Congressman Tom Cole attended the Oklahoma Farm Bureau annual meeting this past weekend where he spoke with senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays. Cole honored outgoing president Rod Moesel and his eight years of dedicated leadership.. “Rod and I literally go back 50-odd years in Republican politics,” Cole said. “He was my campaign treasurer when I ran for the state senate… There’s two people I rely on most for advice on Oklahoma agriculture — Congressman Frank Lucas and Rod Moesel. I pretty much do whatever they tell me to do.” Cole praised Moesel’s influence on Oklahoma agriculture and his steady presence in state politics.
Turning to national issues, Cole addressed the current government funding standoff in Washington, emphasizing that the House has already acted. “The House will come back when the Senate does its job,” he stated. “We sent over a clean bill that would have kept the government open so we could negotiate appropriations bills to the Senate.” According to Cole, 55 senators — a majority — supported that measure, showing broad bipartisan agreement to keep the government operating.
Cole stressed that the impasse is not about appropriations, but about the Affordable Care Act and ongoing disputes over subsidies. “It really doesn’t have much to do with appropriations or government funding. It’s mostly about Obamacare,” he explained, adding that “the Affordable Care Act is pretty unaffordable.” He said Republicans are open to negotiating the issue but are unwilling to automatically renew the subsidies, while Democrats are demanding guarantees before agreeing to reopen the government.
He also pointed out that much of the appropriations work is already settled, citing bipartisan progress on key spending packages. “On the big issues, we’re all fine,” Cole noted, mentioning bills covering military construction, veterans’ affairs, and agriculture. “But again, that’s not what this debate’s about. This debate is about the Affordable Care Act and whether or not they’re going to guarantee funding subsidies that are scheduled to run out at the end of December.”
In closing, Cole placed blame squarely on Senate leadership and the filibuster rule for prolonging the shutdown. “It really is that Chuck Schumer has shut down the government for personal and political reasons,” he said. “They’re allowing a minority of senators to shut down the government of the United States.” Cole said he remains engaged in talks with senators but made clear that, in his view, the solution lies with the Senate taking action to end what he sees as a politically motivated stalemate.
(Editor’s Note- Hays and Congressman Cole spoke on Saturday night in Oklahoma City, ahead of the Senate vote on a revised Continuing Resolution, which the House may consider as early as Wednesday. If they agree to the changes offered by the Senate, the longest Government shutdown in history could be over. )
