Press Releases

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Today, Congressman Rob Wittman voted against the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Wittman voiced his concerns along with other House members on the House floor this week. Wittman realizes that that the economy is in a serious recession, but that we must do what is best for the country now and in the future.

"I have heard from thousands of my constituents and they were emphatically opposed to this bill. Any bill that provides only $13 of relief a week to each family now, while saddling them with $9,418 in new debt in the future, is not a fair shake for the hardworking taxpayer," said Wittman. 

"I was deeply concerned with the pace at which this bill was pushed through the House. We agreed this week that any stimulus bill would be available for public review for 48 hours and just twelve hours after we received the legislation, we were voting on it," said Wittman.

On Tuesday the House unanimously agreed that any legislation brought up for consideration would be posted online, for public review for 48 hours prior to a vote. Meanwhile House members did not receive the final House Conference Report until 11:00pm Thursday while votes on the final bill were held at 1:30pm. Wittman has stated that we must act to stimulate the economy, but it must be done with care and forethought.

The final legislation to be sent to President Obama this weekend for his signature allocates $791 billion in spending. The total cost of the bill approaches $1.2 trillion accounting for debt costs, which makes this the largest spending package in the history of the United States.

H.R. 1: The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed by the House on a vote of 246-183 with no Republican support.