Tom Cole

Mr. COLE

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore), my very good friend.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from North Carolina.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, that was quite an unconventional closing. Normally when someone closes, they are the last speaker. I regret that, but I am happy to always hear from my good friend and distinguished minority leader. That is an unusual move. The gentleman has the right to speak. The 1 minute is 1 minute. I respect that. I would just ask my friend in the future to just please be here in time to do it before we close. Mr. Speaker, I won't take the 18 minutes that I have. I don't think I need it. The facts here are pretty clear. At the beginning of this process, I was asked to produce a clean bill for a limited period of time by my colleagues on the other side. They asked for that so that we could continue negotiations on a package of three bills. Those are going quite well now and are happening. All of a sudden, we have extraneous demands for things unrelated to the day-to-day operation of the government. With all due respect, I think additional negotiations on those topics could happen. I think the majority leader in the United States Senate actually signaled they could happen but not attached to this particular bill. This is what my friends on the other side asked for. They asked for a clean bill with no partisan riders and no tricks. Give it to us for a short period. I was told by my distinguished friend in the United States Senate, Senator Murray: Oh no, we don't want to go all the way to January like the Trump administration does. We want to go into November. I said: Great. I actually agree with you. I think we should keep this thing moving. The thing to keep moving is the appropriations bills that fund the government. If my friends want to shut the government down, they have every right to do so. They might do it today. They certainly have the power of the United States Senate to do that. Rest assured, my Democratic colleagues are doing exactly what Republicans did in 2013. It did not work for them. Republicans tied something unrelated to spending, ObamaCare, and shut down the government. That was the wrong thing to do then. I said it was the wrong thing to do. It was. My Democratic colleagues are doing the same thing now. There is nothing else. If they want to have important negotiations on these other topics, they are important topics, and they ought to be negotiated. What is happening is not some cut that is in this bill. We are not cutting anything. A measure that was passed on a bipartisan basis, as I recall, ran out. It is running out. We should probably talk about that. We don't do it on a CR. This is a manufactured crisis. My Democratic friends got exactly what they asked for. They asked for a clean CR. They got a clean CR. They asked for a limited amount of time. They got a limited amount of time. They asked for negotiations on the remaining three bills. Those negotiations are underway. That is what this committee should be focused on. That is all we are doing today, Mr. Speaker. We are buying the time that we all need to finish a process that we are all trying to restore and we think is broken. We now have people dropping things out of the blue that were never intended to be in the CR. They are trying to create a sense of crisis and drama. If they think that moves us in the right direction, I disagree. I think that moves us in the wrong direction. I think keeping the government open for the American people and negotiating in good faith on bills that we are close to getting done and moving it through regular order is the right thing to do. I think provoking a government shutdown is the wrong thing to do. If you disagree, then vote ``no.'' Take your privilege and shut down the Government of the United States, something you have repeatedly condemned Republicans for when they did it, and rightly condemned, but you are doing the same thing, and you know it. You absolutely know it. If you want to shut down the government today, fine. We will give the United States Senate the same opportunity if we vote to keep it open, and if they want to shut it down, that is up to them. However, we are at the table ready to negotiate. We are negotiating on the three bills we agreed to negotiate on right now. That is the work of the Appropriations Committee, not this, and that is what the CR would deal with. My friends, when I give you what you asked for, and you decide that is not acceptable, you change it afterwards, and you drop unrelated items in, that is up to you. But let's not have any pretense about what is going on here. It is political theater. That is all it is. But you are doing it at the risk of shutting the Government of the United States. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to vote for this CR. I am proud to work with my friends on the bills we were supposed to work with. I hope we can reach agreement and bring those bills to the floor in short order. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' on the bill in front of us, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. COLE

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule XXII, and by direction of the Committee on Appropriations, I offer a motion.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I support this return to regular order in the appropriations process. I support the motion. I yield back the balance of my time, and move the previous question. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. COLE

Mr. COLE. Mr. Chair, I thank my good friend, Judge Carter, for yielding me time. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of this important piece of legislation. Prioritizing veterans and troops says everything about our values, and that is exactly what this first fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill does. The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026, is a testament to caring for those who have selflessly worn America's uniform, their families, and the defenders who follow their path of service. We meet this mission not only in words of gratitude but in policies that support them. This legislation provides full funding for healthcare and benefits for our Nation's veterans and implements an advance for the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund. This marks enhanced investment under President Trump, which is also reflected in critical mental health initiatives and work to fight homelessness. It devotes funding to improve quality of life, including childcare and housing resources for military families who help carry the weight of their loved one's service. It reaffirms our commitment to peace through strength by providing for military base infrastructure and key deterrence efforts in the Indo-Pacific. It also honors our heroes, ensuring the preservation of national military cemeteries and memorials. With this legislation, our obligations to our Armed Forces, past and present, and our security are upheld. A vote ``yes'' is a vote to put our veterans, military families, base readiness, and America first. I thank Chairman Carter for his hard work on this measure, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it on final passage.

