Tom Cole: “Let me advise my friend, I am prepared to close. I see she has additional speakers, so, for the moment, I will simply…”

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.

It reinforces support for key allies - like Israel and Taiwan - and directly counters threats from Communist China and other regimes that challenge our interests and principles.

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