Between dedicated district work back home in Oklahoma’s Fourth District, Congress missing another critical funding deadline, Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and President Joe Biden delivering his first official State of the Union Address, there is certainly a lot to discuss in terms of updates since the last time I wrote to you.
Read on for my thoughts on recent topics and issues in Congress as well as photos from meetings with constituents, small business owners and community leaders both in Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.
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President Joe Biden's SOTU
Sadly, prior foreign policy decisions and actions taken by the Biden Administration have emboldened our adversaries and resulted in other bad actors testing the limits of the world order, particularly after the completely botched withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. While there is certainly no predictable outcome of the Ukrainian crisis, we cannot gamble with the possibility of further aggression from Putin and other likeminded countries such as China tomorrow. There is no room for President Biden to propose underfunding of our national defense, and I wish his speech had provided assurances that he planned to reverse that error in his previous budget.
Unfortunately, I believe President Biden tried to use his speech to rewrite his first year and paint missteps and failures as successes. Indeed, President Biden and Democrats have peddled trillions of dollars in social spending and proposed Green New Deal-like policies that have left our country in a far worse place than we were at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. It is no accident that Americans are experiencing the highest inflation we have seen in 40 years and empty shelves nationwide in grocery stores and supermarkets. This inflation is directly attributable to misguided policies and runaway spending initiated and promoted by the Biden Administration. Additionally, our southern border continues to be overwhelmed by migrants trying to illegally enter our country, including the flow of bad actors and dangerous drugs. Indeed, Biden’s open border crisis has caused opioid overdoses in our nation to drastically spike.
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Unsustainable Debt
Earlier this month, the U.S. national debt alarmingly surpassed $30 trillion, which means it effectively doubled in just a decade. While there is no easy or immediate solution for tackling the problem of our massive debt, the monstrous size of and rate at which it continues to grow should concern us all and spur on congressional leaders and the president to responsibly address it.
For context, it is helpful to understand how federal government spending works. It falls into a couple general categories that operate differently: discretionary and mandatory. During the annual budget and appropriations process, lawmakers address only the discretionary side of the budget. This includes funding for our national defense, transportation and infrastructure, education and much more. Mandatory spending, on the other hand, is essentially on autopilot unless Congress enacts legislation to reform or constrain it. This category includes programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and some additional social safety net programs, which automatically pay out benefits to those eligible and enrolled. While Congress has cut annual discretionary funding at different points in time, those cuts cannot keep up with the rate at which mandatory spending is growing.
Indeed, the mandatory side of the budget is by far the largest category of spending. For years, economic analyses, studies and projections have warned about its unsustainable growth. For example, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that mandatory programs represented 34 percent of all government spending in 1965. Today, that figure has risen dramatically to reflect more than two-thirds of all spending. Meanwhile, an added concern is the simultaneous growth of interest on the national debt and rising interest rates, further impeding the nation’s ability to pay for various programs and services in the future.
With mandatory, it is not only the rapid rate of its growth, eclipsing discretionary, that is alarming. CBO has also projected that the federal trust funds connected to Medicare and Social Security are quickly nearing insolvency and thus will eventually fail to deliver on the benefits promised. According to the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees 2021 Annual Report, absent policy changes, Social Security’s combined trust funds will be exhausted in 2034.
Although critical reforms to mandatory programs are needed, that does not negate the importance of preserving them. Indeed, all Americans have paid into these programs throughout their working lives. However, without changes that modernize the current system, Social Security simply will not be able to pay out full benefits to future generations.
To encourage needed reforms to save Social Security before it is too late, I recently reintroduced the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act – legislation that I have sponsored for the last five consecutive Congresses. If enacted, the bill would lead to the formation of a bipartisan and bicameral commission tasked with recommending reforms to ensure Social Security is solvent for at least 75 years. Congress would then be required to vote up or down on the commission’s recommendations within 60 legislative days.
The legislation is modeled after the successful approach taken by former House Speaker Tip O’Neill and supported by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, when Social Security was also on the brink of bankruptcy. At that time, bipartisan legislation was approved to stabilize and improve the fiscal foundation of Social Security. And the resulting legislation not only received widespread public support, it extended the life of Social Security. As a hopeful historian, I believe what worked before to save Social Security can work again—if both parties commit to pursuing reforms in a thoughtful, fair and bipartisan manner.
Although our national debt is rising at such a concerning pace largely due to mandatory spending, that does not mean that the discretionary side of the budget has always been managed responsibly, including with emergency funding bills. To be clear, the public health emergency and associated pandemic response led to congressional approval of trillions of supplemental dollars in relief supporting various aspects of our society. While five of those bills were bipartisan and needed efforts that I supported, I regret that President Biden has repeatedly called for trillions more in spending that has nothing to do with pandemic recovery and everything to do with changing the very fabric of American society – and not for the better.
