U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx is again taking media heat for a comment made on the congressional floor. During debate on a hate-crimes bill, Foxx referred to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard as a “hoax” and stated that Spehard’s murder was reportedly motivated by robbery and not because he was homosexual. Two men are serving life sentences for Shepard’s murder.

“We know that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay,” Foxx said during debate. “The bill was named for him, the hate-crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

Foxx issued a statement that said: “It has come to my attention that some people have been led to believe that I think the terrible crimes that led to Matthew Shepard’s death in 1998 were a hoax. The term “hoax” was a poor choice of words used in the discussion of the hate crimes bill. Mr. Shepard’s death was nothing less than a tragedy and those responsible for his death certainly deserved the punishment they received. I am especially sorry if his grieving family was offended by my statement.

“The larger context of my remarks is important. I was referring to a 2004 ABCNews 20/20 report on Mr. Shepard’s death. ABC’s 20/20 report questioned the motivation of those responsible for Mr. Shepard’s death. Referencing this media account may have been a mistake, but it was a mistake based on what I believed were reliable accounts.”

Former senate candidate from North Carolina Jim Neal, who is gay, told the Associated Press: “I’m baffled that any kind of elected representative would make that kind of absurd and heartless comment about a young man whose life was taken away from him, and taken away because he was gay.”

Foxx was recently criticized for using the term “tar baby” when discussing the Democrat Party’s role in executive bonuses for companies receiving federal bail-out funds.