Tom Cole: “I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the gentleman from Oklahoma…”

It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid.

Our conference refuses to let the obstruction and inaction of Senate Democrats trigger another manufactured shutdown at the end of September. That is why we are acting before a funding lapse crisis, not in response to it.

The only reason we’re doing it now is, first, the Senate Democrats, I think, have misused the filibuster, and honestly, the Republicans have let them misuse the filibuster.

For anyone questioning this legislation, the facts are simple — it extends the government funding deadline to Dec. 4, denying any party the opportunity to manufacture leverage before elections.