Ripon Advance: Cole instrumental in pediatric disease research and equal pay increases bills

The Ripon Advance

Rep. Tom Cole, (R-Okla.) has been instrumental in several bills during the 113th Congress that were signed into law, including the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act and the Wage Grade Employee Parity Act.

“I am proud to have co-authored, along with Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which redirects taxpayer dollars wasted on political party conventions to instead fund valuable pediatric disease research,” Cole said.

The Wage Grade Employee Parity Act ensures that wage increases are equal for wage grade (WG) or hourly federal employees, as compared to general schedule (GS) salaried employees. A Jan. 1 cost-of-living increase was approved for GS employees, but separate legislation was necessary to ensure the same adjustment was applied to WG employees.

“I am also proud to have joined my colleague Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) in introducing bipartisan legislation that helps blue collar federal workers. Through its inclusion in the Continuing Appropriations Resolution for (fiscal year) 2015 that was recently signed into law, the Wage Grade Employee Parity Act provided a slight increase in wages for hourly federal workers,” Cole said.

Cole, who has represented the 4th District of Oklahoma since 2002, said that a divided government can be difficult for everyone involved, but he is pleased that progress was made on these specific bills.

“While divided government is challenging for all concerned, I remain convinced that people of goodwill can still find common ground and work together to get things done,” Cole said. “As illustrated under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, it is possible to achieve.”

Online: The Ripon Advance