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Cole Congratulates 2020 Service Academy Appointees

By
Tom Cole
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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) this week congratulated nine students who received and accepted appointments to attend one of the United States military service academies. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy all require a congressional nomination to be considered for appointment. Cole previously nominated these students for appointment consideration in December.

“I am very proud to congratulate and extend my best wishes to nine phenomenal Fourth District students, who have accepted appointments to attend one of America’s prestigious military service academies,” said Cole. “These exceptional young leaders could pursue numerous career paths, yet they nobly and selflessly chose to answer the call to serve our nation with their talents and intelligence. I was honored to play a small part in their journey by nominating each of them for potential appointment. As they embark on a new chapter in their lives this fall, I know they will continue to make their families, communities and our state incredibly proud.”

The students from the Fourth District of Oklahoma who received and accepted appointments are listed below:

U.S. Military Academy at West Point

Heyward Hutson, Cache – Cache High School

Joseph Kelly, Lawton – Eisenhower High School

Bryson Stricker, Ardmore – Plainview High School

U.S. Naval Academy

Kirby Snow, Sulphur – Sulphur High School

Trace Stewart, Marietta – Marietta High School

Brody Sturges, Noble – Noble High School

U.S. Air Force Academy

Dalton Carson, Ada – Ada High School

Sydney Gunter, Lawton – MacArthur High School

Samuel Jun, Oklahoma City – Casady School*

*Note: Samuel Jun was also offered an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Cole Applauds Full-Year Government Funding for FY 2020

By
Tom Cole
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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04), Vice Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after President Donald Trump last night signed into law two full-year government funding packages for fiscal year 2020. The two packages include all 12 appropriations bills, which cover annual operations across the entirety of the federal government.

“One of the most fundamental duties of Congress is to fund the government and to keep it open and operational. By coming to bipartisan agreement on full-year appropriations, I am very proud that lawmakers in both chambers not only prevented a government shutdown, but they avoided the need for another short-term continuing resolution. I applaud President Trump for signing these critical packages into law, responsibly providing certainty for the federal government and the thousands of supporting federal workers.”  

Earlier this week, Cole made extensive remarks in support of the funding packages on the House floor. Video is available here. 

Cole also explained the importance of funding with full-year appropriations, instead of continuing resolutions, in a recent column here.

The Work Left To Do

By
Tom Cole
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As the end of the year draws nearer, unfinished legislative work remains for lawmakers in both chambers of Congress. In the coming days and weeks, it is critically important that members come together to tackle the pressing work left to do.

First, Congress needs to provide full-year funding – also called appropriations – for the federal government. As you might know, annual appropriations support government programs that touch nearly every aspect of our daily lives as well as various facets of the economy – including national defense, operating national parks, law and immigration enforcement, health care research and a host of other activities. All of these activities should be funded through 12 annual appropriation bills passed by Congress and signed into law by the president before the start of the fiscal year on October 1. Unfortunately, that legislation has not been completed yet for fiscal year 2021. As a result, government operations are temporarily being funded by a short-term “continuing resolution” through December 11. I am encouraged that the Senate Appropriations Committee recently unveiled their version of annual funding legislation. However, it will ultimately require time, bipartisanship and good faith negotiation to ensure both chambers can pass and the president will sign any legislation into law.  

Along with continuing the government’s regular functions and preventing a shutdown, Congress still needs to act on additional coronavirus relief for the American people. Both chambers have already shown it’s possible to deliver relief in a bipartisan manner, as it did four times earlier this year. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi has for months intentionally stalled progress on a fifth relief package even though bipartisan agreement exists on many things, such as extending the small business saving Paycheck Protection Program.  

Finally, another critical piece of legislation that awaits completion is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This annual legislation authorizes funding for the U.S. military and other critical defense priorities and ensures our troops and their families have what they need to defend our nation. The enactment of this complex legislation has been passed each year, for 59 years. In the coming weeks, I am hopeful that differences can be sorted out and we can send the NDAA to President Trump to be enacted to support our common defense and ensure protection of U.S. interests around the world.

Before the end of the year and the start of a new Congress, current members on both sides of the aisle and across the Capitol must work together to keep the government funded, act on another coronavirus relief package and authorize funding to support our common defense. I remain committed to finishing that important work, and I urge my colleagues to do the same for the good of all Americans.

Cole Statement on President Biden’s Outrageous FY 2022 Budget Request

By
Tom Cole
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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after President Joe Biden sent a $6 trillion budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2022. Cole is the Vice Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee. 

“Looking at the price tag alone, President Biden’s budget request is utterly outrageous and unrealistic,” said Cole. “While Congress is ultimately responsible for providing the annual funding for the federal government, the Biden Administration has demonstrated yet again that its solution for everything is to tax, spend and then spend some more. Such misguided and unnecessary expansion of government is not sustainable for America’s future. Moreover, we simply cannot afford it.  

