1968. Afterwards, they also began to be used against Greene and his associates. The use of car bombs in Cleveland peaked in 1976, when 36 bombs exploded in the city, most of them car bombs, causing it to be nicknamed "Bomb City." Several people, including innocent bystanders, were killed or wounded. Greene himself was finally killed in a car bomb explosion on October 6, 1977.
• The German Red Army Faction occasionally used car bombs, such as in an unsuccessful attempt to attack a NATO school for officers in 1984.
• During the Soviet-Afghan war, at a variety of training camps in the tribal areas of Pakistan,^[6] the Pakistani ISI with the aid of the CIA trained mujahadin in the preparation of car bombs. Car bombs became a regular occurrence during the war, the Afghan civil conflicts which followed, and then during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
• Agents of the Chilean intelligence agency DINA were convicted of using car bombs to assassinate Orlando Letelier and Carlos Prats, who were opponents of the regime of Augusto Pinochet. Letelier was killed in Washington, DC.
• In the 1980s, the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar used vehicle bombs extensively against government forces and population centers in Colombia and Latin America.
• Suicide car bombs were a regular feature of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon which lasted from 1982 until Israel's withdrawal in 2000. The bombing campaign was waged by several groups, most prominently Hezbollah.
• On February 26, 1993, Islamist terrorists led by Ramzi Yousef detonated a Ryder truck filled with explosives in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Yousef's plan had been to cause one of the towers to collapse into the other, destroying both. Although this was not achieved, six people were killed, thousands injured and extensive damage was caused.
• In 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a Ryder box truck filled with an explosive mixture (fuel oil and fertilizer) in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City (see Oklahoma City bombing)
• In the late 1990s and early 2000s, vehicular explosives were used by Chechen nationalists against targets in Russia.
• On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold planned to use two car bombs as the last act of the Columbine High School massacre, apparently to murder police and first responders. Both car bombs failed to explode, though Klebold's detonated at 11 PM instead 11 AM as planned, but no one was injured.
• Southeast Asia-based militant Islamist group Jemaah Islamiyah had utilize car bombs in their campaigns during the early 2000s, the most prominent being the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.
• On June 30, 2007, a Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane tanks crashed into the entrance of Glasgow International Airport. The vehicle caught fire, but failed to detonate. As a result, there were no injuries from the attack itself apart from the driver, who died of his injuries several weeks later, and one passenger who was severely burned, although several bystanders were injured in restraining the two. The attackers appear to have been Muslims unaffiliated with any organization who were disgruntled about the war on terror. Thirty-six hours earlier, two bombs had also been found in a vehicle in London, although the police reported that the bombs were incomplete and could not have exploded.
• The Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka frequently made use of car bombs during that country's civil war in a campaign which lasted from 1976 until the group's defeat in 2009.
• A car bomb which had misfired was discovered in Times Square, New York City on May 1, 2010. The bomb had been planted by Faisal Shahzad. Evidence suggests that the bombing was planned by the Pakistani Taliban.
• On December 11, 2010, a car bomb exploded in central Stockholm in Sweden, slightly injuring two bystanders. Twelve minutes later, a Swedish man of Iraqi origin accidentally detonated six pipe bombs he was carrying, but only one exploded. The bomber was killed but there were no other casualties. It is believed that the attacks were the work of homegrown terrorists who were protesting Sweden's involvement in the war in Afghanistan and the publication in Sweden of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
• On July 22, 2011, in the Norway massacre, a car bomb exploded in Oslo within Regjeringskvartalet, the executive government quarter of Norway. The explosion killed 8 people. 69 others were killed in a shooting spree on an island in Utøya. The attacks was set up by Anders Behring Breivik.

Mass-casualty car bombing, and especially suicide car bombing, is currently a predominantly Middle Eastern phenomenon. The tactic was first introduced to the region by the Stern gang, who used it extensively against Palestinian and British military targets; it was subsequently taken up by Palestinian bombers as well.^[7] The tactic was widely used in the Lebanese Civil War by the Islamic fundamentalist group Hezbollah. A notable suicide car bombing was the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, when two simultaneous attacks killed 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French military personnel. The perpetrator of these attacks has never been positively confirmed. In the Lebanese civil war, an estimated 3,641 car bombs were detonated.^[8]

Groups that still use car bombs include:

