Congressman Tom Cole Weighs in on Health Care, Troop Surge

By Jacqueline, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Dozens of Oklahomans weighed in on issues from health care to soldiers overseas at a town hall meeting Saturday in Chickasha with Representative Tom Cole.

Cole gave his views on the current happenings in Washington during a town hall meeting Saturday and said as a former college instructor, he would give the Administration a "D" if he had to grade their progress when it comes to hot topics from the war to health care.

Cole said when the House narrowly passed the landmark health care bill last month, health care reform took a giant step backward.

"I think what we have is still not acceptable in any way, shape or form, but I do think participating in the debate is having a big impact on the process," Cole said.

The Congressman said he believes in tort reform, establishing a national insurance market and changes that could make health care more affordable.

"We want some more competition, not less, and more choice. I don't think we want premiums to be more expensive. We want to make then less, and there are some practical things we can do," Cole said.

Another topic at the town hall meeting was the war on terror.

The terrorist group, Al Qaeda, recently released a video tape offering condolences to the families of innocent people killed in attacks. In reaction to the video, Congressman Tom Cole said, "It's hard to guess what they're thinking and adds the truth is Al Qaeda has killed a lot more Muslims than it has Americans or Europeans or Christians."

Cole said President Obama made a tough call but the right one on sending more troops to Afghanistan, but he said there are some concerns.

"My main concern has been the idea that we were going to leave on a date certain, July 2011. I think wars don't work that way. I think timelines are nice to have, but war's pretty unpredictable. I think it sends a message to the enemy that we're only going to fight to this point and come back," Cole said.

Cole said he believes there is a real drive to get things done in Washington since the Senate was in session last weekend and this weekend.