“Our country’s enormous and growing debt already exceeds an astounding $28 trillion. The last thing America needs is President Biden’s proposed tax-and-spend monstrosity. To be clear, navigating the coronavirus pandemic response and recovery greatly strained communities across the nation, which led to five bipartisan and massive packages to support emergency efforts. But the situation has changed dramatically since then. Communities are reopening. People are getting vaccinated. Life is starting to return to a relative normal. Rather than proposing trillions in spending on non-pandemic related programs and initiatives, the president should be focused on fostering the nation’s economic recovery.

“Despite promises made on the campaign trail not to raise taxes on those with low and middle income, the president’s budget would let existing tax cuts expire, which would immediately increase the tax burden on hardworking Americans. As individuals, families and small businesses continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, such levels of unprecedented spending and taxation would only lead to inflation, slowed economic growth and the highest national debt level in American history.

“In his earlier budget outline, President Biden prioritized programs to appease the far-left faction of his party, such as vastly expanding Medicare, while also proposing effective cuts for our national defense. Now more than ever, we should be bolstering our common defense as our adversaries such as China and Russia are growing their militaries by the day.

“Fortunately, for the American people, Democrats do not have the majorities capable of passing this level of expansive programs on their own. Moreover, Congress holds the purse strings. In the days and weeks ahead, it is my hope that Congress can negotiate spending that is actually reasonable and won’t lead to financial disaster.”

Continuing Achievements

By
Tom Cole
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As Congress reaches the final stretches of its 115th session, the House can reflect on a long list of accomplishments it has achieved since the beginning of the session. Despite the constant discussions that partisan gridlock may be the new norm, it has been quite the opposite. Since the beginning of the 115th Congress, the House has passed 598 bills – 470 of which are sitting in the Senate with no action. That means almost 79% of all legislation passed thus far have yet to see the Senate Floor or the President’s desk. However, since President Trump took office, we have worked in concert with the Administration to advance good legislation that will support America’s economy and wellbeing.

One of the first legislative initiatives that Congress approached was the successful work to deregulate harmful government regulations and Obama-era federal rules. Congressional Review Acts served as the catalyst to end the many bureaucratic red-tape practices that have slowed industrial growth, regulated thousands of workers and hampered American ingenuity. So far, Congress has passed, and the President has signed, 15 Congressional Review Acts. Regarding deregulatory action alone, no Congress and Administration have done more than the current ones.

The most significant accomplishment of the 115th Congress so far has been the passage and implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reforms the current tax code and incentivizes businesses to invest into the American economy. This year, Americans filed their taxes for the last time under the antiquated tax system and will begin to reap the benefits of the new system’s individual tax brackets. Businesses have begun to reinvest in corporate expansion, and have awarded thousands of dollars in bonuses to employees. As a result, the passage of the tax reform bill is projected to contribute to economic growth in the United States in the years to come.

During this Congressional session, the federal government, unfortunately, faced multiple continuing resolutions and even a government shutdown. The House has been diligent in the past year by passing all twelve appropriations measures to send to the Senate promptly. However, it was ultimately the Senate that made it impossible for the bill to be sent to the President’s desk on time. The Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus spending bill, which funds the entire federal government, was finally passed by both chambers and signed into law by President Trump in March of this year. It is important to note that this year’s omnibus funding bill does not direct any funds to Planned Parenthood, and includes many provisions to protect the sanctity of life. Legislative amendments like the Hyde Amendment prohibit federal funds to be used for abortion, and the Weldon amendment protects doctors and nurses that do not want to perform abortions from discrimination.

Our national security has become a top priority in the past year as well. In the Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus spending bill, the Department of Defense received its largest funding boost in 15 years, which will lift the military out of the harmful sequester. These investments in the military will bolster critical programs that support troop training, equipment, and facility maintenance, improving technology, research, and development and fulfill any readiness shortfalls. Furthermore, the funding increase will expand troop numbers, so that the U.S. military is a more robust and able fighting force.

Additionally, reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) systems has also been a significant accomplishment of the 115th Congress. A vast number of legislative reforms have been signed into law that are directed at creating more transparency and accountability at the VA. In the Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus bill, the VA received the largest dollar amount increase in history. The Department of Veterans Affairs received $85.1 billion which will help care for 7 million patients. It will also address shortfalls at the VA by reducing patient wait times, improving electronic health records and addressing the disability claims backlog.

