Washington, D.C.- Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after he voted against H.R. 5376, a multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation spending bill meant to reflect President Joe Biden's so-called "Build Back Better" agenda.

"Although President Joe Biden has repeatedly claimed his social spending bill would be fully paid for, that is not the case with the radical legislation cooked up by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and passed solely by Democrats in the House," said Cole. "According to the Congressional Budget Office's nonpartisan full cost estimate received just hours before the vote, the legislation would not only levy massive taxes on the American people, but it would increase the deficit by nearly $400 billion over the next 10 years. And on top of all that, if every program contained in the bill were made permanent, the actual cost would be at least $4 trillion.

"Not only would this bill implement trillions in reckless spending and allow for more government control of our lives, but it also contains a wish list of controversial provisions, including expanding the IRS and granting mass amnesty and taxpayer-funded benefits to millions of illegal immigrants.

"But as bad as this bill is, what is most telling is what this bill fails to address, and that is the current emergencies actually facing our nation. Democrats continue to do nothing to deal with the border crisis, nothing to address rising inflation, nothing to help small businesses get their workers back and nothing to address the looming threats America and our allies face abroad. Yet again, this charade shows how out of touch they truly are."

Yesterday, the House Rules Committee met to consider a manager's amendment to H.R. 5376. During the meeting, Cole made remarks expressing his continued opposition to the reconciliation package. Video is available here and transcript here.

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