Ernest Istook: “Mr. Chairman, it would make no sense for this committee to rise at this time to let people try to distract us from the…”

“Mr. Chairman, it would make no sense for this committee to rise at this time to let people try to distract us from the important work of this House. I realize that there is no rule that says you cannot offer a mean-spirited amendment. Now, there is no rule that says you cannot take a cheap shot. There is no rule, as the gentleman from Massachusetts suggested, that says you cannot try to embarrass somebody, whether it is justified or not. No, there is no rule that requires us to use common sense in this body. There is no rule that requires Members of this House to have an electricity meter outside the door of their office so that their constituents can see how much energy are they consuming. It saddens me, Mr. Chairman, it saddens me to hear people being caught with such an obvious ploy trying to take a cheap shot at the Vice President and then stand up in front of the Nation, in front of this body, Mr. Chairman, stand up and try to say, oh, we are not trying to embarrass the Vice President. Malarkey. Do not insult people's intelligence that way.”