Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wa.), elected to a fourth term this past November as Washington's 4th District Representative in Congress, released a statement today regarding his nay vote on H.R. 9051, a bill that would inflate the Economic Impact Payments (stimulus checks).

The bill overwhelmingly passed, by more than a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, 275-134, but the bill has met resistance and even proposed modification in the Senate, to appease the Commander-In-Chief, by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Congressman Newhouse statement reads:

“As our national debt grows, it is more important than ever that we focus on reopening our economy and getting Americans back to work. Individuals and families in Central Washington are struggling, but they want paychecks – not handouts, which is why I supported the bipartisan relief package President Trump signed into law that provides targeted aid to our small businesses and gives our communities the resources needed for testing and vaccine distribution to continue fighting this virus while working toward a return to normalcy. I will continue to work in Congress to ensure we are using taxpayer dollars efficiently to restore our way of life and deliver help to those in my district and throughout the nation who need it most.”

Reaction to the vote has been over 90% negative, taking the Congressman to task for a plethora of reasons, on Rep. Newhouse's Facebook page.

Many constituents in Washington's 4th and 5th Congressional Districts, represented by Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers respectively, are still sore over both reps signing on to, and endorsing the amicus brief, filed by the state of Texas and spurred on by many States' Republican attorneys general and ultimately encouraging the brief to be taken up by the Supreme Court with a total of 126 Representatives signing on.

Newhouse, in particular, took so much heat over the move, he felt the need to double down and defend his decision with an op-ed piece in the Yakima Herald Republic.

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