• Various Palestinian militant groups, against both military and civilian Israeli targets.
• Many Lebanese militants continue to use car bombs against domestic opponents, a notable example being the assassination of Rafic Hariri, the country's former Prime Minister, on February 14, 2005.
• Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyah was assassinated by a car bomb in Lebanon in 2008, allegedly by Mossad.
• Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) in Spain. At least 80 massive car bombs have exploded in Spain during the last decade.^[9]
• Although it has never been officially acknowledged, the American CIA has occasionally been accused of being behind car bombings. One such attack was the failed assassination attempt on Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in Beirut on March 8, 1985. Although there has been widespread speculation of CIA involvement, this has never been proven conclusively.
• Dissident Irish Republicans in Northern Ireland^[10]
• Al-Qaeda in attacks around the world since the 1990s, most notably the 1998 United States embassy bombings.
• Militants and criminals in India occasionally utilize car bombs in attacks. This includes Muslim, Sikh, Kashmiri and Naxalite militants, as well as rival politicians within the government and organized crime. A notable recent attack was the 25 August 2003 Mumbai bombings, in which two car bombs killed 54 people. The attack was claimed by the Pakistani-backed Kashmiri separatist group Lashkar-e-Toiba.
• Since the beginning of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban have often employed vehicular explosives against enemy targets. This has included not just cars and trucks but even bicycle bombs.
• The Iraqi insurgency - an estimated 578 car bombs were detonated in Iraq between June 2003 and June 2006. Car bombs continue to be commonly used as of presently.^[11]
• The Pakistani Taliban have occasionally used car bombs in their ongoing conflict with the government of Pakistan.
• The Juárez Cartel's armed wing, La Línea, used a car bomb to attack police officers in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on 15 July 2010.^[12]
• The Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel were blamed for using car bombs in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on 24 April 2011 to "heat up" the turf of Los Zetas.^[13][14][15]

See also[link]

• Deaths by car bomb
• Guerilla Warfare
• Improvised explosive device (IED)
• Insurgency
• List of mass car bombings
• Organized crime
• Terrorism

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Mike Davis, Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb (Verso: New York, 2007).

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Car bombs

• Video of a detected car bomb (VBIED) going off
• A history of the car bomb (Asia Times)
• "Explosive reading", review by Daniel Swift for the Financial Times
• Car Bomb - manyriverfilms' award-winning documentary history of the car bomb

Or see Explosion (disambiguation)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009)

The Explosion
The Explosion performing at Tabenacle in Atlanta, Georgia October 2004
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Punk rock Pop punk Alternative rock
Years active	1998–2007
Labels	Jade Tree Revelation Tarantulas Virgin Paper + Plastick Chunksaah Records
Website	www.theexplosion.net
Members
Matt Hock David Walsh Damian Genuardi Andrew Black Chris Gonzalez
Past members
Dan Colby Sam Cave

The Explosion was a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. On February 13, 2007 the band announced that they had left Virgin Records, and on April 30, 2007, that they were to split up. On June 5, the band announced plans for two last shows in Philadelphia, and New York.

Biography[link]

Matt Hock and Damian Genuardi met David Walsh through Rama Mayo, owner of indie label Big Wheel Recreation. They started the band in the fall of 1998, with Cave and Colby eventually joining later.

They pressed 250 copies of a demo before going on tour with Kid Dynamite. A roadie gave the demo to indie rock label Jade Tree Records, who signed the band and put out a self-titled EP containing all the demo tracks in 2000.

Their debut full-length, Flash Flash Flash on Jade Tree, was released to glowing reviews. Spin Magazine named it as one of the best 20 albums of 2000, and later named the band one of the top 10 punk acts of 2001. The Explosion also came in 2nd for Best Local Punk Act in the Boston Phoenix. They began touring the U.S. and Europe with the likes of Sick of it All, AFI (A Fire Inside), the Nerve Agents, Avail, Leatherface, US Bombs, Alkaline Trio, The Queers, Social Distortion, Tiger Army, The International Noise Conspiracy, Rocket From the Crypt and Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. They were also featured on the 2001 and 2005 Warped Tour.

Unfortunately, they quickly faced a problem. Genuardi's former straight edge hardcore band, In My Eyes, had been signed to Revelation Records. Revelation Records threatened to sue Genuardi if he was credited on any of The Explosion's records, believing that The Explosion's success with Jade Tree should belong to them. The Explosion settled the dispute by writing an EP for Revelation, sarcastically titled Steal This.

In 2003, they released an EP called Sick of Modern Art on their own label, Tarantulas Records.

