WASHINGTON, July 9 -- Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, issued the following weekly column on July 8, 2024: * * * Last Thursday, on July 4th, we celebrated our nation's independence and freedom. It was the 248th anniversary of when the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the United States of America officially became an independent nation, and no longer a colony of England. However, this independence did not come without a cost. Our freedom was fought for through a long and gory war when a g more PR