Tom Cole: “I think there really is a very strong bipartisan constituency for this sort of thing...”

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

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.

We're going to be in a crunch time.