WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 -- Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, issued the following weekly column on Jan. 24, 2024: * * * Last week, both chambers of Congress passed, and the president signed into law, another continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government and avoid a partial government shutdown. While this is not where I hoped lawmakers would be at this point in the appropriations process, Congress's annual process to fund government functions and agencies, it has unfortunately been significantly drawn out this past year because of compounding  more PR