On Thursday, House members had a little fun with freshman Rep. Jim White, R-Albuquerque, who replaced Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry after Berry was elected mayor of Albuquerque and resigned. The gentle hazing, from legislators on both sides of the aisle, is a tradition for members who pass their first piece of legislation.


First, Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, asked White if the legislation was in accordance with House Rule 27.

There is no House Rule 27.

But the coup de grâce came when White, an Air Force Veteran, was asked to sing the first three measures of The U.S. Air Force song before the House would pass his memorial.

The legislation, House Joint Memorial 8, requested that Congress “allow for payments of both the survivor benefit plan annuity and the dependency and indemnity compensation.”

Note: A previous version of this post referred to Rep. White as “Bill White.” We regret the mistake.