U.S. Rep. Tom Marino said Saturday morning's historic vote in favor of deep cuts in government spending is just the beginning of the restoration of the nation's economy.
Marino, of Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District, voted in favor of a continuing resolution that funds the federal government through fiscal year 2011. The measure follows five days of debate and cuts more than $100 billion in non-defense discretionary federal spending. The measure passed by a 235-189 vote.
"We are proud of what we did which is exactly what the American people told us to do," Marino said. "They want us to cut federal spending, keep taxes low and restore the economy so that the private sector can create more jobs."
This will be the first of many bills that will fulfill the pledge to significantly reduce spending, Marino said. The nation is more than $14 trillion in debt, a record-high and the equivalent to $45,000 per American and $127,500 per taxpayer. Each day the United States pays $1.273 billion solely on interest payments.
The vote follows three consecutive sessions that kept House members on the floor into the early-morning hours. The House finished voting on the measure around 4:40 a.m. Saturday.
"We were bound and determined to do this," Marino said. "We were going to stay there until it got done. It was refreshing to know that the Republican leadership gave Republicans and Democrats the opportunity to full debate the issues, something Republicans were not allowed to do under the Democrat majority."
The continuing resolution crafted by the House Appropriations Committee represents the largest reduction in non-security discretionary spending in the nation's history and will save American taxpayers more than $100 billion compared to President Obama's fiscal year 2011 request.
Marino voted in favor of several amendments that would defund the health-care legislation enacted last year by House Democrats including: a vote to defund the implementation of the individual mandate, and several votes to prohibit funds from being used to implement many of the provisions of the health-care law. He voted to prohibit funding for Planned Parenthood and voted to restore some funding to the LIHEAP program that assists the needy with home-heating bills.
Marino said he would always work to protect the military, law-enforcement officials and emergency responders. He voted for an amendment to restore funding for local law-enforcement programs because "these folks represent our line between civility and chaos."
"We are making history," Marino said. "There is much more work to be done but so far, we have done what the American people asked us to do."