(CNN) Late last year, Memphis took down a pair of Confederate statues from a park.

On Tuesday, lawmakers in the Tennessee House passed an amendment to a state appropriations bill that strips $250,000 in funding that the city was to receive for its upcoming bicentennial celebration.

One of the amendment's sponsors, state Rep. Steve McDaniel, admitted this was in retaliation for Memphis removing the Confederate statues.

"If you recall back in December, Memphis did something that removed historical markers in the city," McDaniel said on the House floor. "It was the city of Memphis that did this and it was full knowing that it was not the will of the legislature."

That generated an angry response from Memphis representatives.

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