Jason Chaffetz

WASHINGTON -- The military has come under sharp criticism at a House hearing for failing to create a searchable database of medal recipients.

WASHINGTON — A proposed toll on a 30-mile stretch of Interstate 15 in Arizona is drawing opposition from Utah.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced Monday that he wouldn't challenge longtime Sen. Orrin Hatch for the Republican nomination next year, ending a statewide effort that has been building for months and possibly disappointing Tea Party advocates who saw him as their best shot for knocking off another GOP senator.

While Chaffetz maintained during his announcement that he could beat Hatch -- and continued to criticize the six-term senator, whom Chaffetz said he hasn't spoken to in "months" -- he acknowledged the race would have been a "blood bath" costing millions of dollars and requiring his entire focus.

OGDEN -- U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, will hold a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. today at the Pleasant Valley Branch of the Weber County Library, 5568 Adams Ave., in Washington Terrace.

The meeting will be in the library's black box theater.

Chaffetz, who represents the state's 3rd Congressional District, is holding a series of such meetings around the state. He is widely considered to be a potential challenger to Sen. Orrin Hatch for the Republican U.S. senatorial nomination in 2012.

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz hasn’t decided whether he’ll seek the Senate seat of fellow Utah Republican Orrin Hatch, but his movements in the upcoming week indicate he’s seriously considering it.

WASHINGTON -- Democrats in the House of Representatives sent President Barack Obama a strong message Thursday: Speed up U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.

Though the House's bid to push Obama to expedite the U.S. exit failed, it lost by a surprisingly close 215-204 vote. The outcome -- and the fiery debate that preceded it -- made it clear that the president's party, as well as a growing number of Republicans, is growing impatient with the almost 10-year-old war as the 2012 election campaign approaches.

"The American people are tired and fed up," said Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C

"After 10 years of war, people are ready to bring troops home. It's not cutting and running, it's the longest war in the history of the United States, for goodness sake," added Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.