Tom Cole: I Won't Vote for Debt Limit Hike Without Serious Spending Cuts

Tom Cole is the kind of Republican that President Obama will need to help raise the debt ceiling. The Oklahoma congressman is a conservative, but he’s also a pragmatist and a realist who urged Republicans early on to lock in income tax rates for almost all Americans, rather than risk the possibility of income taxes automatically rising for everyone. He was one of the 85 House Republicans who voted in favor of the “fiscal cliff” compromise on January 1 and one of only 49 Republicans who voted for the $50 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill on January 15.

But when it comes to raising the debt ceiling, Congressman Cole is adamant that he will not accede to President Obama’s unequivocal demand to raise it without any spending cuts tied to it.