Mr. COLE

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, this is a little bit unusual. I have comments on my friend Wes Watkins, as well. I want to talk a little bit off the cuff about the man that my good friend and colleague Frank Lucas was talking about a few minutes ago. Wes Watkins liked to think of himself as an ordinary man and a typical Oklahoman. I can assure everybody here he was neither ordinary nor typical. He was extraordinary. Wes Watkins was born, as my friend Mr. Lucas said, in very humble circumstances, yet he succeeded in every single thing he did over the course of his lifetime. He succeeded in college. He succeeded as a businessman. He was a family man, and he was extraordinarily successful at that. He was in the National Guard. Finally, he began a political career, first in the State senate and then in the Halls of this distinguished institution. Wes Watkins served two different stints in Congress, but what my friend Mr. Lucas didn't say was that he served the first seven terms as a Democrat. Then he went home to run for Governor. He is the only person I know of in Oklahoma history, maybe in American history, that ever carried his congressional district first as a Democrat, then as a Democrat running for Governor, and then as an independent seeking the governorship, and, finally, later as a Republican. He was so impressive on the campaign trail in his second term that the person who won the election, former Governor Frank Keating of Oklahoma--who was actually my friend, my mentor, and my client at the time--was so impressed that he would come back from the campaign trail and say: I love Wes Watkins. He is for everything I am for. He is such a great guy. As soon as Frank became Governor Keating, he offered Wes Watkins a cabinet position in his own administration. Wes was the only person ever turned down who had been a State senator for a cabinet spot because Democrats were so mad at him at the time. Frankly, he got the last laugh because, the very next year, he ran for his old congressional seat and won. Republicans thought so much of him. I remember calling Newt Gingrich, who was the Speaker of this institution at the time. I was Wes' campaign consultant and a good friend of Speaker Gingrich. I said: He really wants to go on the Ways and Means Committee. Speaker Gingrich said: If he runs, he has got it. I will absolutely put him there. Wes was one of the best Members of Congress. He was a pretty extraordinary guy. I will tell you, of all the different candidates I have worked with and for over the years, nobody ever worked harder and longer. As a matter of fact, on one occasion, I remember getting a call at 5:30 in the morning--actually, on more than one occasion. I would also get calls late at night. I called his beloved wife, Lou, once and said: Lou, I am getting calls at 5:30 in the morning and 10 at night. She said: Tom, he keeps a list of people he can call before 8 in the morning and after 8 at night, and somehow you have gotten yourself on both those lists. That is how hard he worked. That is how relentless he was. While he changed political parties over the course of his lifetime, I can tell you he never changed his political principles. Quite frankly, he symbolized and propelled the transformation of Oklahoma from a Democratic State to a Republican State. I never met Democrats who didn't like him or Republicans who didn't like him. He was simply a revered individual. I remember Wes Watkins with a great deal of fondness. In the course of his life, there were three things he loved the most. First was his family. When you think of his family, you always think of his wife, Lou. They were inseparable. Then, he loved the State of Oklahoma, and he served it proudly, as well. Finally, and I say this as an OU alumnus and a fierce Sooner, he was the proudest, most ferocious Oklahoma State graduate I ever met. He absolutely revered that institution and spent a lifetime working for it. I know the people of Oklahoma will miss Wes Watkins. He was, in many ways, a favorite son of the State. He certainly distinguished himself in public service and in his devotion to the interests of the State. I am going to miss Wes even more than that. I will miss him as a friend. I will miss him as a mentor. I will miss him as a role model. I will miss him first, foremost, and always as a great Oklahoman.

