“While the office buildings were closed, my staff and I set up a makeshift office at my apartment just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol.  On Thursday, we were allowed to return to our office in the Cannon House Office Building.  We have been assured that the building is safe, and we are pleased to have our DC office once again open for business.  At this time, however, mail is not yet being delivered to Capitol Hill offices, so I encourage you to continue to contact me and my staff in the coming days through phone, fax, or email or by mailing the district offices.  If you have mailed a letter to our Washington office in the last two weeks, I ask you to bear with us as we will respond to our mail as soon as it is brought to us. 

“This weekend, I will be back in Arkansas attending events in Crossett, Pine Bluff, Eudora, Hamburg and El Dorado before returning to Washington next week to continue to address the important issues facing our nation.  On Saturday, I will be holding community meetings in Eudora and Hamburg to discuss the current status of America’s war on terrorism and how it affects the communities of South Arkansas.  I can assure you that I am committed to ensuring that the President, our government, and our law enforcement personnel have the resources they need to win this war against terrorism and make all American families feel safe again.”

“The Republican measure raids Social Security and Medicare by $160 billion and is too heavily weighted with excessive tax cuts, while the Democratic alternative is too burdened with spending and one which would have repealed part of the tax cut that I supported earlier this year,” Ross said.“The most important thing we can do to get our economy moving again is to ensure that we win our war against terrorism,” Ross continued. 

“The people of my district are telling me that they want our resources devoted to ensuring the safety and security of their families from terrorism. Making the American people safe and secure will go a long way toward restoring their confidence in our nation’s economy, and that’s the best economic stimulus package we can pass.”

“This is not a partisan issue for me. I was one of 28 Democrats to support the President’s $1.35 trillion tax cut earlier this year. We should provide a lift to our economy, but we should not pass a so-called economic stimulus that, in reality, is a vehicle to provide excessive new tax cuts or spending proposals. That’s why as a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, I opposed both plans and voted to send the legislation back to committee to craft a more common-sense, bipartisan package that would truly stimulate our economy,” Ross concluded.

After both the Democratic substitute amendment and the motion to recommit failed, the House narrowly approved the Republican sponsored package by a vote of 217-214.