WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a House vote today, Third District Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) voted against the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. On January 28, 2009, Jones voted against an $821 billion bill which passed the House by a vote of 244 to 188, with no Republican supporting the bill and 11 Democrats opposing it. The Senate then approved an $841 billion version of the bill by a vote of 61 to 37. A conference committee between the House and Senate convened to reconcile differences with the two bills, resulting in the conference report to H.R. 1 which the House approved today by a vote of 246 to 183. The conference report now moves to the Senate.

Congressman Jones’ statement on the bill follows below:

“It’s fitting that this bloated bill was passed on Friday the 13th, because this massive government spending will result in scary consequences for our children and grandchildren. Problems that have been caused by too much spending and too much debt simply can’t be solved by more government spending and more federal debt. While there is no doubt that our nation’s economy is suffering a severe downturn, this so-called economic ‘stimulus’ bill is a borrow-and-spend plan with no guaranteed benefits for our economy. I was hopeful that Congress could consider an alternative package that would focus on job creation and cost the taxpayers less. Today’s passage of the largest spending bill in history is not the proper relief for our nation’s ailing economy.”

“Our nation’s budget deficit is already estimated at $1.2 trillion for the current year. This ‘stimulus’ package merely saddles the American people with even more federal debt. According to the Congressional Budget Office this legislation will increase the federal budget deficit by $792 billion, with additional interest costs of at least $300 billion. With the package’s total cost at $1.1 trillion, Census Bureau statistics indicate that the bill amounts to a per-family cost of at least $9,418 in new spending and debt.”

“With each citizen’s share of the national debt at $34,000 before this legislation, the American taxpayer cannot afford to be put on the hook for non-essential government spending – like the bill’s $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and $1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund which can be used for STD education and prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”