In one of their first major acts since taking control of the House of Representatives this year, Republicans passed H.R. 1, their spending bill for the remainder of FY ’11. The bill passed at 4:40 AM by a vote of 235-189 and would fund the federal government through September 30, 2011. It now heads to the United States Senate for consideration.

Upon passage and having voted against the bill, Congressman Paul Tonko released the following statement:

"Because I refuse to play political games with the lives of the people I represent, I voted no on this irresponsible spending bill.  It will delay social security checks to seniors; it will lay off thousands of teachers; and it will severely set back the high-tech job market that is the catalyst for growth in our Capital Region. While I am all for tightening our belt and reducing our nation’s deficit, sacrificing our children’s future to subsidize record profit making big oil companies is simply wrong. This extreme bill is a step backward, not forward.”
                                                            

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