Washington, D.C.- U.S. Senator Jim Risch issued the following statement after voting "no" to raise the national debt limit and pass the 1,071 page, so-called Economic Stimulus package today.

"Today's vote is a demonstration of what is wrong with the legislative process in Washington. This bill was not carefully crafted or deliberated in a bipartisan fashion. It was thrown together with pet project after pet project piled on," said Risch. "I recognize that our economy is in dire condition and something must be done; that is why I pushed for amendments to address the source of this crisis– the credit and housing markets. Some of those amendments passed in the Senate, but were stripped away by the strictly partisan Conference Committee and replaced with more spending. This bill's provisions that actually create jobs are too small, while the social spending is overwhelming and at a staggering cost to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren."