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The fiscal cliff fiasco has been perhaps a fitting end to a year and a legislative session full of frustrating, down-to-the-wire legislative battles. Passing major legislation is often such a contentious, eleventh-hour process, it seems as if all of Washington is hopelessly dysfunctional. While this is largely true, there are a few congressional success stories worth highlighting.
The "Accountability Review Board" assembled by the State Department to investigate security failures leading to the Benghazi terror attack has released a report that fails to hold any senior officials accountable for the assault that claimed four American lives.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 5862, his bill to allow the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma (O-Gah-Pah) and its tribal members to pursue their Indian trust-related claims in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The Quapaw Tribe sought relief in court for accounting of funds held in trust for the tribe and the tribe’s members and agreed to mediation with the federal government. However, the federal government's failure to abide by the agreement has left the tribe with no resolution or recourse for 10 years.
The media coverage of the fiscal cliff misses the point so consistently, it's enough to provoke a James Carville-esque outburst to remind them: "It's the spending, Stupid." The fixation with the tax side of the equation obscures that the real solution to the fiscal cliff involves spending cuts and entitlement reform.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Tom Cole (OK-4) announced that Jeff Peters will be joining his staff as field representative in the Norman region, while former field representative Josh Grogis will serve as district director.
"I couldn't be more pleased to have Josh Grogis and Jeff Peters onboard. With their thorough knowledge of the area and experience in public service, Josh and Jeff will do an excellent job serving 4th District residents."
Days after President Obama presented his opening offer in the fiscal cliff negotiations, House Republicans presented our counterproposal as the next step in the process toward reaching consensus before the December 31st deadline. Unlike President Obama's proposal, which reads like a Christmas wish list of liberals' most extreme ideas, the Republican plan is based on both reality and on common ground the two parties have established in previous discussions.
The Hill - Kevin Bogardus
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said Sunday that House Republicans should agree to extending tax cuts for the majority of U.S. taxpayers.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Cole continued to champion his case that the GOP caucus should take the deal that President Obama is offering: keeping tax rates in place for those making less than $250,000 a year, while allowing rates to increase on the wealthy.
Cole said no one wants to see higher taxes, but noted that unless Congress acts, everyone’s tax rates will go up.
With less than a month to go before the fiscal cliff deadline, there is no time for political posturing or rigid demands. Yet President Obama's opening offer in the fiscal cliff negotiations is so extreme and irresponsible that it has significantly undermined the process before discussions have even gotten off the ground.
Weekly Standard - John McCormack
Speaking Friday afternoon with THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Oklahoma congressmanTom Cole, a Republican who has emerged this week as an advocate of compromising on taxes, panned President Obama's proposal to avert the fiscal cliff.
"I think honestly the president’s initial proposal is just laughable," Cole told me. "There’s no spending restraints. There’s very little entitlement reform. He’s asking to essentially double the revenue that he’s asked for in the past."