Seven major labels soon became involved in a bidding war over The Explosion. They were eventually signed to Virgin Records, who distributed Sick of Modern Art. Their album Black Tape was recorded at Cider Mountain Recorders by C. Phillips and J. Hehn. It was released on Virgin in the United States on October 5, 2004, then on March 15 in the UK. Songs off this album were even featured on several video games such as: Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, and NFL Street 2.

The Explosion finished recording their second Virgin Records release in 2006, but it was left unreleased. On March 2008 it was announced that the record, titled Bury Me Standing, would be released on the new label Paper + Plastick.^[1] Once again, the album was not released. In December 2011 it was announced that Chunksaah Records, the label run by the band's friends The Bouncing Souls, will release the album on February 14, 2012.^[2]

On December 2, 2011, it was announced that the band would be doing a one-off performance with The Bouncing Souls on December 28, 2011 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, as part of the Souls' fifth annual "Home For The Holidays" shows.^[3]

Members[link]

Current members[link]

• Matt Hock - vocals (1998–2007)
• David Walsh - guitar (1998–2007) (Currently playing guitar with The Loved Ones)
• Damian Genuardi - bass (1998–2007) (Currently playing bass with My Best Fiend)
• Andrew Black - drums (2000–2007) (Currently playing drums with Domino Team & Team Vibes)
• Christopher Gonzalez - guitar (2005–2007) (Currently playing bass with The Loved Ones, and singing/guitar for Team Vibes)

Past members[link]

• Sam Cave - guitar (1999–2004)
• Dan Colby - drums (1998–2000)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Flash Flash Flash (July 18, 2000 Jade Tree)
• Black Tape (October 4, 2004 Virgin Records)
• Bury Me Standing (2012 Chunksaah Records)

Live albums[link]

• Live in Boston - (2005 Virgin Records)
• Live from the Troubadour - (2005 Tarantulas) Only available in DIW Magazine #20. Hand numbered to 1000

EPs[link]

• The Explosion (April 2000 Jade Tree)
• Steal This (October 31, 2000 Revelation)
• Sick of Modern Art (April 22, 2003 Tarantulas)
• Here I Am (2004 Virgin Records)
• Red Tape (January 1, 2005 Tarantulas)
• No Revolution (July 5, 2005 Tarantulas)

Singles[link]

See: Billboard.com's artist chart history

Compilation albums[link]

• Tarantulas 2003 Sampler (April 22, 2003)
• 2005 KROQ New Music (November 9, 2004 KROQ)

References[link]

External links[link]

• August 2007 Interview with The Explosion on LateNightWallflower.com
• Interview with The Explosion on TruePunk.com
• The Explosion Explode, Perfect Sound Forever
• Lazy-i Interview: November 2002

Jason Chaffetz
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Chris Cannon
Personal details
Born	Jason E. Chaffetz (1967-03-26) March 26, 1967 (age 45) Los Gatos, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (1985-1990) Republican (1990-present)
Spouse(s)	Julie Chaffetz
Children	3
Residence	Alpine, Utah, U.S.
Alma mater	Brigham Young University
Occupation	business relations executive
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)
Website	chaffetz.house.gov

Jason E. Chaffetz (pronounced /ˈtʃeɪfɨts/; born March 26, 1967) is the U.S. Representative for Utah's 3rd congressional district, serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Provo and includes large portions of central and west-central Utah.

Early life, education, and business career[link]

Chaffetz's father was Jewish and his mother was a Christian Scientist.^[1] Chaffetz converted to Mormonism in his college years.^[2] He attended Brigham Young University (BYU) on an athletic scholarship. He was the starting placekicker on the BYU football team in 1988 and 1989, and still holds the BYU individual records for most extra points attempted in a game (10), most extra points made in a game (10), and most consecutive extra points made in a game (10).^[3]

Chaffetz grew up a Democrat. His father had previously been married to Michael Dukakis' wife, Kitty, and his half-brother is former actor John Dukakis.^[4] 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.^[5]

Early political career[link]

He became a Republican after meeting Ronald Reagan in 1990, when Reagan came to Chaffetz's employer, Nu Skin, a multi-level marketing company based in Provo, Utah, as a motivational speaker. However, his political views had been drifting more to the right even while working for Dukakis.^[6]

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.^[7]

After briefly serving in that capacity, Chaffetz returned to the private sector in November 2005, managing his own company, Maxtera Utah, which offers services in the areas of corporate communications and marketing.