Continuing to spend on the national credit card and failing to enact deficit-reduction policies to pay it down is not only irresponsible, but absolutely unsustainable. During a time when our nation faces mounting threats such as an increasingly adversarial Communist China and the highest inflation seen in 40 years, the monstrous size of our national debt quite simply poses great risk to our national security. Indeed, unless government leaders get serious about addressing the biggest drivers of that debt and until Democrats abandon their irresponsible multi-trillion-dollar policies, the country will continue drifting even faster toward a catastrophic economic disaster.
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Biden's Coronavirus Catastrophe
Shortly after President Joe Biden was sworn into office, Democrats in Congress rushed to pass a supposed coronavirus relief package with a $2 trillion price tag, calling it the "American Rescue Plan." Unfortunately, the partisan legislation was focused more on funding unrelated policies and programs on their radical wish list than actually addressing the ongoing needs of the pandemic.
Since the pandemic began, six supplemental funding bills have been enacted with more than $97 billion allocated specifically for coronavirus testing. In the so-called American Rescue Plan, this included $47 billion. Despite this generous amount, Americans continue to face massive shortages nationwide, making it clear that there has not been a lack of funding for testing, but rather a lack of planning on the part of the Biden Administration. Moreover, President Biden re-routed nearly $2 billion allocated for testing to re-stock the depleted Strategic National Stockpile to deal with his self-created crisis at our southern border.
Beyond the testing failures, the Biden Administration has completely missed the mark in assessing and scaling the nation’s needs for lifesaving therapeutics. Regrettably, the legislation was woefully short on funds to purchase urgently needed therapeutics. In addition, the Administration poorly planned for the delivery of these therapeutics, resulting in confusion, frustration and loss of care. Instead, the Administration focused primarily on a strategy of vaccinations, including illegal vaccine mandates for large businesses.
The United States has developed several lifesaving therapeutics, including oral antiviral pills and monoclonal antibodies that have proven to exponentially reduce the dangerous effects of this virus. Yet, under President Biden’s direction, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked emergency use of two monoclonal antibody therapies, citing that they were ineffective in treating the Omicron variant. Prematurely pulling a treatment from the market based on one variant is a dangerous move. Americans continue to contract the Delta variant, and we do not know what the next variant will be. When it comes to saving lives, all options should remain on the table.
As a direct result of the Administration’s rationing of therapeutics, governors have been punished for doing their best to get medical resources for their state’s residents.
Amid this national crisis mishandled by the Administration, it’s alarming that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra has hardly been seen or heard, rarely appearing at White House or COVID-19 media briefings since he was appointed to his position. Even more concerning, his first visit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) did not even occur until he was eight months into the job.
I am also alarmed that a significant portion of supplemental funds have been used to bailout Democrat-run cities for their poor economic planning and leadership. Before President Biden asks Congress for more money, we need real answers to questions about how funding has already been used and a serious discussion about what areas remain in need.
If we are serious about getting our nation back on track, we need to focus on the resources needed for families, schools and businesses. This includes, ensuring testing, vaccines and therapeutics are widely available. Unfortunately, President Biden has completely fallen short and left his promise to end this pandemic unfilled to the American people.
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Standing Against Communist China
Over the last several years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has substantially grown both militarily and economically while exhibiting relentless, anti-rules behavior that goes against the values of the United States and our allies. Indeed, China has become a serious, generational threat that both the Biden Administration and Democrat-led Congress must address.
Alarmingly, America’s conventional advantage over China is eroding, which makes it critically important for our government leaders to put forward unified solutions that keep this threat at bay. This starts with President Joe Biden executing his duties as Commander in Chief, including prioritizing and urging passage of increased funding for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Unfortunately, the president’s proposed budget last year revealed significant underfunding for our national defense. While the bipartisan, bicameral National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022 authorizes funding for the resources our military needs, none of the new funding priorities can be realized without passing the related defense appropriations bill.
Instead of working on bipartisan solutions to address the ongoing and worsening China threat, Democrats continue to waste time on expensive, out-of-touch policies that would further damage our economy and drive up inflation. Meanwhile, the negotiations and cooperation needed to provide full-year government funding has repeatedly stalled, causing Democrats in Congress to revert to a series of short-term funding resolutions. Although these continuing resolutions (or CRs) are better than the alternative of a government shutdown, the failure to act on full-year appropriations creates uncertainty.
Because CRs typically fund the government at current levels and don’t account for inflation or new projects, these resolutions are problematic for annual operations as a whole, but especially for national security. Unfunded projects include initiatives that would help with building coalition capacity and missile defense. Indeed, a continuous CR delays DOD’s ability to grow power projection against our adversaries. And should the CR last the entire fiscal year, it would prevent the funding of key systems and initiatives in the Pacific region and at home to contest China’s rapid growth, including naval and missile strike capacity seeking to overtake ours in the region as well as Army movement from mainland China.