In addition to completing the Fiscal Year 2019 funding bill this year and in regular order, the House will still maintain a busy legislative agenda to finish before the end of the year. Many major actions, like the 2018 Farm Bill and the creation of stronger border security will need to be addressed. As we reach the home stretch of the year, it is imperative that the House, Senate, and the White House continue to successfully pass bills that will advance regulatory reform, economic growth, public health and wellbeing and ultimately, the American taxpayer.

An Invasion of Privacy

By
Tom Cole
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In an attempt to pay for their irresponsible socialist spending package, Democrats have put forward a radical proposal that would authorize the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to spy on the bank accounts of every American. This is an outrageous invasion of privacy and contradicts U.S. societal norms.

Following public outcry, Democrats recently revised their socialist regulatory surveillance plan. However, their “scaled back” version is hardly different in its real impact. Democrats’ snooping plan would require banks to monitor any accounts with more than $10,000 in annual deposits or withdrawals – including inflows and outflows made with physical cash, transactions with a foreign account and transfers to and from another account with the same owner. So along with weaponizing the IRS, Democrats want to turn local and community banks into new regulatory divisions, implemented with $80 billion added to the taxpayers’ tab.

While the Biden Administration claims this regulation would help the IRS identify tax cheats amongst high earners, the reality is that every American who pays rent or a mortgage would be targeted. Beyond rent or mortgage, hardworking American families could be opened up to surveillance simply by investing in a child’s college education, taking out a loan to buy farm equipment or start a small business, starting a part-time job to make some extra money or even transferring money from a savings account to a checking account or vice versa. Indeed, this surveillance scheme is not about preventing tax evasion of wealthy people or large corporations, it is about taxing blue-collar workers and family-owned businesses, farms and ranches, so Democrats can subsidize programs and fund tax giveaways in blue states. 

In response to this highly invasive proposal, I recently signed two letters to the IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury expressing my opposition to any threshold for Americans’ bank accounts to be spied on. Additionally, I am a cosponsor of the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act, which would prohibit the Treasury from requiring any financial institution to report the ins or outs of any account maintained by the institution.

Aside from the intrusion of privacy, the proposal also raises very real fears related to cybersecurity, especially considering that the IRS is often targeted by cybercriminals and has experienced multiple data breaches in recent years. Allowing the IRS to collect sensitive and personal financial information could pose a very serious threat to millions of Americans if another breach were to occur.

I wish I could say that the Biden Administration’s desired overreach of private banking data ended here. Sadly, there is more cause for concern over his nominee for Comptroller of the Currency, Saule Omarova, whose confirmation hearings are currently underway in the U.S. Senate. This position oversees the charter, regulation and supervision of all national banks. A 1989 graduate of Moscow State University on the Lenin Personal Academic Scholarship, Omarova has applauded Russia’s economic system as superior. Even more alarming, she has written that the Federal Reserve should take over consumer bank deposits, end America’s current banking system and instead use Venezuela and China as models for our financial system.

In their ongoing quest to transform America into a socialist nation, Democrats are seeking to inherently change our financial system and spy on citizens, even without any accusation of wrongdoing. This is not only an astonishing breach of privacy that presents serious cybersecurity risks, it is simply un-American.

Cole Mourns Loss of Queen Elizabeth II

By
Tom Cole
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Moore, OK – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after learning about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned for more than 70 years. 

“Queen Elizabeth II lived an extraordinary life and displayed an unwavering sense of duty to her country. As the longest reigning monarch in modern history, she leaves behind an unparalleled legacy that extends numerous generations and 15 prime ministers. Her loss will be deeply felt not only by her loyal subjects but by countless admirers around the world. My prayers are with the Royal Family as they grieve the loss of a truly legendary matriarch and with our British friends as they mourn the loss of their much beloved Queen.”

Vaccines Save Lives

By
Tom Cole
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The month of August marks National Immunization Awareness Month, which is a very timely subject considering the unprecedented circumstances we are facing in the world right now. For decades, communities around the globe have relied on vaccinations and immunizations to protect us from dangerous, deadly diseases. This month, it is important to remember that vaccines not only protect you, they also protect at-risk individuals around you and ultimately save lives.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccines and immunizations prove to be one of the most cost-effective, life-saving treatments for diseases. In fact, as reported by the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC), the United States each year spends an astonishing $26.5 billion treating four major vaccine preventable diseases: influenza, pneumococcal, shingles and pertussis. Before the coronavirus pandemic, AVAC also noted that, over 20 years, vaccines would prevent 732,000 deaths and 21 million hospitalizations.

As the former Chairman and current Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for funding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), I have always supported incremental funding increases for the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Gradual base increases go toward support of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which facilitates increasing vaccination rates for over a dozen vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as vaccinations for at-risk populations. It also strengthens state public health infrastructure and increases disease surveillance efforts.

