mr. chaffetz: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of house resolution 1612, expressing the support for and honoring september 17, 2010, as constitution day. madam speaker, i first would like to commend my distinguished colleague from ohio, mr. latta, for introducing this bipartisan resolution for the second year in a row. it serves as an important reminder of the ideals and principles contained within a document that we have all sworn to uphold and protect. madam speaker, friday marks the 223 anniversary of the signing of the constitution of the united states of america. september 17, 1787, 12 state delegations comprising a total of 39 delegates to the constitution convention in philadelphia, pennsylvania, signed an historic document that has guided our nation for centuries. while this concluded the constitutional convention, the constitution didn't truly take effect until new ham

mr. chaffetz, from utah, and point out that the item that mr. -- our colleague from massachusetts pointed out is such a narrow piece, we want to really do something about federal employees paying their taxes, not just those who might apply for a loan under this program. mr. chaffetz, i yield you three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized for three minutes. mr. chaffetz: i thank the gentlewoman for yielding. we have so many good federal workers who wake up every morning, do good jobs, they go to work, they are working hard to make this country great, we applaud them for that effort. unfortunately there is a small percentage of people who are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. but it happens to be that nearly $100,000 federal workers are not paying about $1 billion a year in taxes. the proposal that we will be able to vote on today would allow us to mandate and make sure that federal workers who founded this category of serious delinquent tax debt are fired if they don't pay their taxes, the principle is simple. if they are on the federal payrol

mr. chaffetz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. and, madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. clay: i now yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. clay: thank you. h.r. 946, the plain writing act of 2010, was introduced by representative bruce braley on february 10, 2009, and it passed the house by an overwhelming margin on march 17, 2010. the senate made slight amendments to the bill and passed it by unanimous consent earlier this week. this is straightforward, good government legislation. h.r. 946 requires agencies to use plain writing in government documents. the organization aarp wrote in a letter supporting this bill, and i quote, the use of plain language in documents issued to the public will save the federal government an enormous amount of time now spent helping c

mr. chaffetz: we have no additional speakers. i yield back and thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, again, i encourage all members to support the senate amendments to h.r. 946. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 946. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- mr. chaffetz: madam chair, i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman asking for the yeas and nays. the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise, remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose

mr. chaffetz. we do not know if it is in this case, but there are so many areas where regulators and the regulated have a cozy relationship which works to the detriment of the american people. we need only to look to the bp oil catastrophe to have that underlined boldly. they're sadly are many other examples. we will find out if that is the case here. but i want to caution some of my colleagues about how we define the work of this committee. on the one hand, some of my colleagues would reject a beneficial role for government in people's lives. on the other hand, when a regulatory agency does attempt to assert government responsibility for corporate misconduct, that is not recognized. this committee is not just oversight of the government. it is oversight of misconduct in the private sector. rather, it is oversight of corporate conduct in the private sector. there is plenty of misconduct in the corporate sector. why does it happen? it happens for a lot of reasons. it is mostly greed. why doesn't the