Missouri state representative Tracy McCreery (D) filed a resolution this month urging her fellow members in the state House of Representatives to stop mispronouncing the word “fiscal” as “physical” while discussing policy in the lower chamber.
In an interview with Missouri’s Riverfront Times, McCreery explained that the intent of H.R. 1220 is completely sincere. “I did it because I hit a wall,” she said, revealing some of the legislators make the mistake “pretty much daily.” To hear the wrong word used repeatedly when discussing serious policy issues is like “nails on a chalkboard” to her and a few other colleagues.
McCreery decided that while her grievance was serious, the way she dealt with it didn’t have to be. “I thought, you know, there are a lot of different ways to approach things like this,” she later told The Washington Post, “and I thought it would be best just to sort of have fun with it rather than sitting there cringing every time I hear a word like that mispronounced.”
Since McCreery says the bill is intended to be a subtle reminder to her offending colleagues, there are no scheduled hearings for H.R. 1220 according to the legislative calendar.
Lisa Feierman