In 2007, Chaffetz was appointed by the Governor, and unanimously confirmed by the Utah State Senate, as a Trustee for Utah Valley State College. He has also served as the President, BYU Cougar Club-Utah County, member of the Highland City Planning Commission, and as the Chairman for the Utah National Guard Adjutant General Review. Chaffetz also appeared on the "Better Know A District" segment of The Colbert Report in 2008, where he was defeated by Stephen Colbert in leg wrestling.^[8]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Elections[link]

2008

In June 2007, Chaffetz announced he would challenge the 3rd District's six-term incumbent, Chris Cannon, for the Republican nomination. 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," specifically mentioning stronger measures to prevent illegal immigration.^[4] He continued to criticize Cannon during the campaign on the issue of illegal immigration.^[9]

Chaffetz nearly ended Cannon's career at the 2008 Utah Republican State Convention. Chaffetz won 59 percent of the 3rd District's delegates to Cannon's 41 percent. Had a few hundred more votes gone his way, he would have won 60 percent of the delegates and gained the Republican nomination without the need for a primary.^[10] It was the second time in a row that Cannon's career had nearly been ended at the convention; in 2006 John Jacob took 52 percent of the votes at the convention (though Cannon ultimately won the resulting primary).

In the primary on June 24, 2008, Chaffetz defeated Cannon by a vote of 60% to 40%.^[11] Chaffetz's victory was shocking on several fronts. Cannon was endorsed by George W. Bush,^[12] the state's two U.S. Senators (Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett) and almost all of the state Republican establishment. Cannon also outspent Chaffetz by 6 to 1.^[13]

Chaffetz faced Democrat Bennion Spencer in the 2008 general election, along with Jim Noorlander from the Constitution Party. Chaffetz easily won election with 66% of the vote (to 28% and 6% for Spencer and Noorlander, respectively). Chaffetz also received the highest percentage (66%) of any of the three Representatives from Utah, with Rob Bishop (R, 1st District) winning with 65% and Jim Matheson (D, 2nd District) winning with 63% in their districts. However, the 3rd is one of the most Republican districts in the nation, and it was generally believed Chaffetz had assured himself of a seat in Congress with his primary win.

2010

Chaffetz won against Democratic nominee Karen Hyer and three third-party candidates, garnering 72% of the vote.^[14]

2012

In early 2012 Chaffetz worked as a spin doctor on behalf 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.^[15] "I'm just trying to offer a little perspective," said Chaffetz at one of Gingrich's Florida stops.^[16]

Tenure[link]

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.^[17] 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."^[17] His family will continue to live in Alpine, a suburb of Provo. "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.^[17]

President Obama

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".^[18]

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. Chaffetz also surprised many in Utah by announcing he opposed the increase in troops in Afghanistan, and believed the best approach would be to bring the troops home from Afghanistan.^{[citation needed]}

Homeland Security

In December 2009, Chaffetz championed legislation to limit the use of full-body imaging scanners at airports. Chaffetz's bill, which passed the House and now waits for Senate approval, would limit the use of full-body imaging scanners 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. Salt Lake City is one of only a handful of airports using the technology.^[19]

Resolutions

Chaffetz has taken a pledge to vote against what he calls "trivial resolutions," including those dealing with sports, including HRES 1491 which congratulates the University of South Carolina baseball team on winning the 2010 NCAA Division I World Series and HRES 1715 which congratulates Penn State's football coach Joe Paterno on his 400th career win. Chaffetz feels that the House could be taking up much more important legislation.^[20]

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. According to Chaffetz, "The only good place for a sage grouse to be listed is on the menu of a French bistro."^[21] 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.^[21]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy
  • Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform

Caucus Memberships

• Congressional Arts Caucus

References[link]

External links[link]

• Congressman Jason Chaffetz official U.S. House site
• Jason Chaffetz for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs

v t e Members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah Territorial (1851–1895) Bernhisel Hooper Bernhisel Kinney Hooper G. Cannon Campbell G. Cannon Caine Rawlins F. Cannon One At-large seat (1895–1913) Allen W. King Roberts W. King Sutherland Howell Two At-large seats (1913–1915) Seat Howell Seat Johnson Districts (1915–present) 1st district Howell Welling Colton Murdock Granger Stringfellow Dixon Peterson Burton McKay Hansen Bishop 2nd district Mays Leatherwood Loofbourow Robinson Dawson Bosone Dawson D. King Lloyd D. King Lloyd Owens Howe Marriott Monson Owens Shepherd Greene Waldholtz Cook Matheson 3rd district Nielson Orton C. Cannon Chaffetz