Rock singer Bono, who has gained a worldwide reputation for his advocacy of debt relief for Third World countries, wasn't a hit in the North Dakota House.

Representatives on Thursday defeated a resolution to honor the singer and frontman of the Irish band U2, saying that Bono, whose given name is Paul Hewson, had no connection to the state. The vote was 58-35 against the resolution.

"In the next few hours, we're going to pass over $1 billion in spending," said Rep. Rick Berg, R-Fargo, the House majority leader. "I think if we are taking time away from that work and talking about these resolutions, they should have an impact on the people of North Dakota."

Rep. Scot Kelsh, D-Fargo, who introduced the resolution, pointed out that Bono has been honored by the nation's last three presidents. Most recently, his humanitarian work was praised by President George W. Bush at a national prayer breakfast, Kelsh said.

"This is something that does matter to us as citizens of North Dakota, the United States, and the world at large," Kelsh said. "I think if he's done enough that he's recognized by the president of the United States, it's certainly worthy of us to recognize him for that effort, too."

Kelsh said he got the idea for the resolution from a magazine published by the National Conference of State Legislatures, which mentioned that no state at the time had approved a resolution to honor the singer.

Rep. Steve Zaiser, D-Fargo, said Bono has probably had more impact on North Dakota than many U.S. presidents.

Referring to a resolution to honor Ronald Reagan, which the House approved last week, Zaiser asked: "Did he ever land in North Dakota?" (Reagan did visit North Dakota as president, in 1986.)

Rep. Gil Herbel, R-Grafton, said he initially thought the resolution referred to Sonny Bono, the former singer, Republican congressman and husband of Cher.

"When I saw the resolution, I was looking for Cher's name in there," Herbel said.

The resolution is HCR3027.