Media
Latest News
With our skyrocketing national debt fast approaching levels that will cripple our entire economy, it's vital that the federal government cut excess spending from every part of the budget . Both political parties must be willing to examine their traditional policy priorities and make tough choices.
The Defense Department budget is certainly not immune from wasteful spending and should not be exempt from review. However, any military spending reductions must be undertaken very strategically to avoid jeopardizing our national security and endangering our men and women in uniform.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) announced the names of students from Oklahoma's Fourth Congressional District who have received nominations to one or more of America's prestigious service academies.
"These young people represent Oklahoma's best and brightest," said Cole. "It is a privilege to nominate these exemplary students to our nation's service academies."
President Obama turned in his 2013 budget request a week late this year, but it's clear he did not spend the extra time looking for ways to reduce the deficit. After four consecutive years of trillion-dollar-plus deficits, the Obama administration crafted a budget that actually increases spending.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after the House of Representatives approved legislation to extend the payroll tax cut for the remainder of 2012. The legislation also reforms and extends unemployment insurance and prevents cuts to reimbursement rates for physicians who treat Medicare patients:
Conservatives warned from the beginning that President Obama's health care plan was a case of massive government overreach that would restrict health care choices, jeopardize individual freedom and expand government control over personal decisions. However, many never imagined that Obamacare mandates would end up blatantly trampling religious freedoms.
The annual budget report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gets more grim every year. This year's Budget and Economic Outlook confirms that the 2012 deficit is expected to equal $1.079 trillion, marking the fourth consecutive year with a deficit above $1 trillion.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) pressed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the necessity of entitlement reform to balance the budget. During a hearing of the House Budget Committee on Thursday, Cole asked Bernanke if a combination of revenue increases and spending cuts would be sufficient to address long-term structural debt. In response to Bernanke's admission that Congress "could cut discretionary spending pretty close to zero and not solve the problem in the long term," Cole released the following statement:
This legislation makes really significant reforms in the way the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) decides baseline calculations. The CBO automatically budgets for inflation and discretionary spending. This process runs completely counter to what every American does with their own budget. No family sits down and assumes they will automatically have an inflationary increase in their budget next year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement in response to comments by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta regarding Pentagon budget cuts and potential base closures:
Most State of the Union addresses offer more empty promises than substantive policy. Even by that low standard, President Obama's latest annual address to Congress was a disappointment. Instead of proposing realistic solutions to the nation's severe economic challenges, the president offered a campaign speech full of vague goals and budget gimmicks that are either unenforceable, ineffective, or both.