Rep. Tom Cole seeks to limit earmark-driven political headaches

One idea that was floated during those talks but not ultimately included in the final debt limit package — a bipartisan commission to recommend changes to shore up Social Security — has been a long-term priority for Cole.

Cole said he would continue to push for such a commission to be established, and he has proposed legislation that would set one up.

However, Cole said the budget cannot be balanced on the back of discretionary spending alone — the amount controlled by appropriators, accounting for less than one-third of the federal budget — and he acknowledged it would be unlikely that Congress would take any action on Social Security during an election year.

Supplemental packages

More pressing are emergency funding packages: aid for Israel and Ukraine and for rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in March.

Cole said he isn’t sure if Johnson will move an Israel-only supplemental following Iran’s attack or if Johnson will move a wider package also including money for Ukraine, Taiwan and potentially money to restock munitions the U.S. has spent fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“Clearly, with what happened to Israel, I think there is really strong bipartisan determination to move pretty quickly on that portion, and I’ll leave it to the speaker as to whether he wants to add anything else, or other components,” he said.

On bridge reconstruction, Cole said the federal government is already helping with the cleanup, and he encouraged Maryland officials to take their time and provide an accurate estimate for the cost of rebuilding. It took officials nearly three months to assess the damage of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Cole said.

Cole said he thinks the Baltimore bridge money should not have other priorities attached, and said he generally wants to avoid a “Christmas tree” approach to supplemental spending.

“I’m not in a hurry on this, but we’ll move at the appropriate time,” he said. “I don’t think it ought to become a politically contentious matter.”