Vitter Expresses Disappointment in Senate's Failure to Pull Excess Spending from Stimulus Bill

Press Release

Vitter Expresses Disappointment in Senate's Failure to Pull Excess Spending from Stimulus Bill

U.S. Sen. David Vitter today expressed disappointment in the Senate's failure to pass his amendment to remove wasteful spending from the stimulus bill. Vitter's amendment would have removed almost $47.6 billion in funding that is not focused on creating jobs to help stimulate the economy by targeting the removal of approximately $30.4 billion in direct spending and striking the Davis-Bacon provision, saving more than $17 billion in inflated construction costs.

"It's disappointing that the Senate ignored this opportunity to show our constituents that we are truly serious about creating jobs and stimulating our ailing economy," said Vitter. "This amendment would have pulled more than $45 billion in government spending programs from this ever-growing stimulus. The American people have been told that this bill will help stimulate our economy, but unfortunately all we are looking at now is a list of traditional Washington spending projects. Passage of this amendment would have been an act of good faith for the American people - an opportunity to show them that we are serious about creating jobs. That just didn't happen here, and a great opportunity has been missed."

The Senate failed to pass Vitter's amendment by a vote of 32-65.

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