The Height of Vanity

A hilarious scoop from Drudge. Honestly, it truly is the age of the daily show and the onion:

Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) named buildings after THEMSELVES in the Labor-HHS Appropriations conference -- which they oversaw!

The 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Conference Report (109-300) names two new buildings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after the Chairman, Senator Arlen Specter, and Ranking Democratic Member, Senator Tom Harkin.

The building with the new visitors center would be named after Senator Harkin.The Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center Building (Building 21) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was to be renamed as the Arlen Specter Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center.

But rule XXI of the House Rules for the 109th Congress states: "6. It shall not be in order to consider a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that provides for the designation or redesignation of a public work in honor of an individual then serving as a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator."

Staffers on The Hill mocked the move as the latest example of egos completely out of control. By late Thursday, the conference report went down in flames when the House voted down the request. Congress will now have the opportunity to remove the vanity plates from the report when it reconvenes and revotes.