Tom Cole: “Mr. Speaker, I want to just disagree with my good friend from Massachusetts on his characterization of the…”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to just disagree with my good friend from Massachusetts on his characterization of the accomplishments of this Congress. As a matter of fact, if you start ticking off the record, it is pretty impressive: bankruptcy reform, class action lawsuit reform, a transportation bill that put more money into our infrastructure than any transportation bill in American history, significant energy legislation passed last year, dealing with the entitlement spending problem, an across-the-board budget cut. All of those are genuine accomplishments. Pension reform, bill after bill after bill. Some of them bipartisan, some of them, frankly, passed without the cooperation of our friends. And, frankly, to criticize us for minimum wage, when in this House we have voted on and passed the minimum wage increase and passed, along with it, a reform of the death tax and tax extender bills that are important, I think is somewhat disingenuous. That legislation passed with a majority vote on this floor; and, frankly, a majority of the other body favored that legislation. Our friends on the other side of the aisle used their friends on the other side of the rotunda to routinely block progress.”