Tom Cole: “The United States Government has not met its obligations, and that we are woefully underfunded.”

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

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.

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.

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