Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04), Vice Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after he voted against the Senate Amendments to H.R. 925, a coronavirus “relief” bill written solely by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats.
“Unfortunately, not a lot has changed since May, when Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats also peddled legislation focused more on securing radical policy items than delivering needed coronavirus relief. Crafted behind closed doors and without any Republican input whatsoever, again, their partisan ‘HEROES Act 2.0’ is also destined for nowhere. It will not pass the Republican-led Senate, and it will not be signed into law by President Trump. That is an unfair result for the American people, who are struggling and desperately need additional relief. They have for months.
“The endless stalling and ongoing refusal of Speaker Pelosi to seriously negotiate something real with the Trump Administration is particularly disappointing when so many areas of bipartisan agreement already exist. Indeed, there are plenty of items that could pass both chambers separately and immediately, including a simple extension of the Paycheck Protection Program for struggling small businesses and their workers. Though Speaker Pelosi thinks we have to agree on everything before we can agree on anything, the fact is that we could be getting relief out the door right now. While we work out our difference on other matters, that’s exactly what we should be doing.”
During rule debate for the legislation on the House floor yesterday, Cole made remarks in opposition. Transcript is available here and video here.