To slow the spread of coronavirus, the development of a vaccine to treat COVID-19 is crucial, and I am proud this is being taken seriously in our country. This spring, the NIH formed a public-private partnership called Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) to coordinate and prioritize research efforts into the most promising therapeutics and vaccines. Moreover, HHS has invested more than $7 billion into facilitating research and development for more than five vaccine candidates by leading pharmaceutical companies.

In mid-May, President Trump initiated Operation Warp Speed, a partnership with HHS, the Department of Defense and private pharmaceutical companies to ensure the United States is the first nation in the world to develop and deploy a coronavirus vaccine. This operation seeks to quickly produce and deliver 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines nationwide by January 2021. It’s worth noting that Operation Warp Speed has resulted in the pre-purchase of hundreds of millions of doses should vaccine candidates prove successful.

Throughout the course of history, vaccines have proven to prevent diseases and serious illnesses, and the coronavirus pandemic proves no different. Although this process doesn’t happen overnight, we have certainly made the investments and have the resources to develop and administer a coronavirus vaccine once discovered. However, this pandemic also reaffirms the importance of investing in pandemic programs to ensure we can develop, test and stockpile immunizations for the next generation.

Cole Remembers September 11, 2001

By
Tom Cole
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Norman, OK – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) remembered the tragedy of September 11, 2001, when planes were hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the World Trade Centers in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in a field near Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania.

“It is hard to believe nineteen years have passed since the despicable terrorist attacks that senselessly claimed precious lives and sought to shatter our sense of safety and security,” said Cole. “Our nation will forever mourn the Americans whose lives were prematurely and viciously taken on September 11, 2001, and we will always remember the numerous heroes who arose in the aftermath of the crisis.

“Though our nation was shaken and heartbroken, we were not destroyed and we were not intimidated. Indeed, Americans quickly proved the power of our strength, resilience and resolve. We showed the world that, even on one of our darkest days, we will always unite and always prevail. Certainly, it is that same American spirit that will help see us through this coronavirus crisis as well.”

The Need To Reform The Drivers Of Our Debt

By
Tom Cole
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There is no question Congress must put our fiscal house in order. The debate surrounding spending cuts and increases, fundamental budgetary reform, and raising revenue will only intensify in the face of an exploding debt.

Each February, the President submits a budget to Congress outlining spending proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. The President has just submitted the budget for fiscal year 2019 to Congress and the document includes some shared goals with the Administration, such as fortifying our borders, investing in infrastructure and combating the opioid epidemic just to name a few. Republicans have also supported the President’s goal for increased defense spending and improving our national security. The budget caps agreement recently passed by Congress allows for $700 billion and $716 billion respectively for defense in the next two years. This provides the necessary funding to restore readiness and improve war-fighting capabilities. President Trump’s recently submitted budget advocates for $686 billion for the Department of Defense, which is in line with the recently agreed-upon budget deal.

However, in light of our country’s mandatory spending and massive interest payments on the debt, I do have concerns long-standing on the budget. The White House budget proposal, sent to Congress last Monday, is projected to have $3.1 trillion in outlays in mandatory spending, including interest, out of the $4.4 trillion budget for fiscal year 2019. The Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney says erasing the budget shortfall in a decade isn’t realistic, and our national debt continues to grow, eating into other budget areas.

We can all agree that we should make necessary cuts to programs that contribute to wasteful spending, but the only solution is to recognize and address the real drivers of our debt – major entitlement spending. Without reforms, areas like the Social Security Trust Fund will be depleted by 2034 according to the latest Social Security Trustees’ Report.

My colleague Congressman John Delaney of Maryland and I have introduced bipartisan legislation to create a national, bi-partisan commission composed of 13 members from both the Executive and Legislative branches with the goal to reform Social Security. The commission’s purpose would be to develop solutions that could achieve 75-year solvency within 1 year of enactment and force Congress to consider it under expedited procedures. Appointed by leaders in both parties, any recommendation by the commission must reach a 9 out of 13 vote threshold. The, Congress would vote up or down, without amendment the commission’s recommendations. Every year that we delay addressing the issue, the solutions become more expensive and more painful, and continue to put our children and grandchildren even deeper in debt.

Last week, the House Budget Committee held a hearing to discuss the President’s budget with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. In his testimony, Director Mulvaney stated that the federal budget was just a ‘messaging tool.’ Indeed, the President’s budget requests have some good intentions, but Congress will have the final say with its own budget release in the coming months. It is in our hands to take the first step and finally do something about spending reforms and tackle the debate on debt. The long-term sustainability of mandatory spending programs like Social Security and Medicare is in danger if we do not make necessary reforms. Furthermore, it is imperative that any budget moving forward addresses the realities of mandatory spending and balances itself in the long term.

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