Iowa lawmaker explains photo of him reading book on state House floor

DES MOINES - Iowa Rep. Ross Paustian, R-Walcott, said a photo that showed him reading a book titled 'Sex After Sixty” during Iowa House debate Tuesday night is a case of unfortunate timing, and he apologized to any constituents who were offended.

The photo, taken and posted on the social media site Twitter by Des Moines Register reporter Brianne Pfannenstiel, shows Paustian reading the book while state legislators debated a bill on collective bargaining for school employees.

Paustian said the book was a gag gift for Rep. Rob Bacon, R-Slater, who recently turned 60 and who sits next to Paustian on the House floor.

Paustian said he had just picked up the book to glance at it when the photo was taken.

The photo spread across social media, and Paustian said that by Wednesday he had received multiple emails from people criticizing him.

'I'm getting a lot of pretty vicious emails from people, so I have to explain,” Paustian said. 'The main thing is I was totally engaged in what was going on on the floor. … I knew what was going on. I knew how we were going to vote on amendments. So it wasn't like I wasn't paying attention to what was going on.

'If any of my constituents were offended, I apologize. I certainly wasn't trying to offend anybody. I'm doing my job here for my constituents.”

Democrats and liberal advocacy groups used the photo to suggest Republicans were not tuned into the House debate over what was a highly contentious bill. After nine hours of debate that spread into Wednesday, the proposal passed along party lines.

'It's unfortunate,” Paustian said. 'That stuff always gets political, too. But that's just part of the job.”