WASHINGTON -- Cheers and applause broke out on the House floor Monday evening as Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) returned to Washington, D.C. to vote for the debt limit compromise bill, which the House of Representatives passed in a 269-161 vote.
There was a standing ovation as she arrived in the House and members began clapping again as she lodged her vote. She was hugged by a number of her fellow members after the vote, many of whom were crying.
AP
In this image from House Television, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., appears on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Shortly beforehand, her Twitter account announced, "Gabrielle has returned to Washington to support a bipartisan bill to prevent economic crisis."
Giffords, 41, was seriously injured in a shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 8 that killed six and left the lawmaker plus 12 others wounded.
It was Giffords' first return to the nation's capital since the shooting and first vote she has cast since that event.
"I have closely followed the debate over our debt ceiling and have been deeply disappointed at what's going on in Washington," Giffords said in a statement.
"After weeks of failed debate in Washington, I was pleased to see a solution to this crisis emerge. I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics.
"I had to be here for this vote. I could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy."
The bill was passed in a 269-161 vote.
Giffords was released from a Houston rehabilitation center in June and since then has been recovering at the Houston home of her husband, astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly.
"The vote taking place today is the single most important vote taken this year by the House of Representatives. The congresswoman insisted on participating," Giffords' spokesman C.J. Karamargin told Tucson Weekly.
"Congresswoman Giffords has been following this debate closely over the past two weeks.
"Like the vast majority of Americans, she is extremely disappointed at Washington's inability to confront the debt ceiling issue in a timely and thoughtful manner."
Jared Lee Loughner was charged over the Tucson shooting spree and, if convicted, could face the death penalty.
But Loughner's trial is on hold after US District Court Judge Larry Burns, who is overseeing the Arizona proceedings, declared him incompetent to stand trial in May.
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