Tom Cole: “We have not been able to get anywhere near where we would like to be.”

I hold the Democrats in the Senate most responsible, but I don’t excuse the Republicans for letting them do it.

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.

We want to take away the possibility of a shutdown between now and the election.

The Senate has wasted the entire year and a half. They have not passed a single bill.