Mr. COLE

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 211, I call up the bill (H.R. 1968) making further continuing appropriations and other extensions for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1968, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act 2025. Today's bill comes about at a critical time for this institution and this Nation. As Members are well aware, government funding all runs out at midnight on Friday. That means that Members are faced with a stark but clear choice: Will they vote in favor of this bill and thereby keep the government open and operating, or will they vote ``no'' thereby affirmatively choosing to shut down the government? This choice is the choice we face today. We are now nearly 5\1/2\ months into the fiscal year 2025. Congress has previously passed two short-term continuing resolutions, both of which extended government funding and kept the status quo in place, ensuring the government can remain open. Today's bill is really no different than the CR passed in December. Other than the most essential and critical anomalies, it simply maintains current conditions through the end of the fiscal year. For those that supported the CR in December, you should have no qualms about voting the same way on today's bill. There are no policy differences, no poison pills, and no reason to vote against keeping the government open and operating. A yearlong CR is not how I hoped the FY 2025 appropriations process would end. The Appropriations Committee and the House did their work. Indeed, the committee reported out all 12 appropriations bills by midsummer and the House passed five of those bills covering over 70 percent of discretionary spending across the floor by the end of July. Sadly, despite our best efforts, we were unable to come to a final agreement on the full-year appropriations bills. Although we were very close on a final dollar figure, my colleagues in the minority made additional demands that would restrict the legitimate authority of the executive and the appropriations process. These are restrictions that the minority would never accept for a Democratic President, nor are they provisions that President Trump would or should sign into law. It is deeply unfortunate and disappointing that the minority chose to make these unreasonable demands. Republicans never left the negotiating table and indeed worked diligently with Democrats to reach a bicameral, bipartisan deal. Sadly, the minority allowed their opposition to the President to cloud their judgment, giving in to a political temper tantrum rather than voting to keep the government open. That truly is the choice before us, Mr. Speaker. Today's bill is a simple, straightforward continuing resolution, funding the government and keeping it open through September 30. It maintains the status quo, providing flat funding for the government, and including only legitimate anomalies. Importantly, this bill does not contain a single poison pill policy rider. It is a clean CR, fully funding our government. This includes our military and defense needs, and indeed we have accomplished this while also fully funding the Department of Defense, including the largest pay raise for junior enlisted personnel in over 40 years. We are also maintaining funding for other critical functions of government, including border defense, roads, parks, childcare, water infrastructure projects, biomedical research, job training, and countless others. I know Members have heard some fear-mongering about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This bill makes no changes to any of these programs, leaving them intact, as is, and with the funding they need to operate through the end of the fiscal year. Let me say that again. There are no changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, period. Mr. Speaker, the outcome of the fiscal year 2025 appropriations process is not what I wanted, but at the end of the day, it is significantly better than the alternative: a government shutdown. The choice is clear: Either Members will vote for this bill and for keeping the government open, or they will vote to shut the government down. I know which option my constituents expect, and I know which I will choose. I urge all my colleagues to do the same and vote for this bill. I urge all my colleagues to vote to keep the government open and operating. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford), my very good friend and a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for the Democratic leader and certainly great respect and personal friendship for the distinguished ranking member of the Appropriations Committee. I don't know what bill the leader read, but it certainly wasn't this bill. We heard a lot about Social Security. There is not a single thing in this bill on Social Security. We heard a lot about Medicare. We don't deal with Medicare under the Appropriations Committee. It is not in here. We heard a lot about Medicaid. It is not in here either. If it will be dealt with, it will be dealt with in a reconciliation bill but not this bill. This bill is about keeping the government open, something my friends pride themselves on and have often patted themselves on the back on. They have the opportunity to do it today because that is all this bill does. It also does a couple of other interesting things. My friend said we cut funds for food support. It doesn't do that. It actually adds $500 million to WIC. They said we cut support for housing. It doesn't do that. It actually adds money to the housing accounts. If we actually go through the bill, the charges made simply don't have much to do with what is in this bill. The simple reality is we are either going to keep the government open or we are going to shut it down. If we want to keep the government open and keep working on these problems, vote ``yes.'' If we want to shut the government down and throw the country into chaos, vote ``no.'' It is certainly the privilege of my friends on the other side to vote how they care to vote, but don't say there are things in this bill which simply are not there. That is just fear-mongering of the worst sort. Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my friends to keep the government open. By the way, just for the record, neither the President nor the Speaker ever asked me to leave the negotiating table. It was quite the opposite. The Speaker said to keep going, to keep trying, and to keep at it. We are 4 days away from the shutdown. My friends introduced a lot of things in the negotiations that aren't normally appropriations issues. They chose to do that. We couldn't come to a deal. We are pretty close on the top-line number. We were right there, but we are not going to have a Republican Senate and a Republican House restrict a Republican President from the legitimate exercise of executive authority and then, oh, by the way, ask him to sign the bill. How do my colleagues think that is going to work out? That is not a very reasonable request. We resisted it. My friend, Senator Collins, who is my negotiating partner from the Senate, resisted it and will continue to resist it. That is not going to happen. This bill is about none of those things. This bill is about keeping the government open. If they choose to shut it down, then that is their prerogative. They are allowed to do that, but I don't intend to do that. I don't think my colleagues on my side of the aisle intend to do that. Mr. Speaker, I urge Democrats who actually read the bill to reflect on it and avoid shutting down the government as well and working with us in that regard. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the Republican majority leader and my good friend.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), my good friend and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), my very good friend and a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice), my very good friend and a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy), my good friend and a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler).

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), who is the chairman of the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.