The city’s two Congressmen were on opposite sides of the Friday, July 18, U.S. House vote on $9 billion in federal budget cuts.

The bill — which the U.S. Senate approved Thursday — cuts about $8 billion in foreign aid spending, including programs of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and more than $1 billion in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The House approved it by a 216-213 vote.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D- Memphis, voted against the bill. U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R- Germantown voted for it.

Six of the seven other Republicans in the Tennessee delegation to the U.S. House voted in favor of the bill. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, did not vote on the matter. Green’s resignation from the House takes effect Sunday.

How Blackburn and Hagerty voted on $9B clawback bill

Cohen had said after Thursday’s Senate passage of the amended bill that he would be voting against it once it got to the House floor.

Tennessee Republican Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn voted with the majority on Thursday for the bill.

In an emailed statement, Cohen called the bill “a disaster” and said it would “result in death while also diminishing the proud cultural heritage of PBS and NPR.”

“The cuts to foreign aid programs will result in more malaria, Ebola and other dread diseases and a reduction in immunizations while suspending support for democracy-building projects, and immigration and refugee assistance programs,” Cohen said. “These programs are part of the United States’ soft power that prevents wars.”

Kustoff said the bill “cut $9 billion in reckless federal spending,” in one of two X posts: one before and one after the House action.

“In November, voters made it clear: Washington needs to rein in spending,” Kustoff posted before the House vote. “With the package now headed back to the House, we’re getting closer to delivering on our promise to cut the waste and fraud!”