[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 21, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H2063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      VICE PRESIDENT HAS NEW IDEA ON HOW TO WASTE TAXPAYER DOLLARS

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, according to press accounts, Vice President 
Al Gore has a new idea on how to raise taxpayer dollars.
  Apparently, he awoke from a very deep sleep at 3 in the morning and 
came up with this new innovation for the Internet. He wants to send up 
a satellite whose only job is to beam back pictures of Earth. Now, 
these pictures would be placed on the Internet so that people all 
across the world would always have access to the Earth. Now, imagine 
that, live pictures of the Earth turning on its little axis.
  This may sound like a great idea at 3 o'clock in the morning, Mr. 
Speaker, but it is a dumb idea during the rest of the day. The cost of 
this project would be about $50 million, and it already occupies the 
time of two NASA scientists. $50 million would buy 50,000 computers for 
our Nation's students.
  I have a better idea, Mr. Speaker. Let us give the Vice President 
some sleeping pills so that his nighttime dreams will not cost the 
taxpayers millions of dollars.

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