Rigell explains vote against bill to stop government shutdown

Editors note: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information. While a candidate, Rep. Scott Rigell was supported by members of the Hampton Roads Tea Party, but was not endorsed by it.

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U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell took a hard line when he voted Friday against a last-minute bill to stop a federal government shutdown - the lone Virginia member of Congress to do so.

The Virginia Beach Republican, whose district has a large military and veteran community, acknowledged that his vote - if it had been in the majority - would have effectively closed most government functions and halted or delayed pay for almost all government personnel, including the military.

But Rigell said Monday that the severity of the nation's large federal deficit outweighs his desire to keep funding the government. The measure approved Friday and a companion bill being discussed this week to make cuts in federal spending don't go far enough, he said.

"It was clear to me that the decisions that had been agreed to did not adequately address the fiscal crisis," he said, adding that he believes residents of the 2nd Congressional District support his position. The district includes Virginia Beach, part of Norfolk and the Eastern Shore.

The deficit "threatens the foundation of our country," Rigell said. "I have a deep resolve that it needs to be addressed now. It needs to be this Congress, this year."

Before Friday's vote, Rigell also had supported, without success, a GOP House proposal to approve a defense budget for the rest of the fiscal year while the remainder of federal spending was still being debated.

Congress agreed shortly before a midnight deadline on Friday to continue funding the government for another week to give time to enact a new compromise bill to fund the government until Sept. 30. The House vote was 348-70.

Rigell said it would have been "duplicitous" to vote for extending government spending one more week when he already knew he couldn't support the new spending deal, which had been worked out by House and Senate leaders and President Barack Obama.

The details of the budget bill were still being compiled by legislative staff Monday.

Legislative leaders expect about $38 billion will be cut from the current budget, which runs until Sept. 30. Congress had already agreed to about $12 billion of those cuts in previous legislation.

The latest round includes $13 billion in cuts to the departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services in addition to $8 billion in cuts to the State Department and foreign aid, according to legislative staff. Another $1 billion in across-the-board cuts would affect domestic agencies.

That's not deep enough, Rigell said.

Rigell, who was supported by members of the Hampton Roads Tea Party, said during his election campaign last year that he wanted to freeze all federal hiring, cancel all federal stimulus programs and make changes to Social Security and Medicare for younger workers because they are too costly. He also has argued that significant savings can be achieved by eliminating "duplicating programs" and bureaucracies that exist because federal agencies operate independently of each other.

Three of Hampton Roads' other federal legislators - Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner, both Democrats, and Rep. Bobby Scott - are waiting to see the details of the compromise plan before discussing how they might vote. Rep. Randy Forbes could not be reached for comment.

Scott, a Newport News Democrat, said he's not certain whether he will support the new budget bill because of concerns that some money meant to pay for part of the new health care law may have been cut. He has been a strong proponent of the new law.

"I want to see all of the details," Scott said.

The Associated Press and The New York Times contributed to this report.

Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com