Just three of the 433 U.S. House representatives this week voted against a resolution to honor Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno and his 400th career win.
The dissenters are U.S. Reps. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican; Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat; and Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat.
Now Penn Staters are getting a sense of their rationale.
In a POLITICO report, Chaffetz suggested that sports icons get “more than their share of adulation” and that the country should recognize teachers and scientists.
DeFazio, meanwhile, told POLITICO that Congress shouldn’t be “wasting our time on honorary resolutions.”
And a spokeswoman for Slaughter said her boss “had seen enough frivolous resolutions.”
The entire POLITICO piece, by Jessica Taylor, is posted here.
U.S. Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, himself a Penn State alum, introduced the resolution to honor Paterno. He told POLITICO that the dissenters “obviously didn’t read the resolution close enough. Joe Paterno is about a lot more than men on the field.”
Earlier coverage
