Tom Cole: “I don't favor cutting NIH or Centers for Disease Control. You're much more likely to die in a pandemic than a terrorist…”

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

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.

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

The bill before us is a clean, narrowly tailored continuing resolution that keeps the government open and operating. Nothing more. Nothing less.