WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today issued the following statement after his vote against Pelosi’s $789.5 billion spending bill.  The bill passed 246-183 (1 present) without a single Republican vote.  7 Democrats voted against the bill.

“Montanans are facing serious economic challenges, and Congress must act quickly, decisively and correctly.  Unfortunately, despite empty rhetoric, Speaker Pelosi’s deal with the Senate does not focus enough on funding critical infrastructure projects or tax reductions that would create jobs and stimulate the economy.  Instead, the Pelosi deal is filled with wasteful spending that will do nothing to jump start the economy but will permanently bloat the federal government and make future tax increases inevitable.
   

Montanans will end up owing more than we’ll receive because we’re being asked to subsidize the irresponsible spending of states like California, Speaker Pelosi's home state.  While Montana needs and deserves a stimulus bill that creates jobs and boosts the economy, all we got today was a bigger federal government. 

The real stimulus, the one that I voted for, would have provided twice the jobs for half the cost.  We brought strong ideas to the table.  For example, I suggested a suspension of all payroll taxes, which would ease the tax burden on working families and businesses alike.  I also advocated targeting more spending toward infrastructure projects that put folks to work. Unfortunately, these ideas were not included in the final plan. 

But I'm not giving up the fight.  I intend to closely monitor how these funds are spent and will use my position on the Appropriations Committee to make sure taxpayers get value for their hard earned dollars."