U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts joined most of his Republican colleagues in voting “no” to the $700 billion emergency bailout of the financial industry this afternoon, helping the House to defeat a plan that had been pushed heavily by President Bush and a bipartisan coalition of congressional leaders. We’re awaiting a statement from the Republican lawmaker, who represents Lancaster County in the House.

An aide to Pitts said this morning that the Republican lawmaker was “definitely concerned that the secretary of the treasury has this huge pot of money, and while right now it’s Hank Paulson, we don’t know who it will be four months from now.” The aide, Andrew Cole, said Pitts had “a fundamental issue with this kind of market intervention. That’s a really difficult thing for a conservative to swallow. But he understands the severity of the situation.”

Pitts has received more than 1,000 calls and e-mails from residents of the 16th Congressional District — most of whom urged Pitts to vote against the bailout plan. “The phones are literally ringing off the hook, and they have been all weekend,” Cole said. “The vast majority are asking Congress to vote against it. (Pitts) is weighing in his mind an uncomfortableness with the level of intervention and the huge response from constituents telling him to vote against it against the reality that there is a serious situation,” Cole said.