“A legislative court reporter last night made several inappropriate comments as the U.S. House of Representatives was conducting final deliberations that would end the government shutdown and raise the nation’s borrowing limit. Such behavior is unacceptable and undermines the sacred role that the cadre of legislative reporters working in the U.S. House as well as the Senate carry out on a daily basis in creating a verbatim record of our history. While we have no knowledge whatsoever of what might have caused this situation, stenographic court reporters have been successfully creating accurate and reliable records for generations without calling undue attention to themselves, other than that which is absolutely necessary to clarify statements in a trial or deposition.”
