As a congressman, Cocke generally opposed federal involvement in internal improvement projects. While he voted in favor of a bill that would have provided appropriations for the repair of the Cumberland Road in 1822, he vigorously opposed legislation that would have empowered the president to designate certain improvement projects as having "national worth," and thus eligible for federal funding. In 1823, he voted against federal appropriations for numerous improvement projects, including improvements to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, an extension of the Cumberland Road, and a purchase of stock in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company.