Cole Statement on House Passage of First FY 2021 Appropriations Package

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04), Vice Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7608, a four-bill appropriations package for fiscal year 2021. The legislation is comprised of the following annual appropriations titles: (1) State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies; (2) Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration; (3) Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; and (4) Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. Cole opposed the legislation.

"As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I am always encouraged to see the process of funding the government underway in Congress. Unfortunately, Democrats chose a deeply flawed approach in exercising this function for fiscal year 2021. While I recognize the hard work that went into the crafting bills in this package as well as the merits of many of the priorities, the extensive use of emergency designated funding is not only short-sighted but it violates the spending limits of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement with the Administration that Congress is lawfully bound to uphold. Moreover, the effort to use the appropriations bills to carry out unacceptable legislative language is bound to backfire. As a result, these bills stand no chance of passing the Senate or getting signed into law."

Earlier this week, Cole penned a column here on the status of funding the government for fiscal year 2021, including an explanation of the gimmicks used by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee when crafting and reporting legislation.

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