Rep. Wittman: H.R. 8 Bad for Defense

Of Virginia's 11 representatives in Congress, only Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) voted Tuesday night for the Capitol Hill deal preventing the nation from going off the now infamous “fiscal cliff.” 

House members Rob Wittman (R-1), Scott Rigell (R-2), Bobby Scott (D-3), Randy Forbes (R-4), Robert Hurt (R-5), Bob Goodlatte (R-6), House Minority Leader Eric Cantor (R-7), Jim Moran (D-8), Morgan Griffith (R-9) and Frank Wolf (R-10) all voted against the measure.

Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb voted for the bill.

"I could not vote for this bill because it does nothing to reform our long-term spending problems, which are the real drivers of our debt and deficits," Rep. Wittman wrote in a statement on his website.  Wittman represents Fredericksburg.

"In addition, this bill postpones sequestration, the disastrous defense cuts, for only two months.  This creates even more uncertainty for our defense industry, which is so vital to the security of this nation," he said.

Final passage of H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act, averted scheduled income tax rate increases and the spending reductions required by the sequestration process, according to a congressional summary of the measure.

Senator Warner said in a statement that the “negotiated agreement does little to address our deficits and it does not raise enough revenue to put our country on a path to reduce our long-term debt."

Connolly said the measure “was not a perfect package, but it is something that gets us by until we can tackle the larger issues in the next Congress.”

Complete results of the roll call vote on H.R. 8 are available here.

Subscribe to the free daily email newsletter from Fredericksburg Patch.