Tom Cole: Trump’s Proposed Cuts To NIH, CDC Are ‘Short-Sighted’

FILE - This Aug. 28, 2013 file photo shows U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, speaking during a town hall meeting in Duncan, Okla. As Oklahoma Democrats look for traction in races against three incumbent Republican cong... FILE - This Aug. 28, 2013 file photo shows U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, speaking during a town hall meeting in Duncan, Okla. As Oklahoma Democrats look for traction in races against three incumbent Republican congressmen, the state Democratic Party chairman says he hasnít even heard from one of the partyís nominees. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), a top Republican who sits on the House Appropriations and Budget Committees, on Friday morning signaled he was not on board with all of President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts in his budget blueprint.

The blueprint would slash funding for the National Institutes of Health and shift funding for the Centers for Disease Control to states, which Cole said would be a mistake.

“I don’t favor cutting NIH or Centers for Disease Control. You’re much more likely to die in a pandemic than a terrorist attack, and so that’s part of the defense of the country as well,” Cole said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

The Republican congressman said that the CDC protects Americans from diseases like Ebola and that the NIH does crucial research on cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease.

“So these in my view are cuts that are very short-sighted. These are investments the country ought to be making,” he said, adding that funding for health research is as important as defense spending.

Cole also indicated that Congress would not approve the deep cuts Trump proposed to the Environmental Protection Agency, though Cole said he had not studied that part of the budget blueprint closely.

“Almost half of the EPA’s budget frankly is grants for clean water and tribal grants, things of that nature. I think those are popular and pretty well-served,” Cole said. “The regulatory function, there’s no question they put things in there that are not particularly popular, and I don’t think particularly helpful. So we can look at it.”

“I think the EPA will get a haircut, but I doubt it will be quite as deep as this budget suggests,” Cole said.

The congressman said that he supported Trump’s pitch to boost military spending, but said that the administration needs to be willing to make cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security.

“He does need to look at entitlement reform. That’s the only way you’ll ever balance the budget and actually begin to put the country on firm fiscal footing,” Cole said on MSNBC. “But Congress needs to have enough courage in its budget to lay out some of those reforms, and we’ll see whether or not it does. I suspect it will quite frankly.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. If you consciously set out to design the dumbest possible budget, you couldn’t have done as badly as Trump.

  2. Trump: More diseases mean fewer moochers, especially in OK.

  3. “I don’t favor cutting NIH or Centers for Disease Control. You’re much
    more likely to die in a pandemic than a terrorist attack, and so that’s
    part of the defense of the country as well,” Cole said on MSNBC’s
    “Morning Joe.”

    Something sane came out of the mouth of a Republican for Oklahoma?

    The congressman said that he supported Trump’s pitch to boost military
    spending, but said that the administration needs to be willing to make
    cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security.

    Never mind, I spoke too soon.

  4. Never forget: When Republicans say “entitlement reform,” what they really mean is slashing Grandma’s Social Security check and her Medicare coverage. (And yours, too, if climate change and epidemics don’t kill you first.)

  5. How about we cut military spending and secure medicare and social security?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

42 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for ajaykalra Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for asanders91360 Avatar for nowarino Avatar for radicalcentrist Avatar for imkmu3 Avatar for leftflank Avatar for clemmers Avatar for vonq Avatar for thebigragu Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for sonsofares Avatar for 26degreesrising Avatar for ottnott Avatar for jeffrey Avatar for williamv Avatar for hoagie Avatar for benthere Avatar for spencersmom Avatar for bankerpup Avatar for tiowally Avatar for bobef Avatar for captaintangent

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: