Conn. GOP Gov. Pushed For Stimulus, Says Himes

Freshman Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said that his state’s Republican governor, M. Jodi Rell, called her state’s Democratic House members to offer her support for the stimulus bill.

Rell phoned Himes on Wednesday before the House voted on the stimulus to ask him how she could help push the bill through, Himes said on WNYC Public Radio on Thursday.

“What can I do, who can I call to make sure this passes?” Rell told Himes, according to the congressman’s account.

By backing the bill, Rell, a centrist Republican, was on the opposite side from House Republicans, who all voted against the bill. The House approved the bill Wednesday by a 244-188 vote. Eleven Democrats joined Republicans in opposition to the measure.

Other members of Connecticut’s House delegation also received calls from Rell, Himes said. Democrats control all five House seats and both Senate seats in the Nutmeg State.

Rell hasn’t publicly campaigned for the stimulus, which would provide the state with $2.3 billion in federal funds over the next two years, according to The Connecticut Post. She has been pressing state lawmakers to pass their own stimulus for the state.

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