Second, the Biden Administration has not sought answers for the CCP’s role in the creation and subsequent worldwide spread of COVID-19, despite mounting evidence that this virus originated in Wuhan labs where dangerous gain-of-function research was occurring. Indeed, it will take years and possibly decades for every country around the globe to clean up the mess caused by CCP’s coronavirus cover-up. If China is to assume its position as a world leader, the CCP must come to the table as a responsible global player that accepts its fair share of the responsibility and plays by the rules of international behavior expected of a great power. President Biden and Democrats must hold China accountable for the actions that led to the deaths of millions around the world.
Finally, although House Democratic leaders recently rushed to the floor legislation said to address the CCP’s unruly behavior, the so-called America COMPETES Act has more to do with climate change and giving more money to China than actually strengthening America’s competitive edge. In fact, the legislation, which mentions coral reefs more times than China, would actually weaken our ability to deal with China. For example, it includes provisions to cover up the Biden Administration’s giveaway of $40 billion in International Monetary Fund (IMF) money to the CCP last spring and to grant the U.S. Treasury unchecked authority to block Americans’ digital currency payments worldwide. Moreover, it would allow the CCP to exploit U.S. immigration law by allowing them to handpick which Chinese nationals can apply for green cards. And it contains no measures to limit the CCP’s ability to undermine our nation’s institutions or steal American intellectual property. Passed last month, the partisan legislation shows that House Democrats are more concerned with the optics of addressing a China threat than actually dealing with it.
We need a strong, morally grounded policy to stand against Communist China and to keep the country from gaining ground and threatening the American way of life, as well as our safety and security. The United States must lead the way in taking serious steps to contest China’s power growth.
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Stay Informed
I also invite you to sign up to join one of my next telephone town halls, during which time I answer questions directly from listeners.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or need assistance with a casework matter, my staff is available to help. Just call my office at (405) 329-6500, and my staff will be ready to assist.
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Tom Cole
Member of Congress
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Tune in for my “Weekly Chats” video series in which I shed light on recent votes, explain topics that can be confusing and simply share with you directly about what I've been up to. Catch up on all my recent updates and keep following along on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
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NEXT EVENT
DATE: March 10, 2022
TIME: 12:30-1:30 p.m. CT
CALL: (833) 305-1727
Sign up to be called directly or listen online HERE.
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FILING 2021 TAXES
Tax filing season with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is currently underway. While this can often feel like a daunting task, I wanted to provide you with some timely tips concerning the 2021 tax year that can hopefully answer some of your questions or point you in the right direction.
Information and resources for tax filing can be found in my latest column HERE.
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Caught up with ECU Guard Officer Leadership Development (GOLD) Program Manager Bryce Chitwood and some student soldiers. This incredible program provides a path for members of the Oklahoma National Guard to become federally commissioned officers, setting them up for an outstanding career. |
Enjoyed meeting with CEO Dr. Robert Miller and Vice President of U.S. Operations Joey Jayachandran of Skydweller Aero Inc. We talked about the company's new lease with the Fourth District's own Ardmore Industrial Airpark and a manufacturing facility to build autonomous solar powered aircraft. This exciting news will certainly take Oklahoma's defense footprint to the next level. |
Toured Norman's new Transit, Public Safety and Parks Maintenance Facility as well as the new Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility that is one of only four in the state of Oklahoma. |
Toured the new facilities for United Dynamics, Inc. and learned about the work the company is doing with re-engineering parts and processes for current and legacy defense platforms. |
Joined Avara Pharma Technologies' CEO Larry Lee, Vice President and Site Director Debbie Graham and Director of Supply Chain Josh Mosier to discuss supply chain issues and how their business has handled the pandemic. |
Over lunch at The Table in Sulphur, I had the pleasure of visiting with the eatery's owner Hali Ruth about both the successes and challenges her small business has faced, including ongoing supply chain and staffing issues. |
Visited Mid-America Technology Center to discuss the importance of full-year government funding and issues that affect these schools. |
Was honored to meet this wonderful group of women from Arbuckle Home Health, which is an incredible small business that provide in-home care to seniors across Murray County. |
Had the opportunity to sit down with representatives from the Oklahoma Transit Association, including Executive Director Andrea Ball and Director of Transit for Pelivan Transit and Northeast Oklahoma Tribal Transit Consortium Kendra Sue McGeady. Jeannie McMillan. We discussed the need to improve public transportation in rural and tribal areas. |
Was delighted to welcome to my Washington, D.C. office Dr. Timothy Eaton, who serves as the Academic Chancellor of Randall University and on the Executive Board for the Council of Presidents with the Oklahoma Independent Colleges and Universities.
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Enjoyed touring the new facilities of Valco Manufacturing in Duncan with owner Roger Valdez and his two sons, Garrett and Gavin. We discussed issues that affect their small business, which manufactures parts for many of our defense platforms and some commercial products. |
Oklahoma's Transportation Secretary Tim Gatz stopped by my office to provide an update on ongoing infrastructure projects happening in our state. |
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