Joe Wilson

Rep. Joe Wilson celebrated the passage of H.R. 1 last week, one of the first major pieces of legislation passed by the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives. The bill, a spending plan to counter President Barack Obama’s, dramatically cut federal spending. Though Obama’s proposed budget is supposed to trim spending, the House Republicans’ plan slashes the budget an additional $100 billion.

“I would like to thank both the House Republican leadership and the conservative freshman class for following through on our pledge to America,” Wilson said. “Limiting federal spending is critical for job creation, the promotion of private sector investment, and for putting our country back on the path to financial prosperity. House Republicans intend to continue to follow through on our promises to stop Washington’s four-year out-of-control spending binge.”

Overall, the bill contains $61 Billion in funding cuts from here through the end of the 2011 fiscal year. In a lame-duck session of Congress in December, Members voted to to only partially appropriate 2011 monies. In showing the turning of the tide from that time, though, the House passed H.R. 1 by 235-189. Speaker of the House John Boehner called it, “one of the largest spending cuts in American history.”

The bill moves on to the Senate, where it faces a difficult road, even with a diminished Democrat majority. If passed, it would fund the federal government from March 4 to September 30. If no spending agreement is reached by early March, the government will be forced to shut down.

- Team Wilson