A room full of people greeted U.S. Rep. August Pfluger and his staff at a town hall meeting Thursday, Aug. 18 at the Erath County Courthouse.
The meeting addressed many partisan issues and took the temperature of those in attendance regarding some items on the Republican Party platform.
Congressman Pfluger represents 29 counties in Texas’ 11th district including the Permian Basin-the top-oil and gas producing region in the state.
He is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Committee on Homeland Security, where he serves as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism. He is a co-leader of the Texas Ag Task Force. He is a decorated fighter pilot for the U.S. Air Force, served for two decades and is a colonel in the Air Force Reserves. He resides in San Angelo with his family.
Participants were able to askquestionsof Congressman Pfluger and his staff during a question-and-answer segment.
During the town hall meeting, participants were asked to vote for one of the three following questions as being of the most important accountability issue: a) finding out the origin of the COVID-19 virus, b) getting accountability on the Department of Justice c) the investigation of Hunter Biden.
DOJ took the most votes, followed by Hunter Biden and COVID-19, was in third place.
Congressman Pfluger said he was in favor of less government involvement from Washington D.C.
“I wouldn’t be standing here and we wouldn’t have this mess,” he said. “Most of my job is to make sure Judge Campos can do his job here and to keep the federal government out of Stephenville.”
The congressman said there was a trend towards centralizing, federalizing, taking over and thanked County Judge Alfonso Campos for his work for Erath County.
Congressman Pfluger
U.S. Representative (R-TX11) August Pfluger speaks to a crowd at the Erath County courthouse Thursday, Aug. 18 at a town hall meeting. The congressman addressed many subjects including border control, the Inflation Reduction Act and green energy.
addressed many issues including border control, the newly-adopted Inflation Reduction Act, Parent’s Bill of Rights, green energy and government transparency.
Pfluger shared a good news story of getting to watch 15 new citizens be sworn in legally in Tom Green County by a United States District Judge.
“They love this county. They love what it stands for,” he said. “It’s the very best day in their lives.”
He praised Republican Mayra Flores, the first Mexico-born congresswoman that was sworn into Congress in June 2022.
“If that’s not the American dream, I don’t know what other country you can do that. She’s very proud of her heritage and very proud of the small time she was raised in Mexico. She loves this country dearly and wants to stand up and fight for it. How neat is that?”
Congressman Pfluger discussed border control with the audience saying those who are immigrating here legally are upset with those who do not go through the citizenship process.
Nearly 4 million illegal immigrants have entered the country at the southern border since President Joe Biden took office and Congressman Pfluger said that 66 of them this year match up to the terrorist watchlist.
“The common defense of our borders is a federal job,” he said. “The rule of law has been abandoned.”
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, an estimated $437 billion bill that covers a lot of ground including drug prices, healthcare, climate and energy and tax policy, Pfluger expressed his disappointment.
“It’s a tax on every American. It’s anti-American. It’s anti- American energy,” he said.
The congressman expressed concerns over the threats the U.S. are now facing whether it is from terrorism or other conflicts such as the Russia/Ukraine conflict or Taiwan/China conflict.
“These are the worst economic conditions we’ve seen in 40 to 50 years,” he said. “In a recession … and I’m sorry you can’t change the definition of a recession, even if you are president. Electrical companies have said that one in five people might receive disconnect notices this year. To tax us more in the conditions we see is everything you don’t do at a point like this.”
Congressman Pfluger addressed a provision in the plan to hire 87,000 new IRS agents with $80 billion. The White House has stated that the IRS agents will be hired over the next 10 years and the $80 billion will also go toward operation support, modernization and tax payer services.
“The promise that President Biden said, we won’t tax anyone who makes less than $400,000, I’m sorry, those 87,000 IRS agents are going to be dedicated to looking at those who make less than $75,000 a year. So unfortunately, I’m disappointed, especially the Texans that voted for it.”
The bill passed the Senate in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote and in the House, 220-213. The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Aug. 16.
Citizen questions ranged for the amount of ammunition that the IRS has, what actions could be done to repeal the 87,000 IRS agents and where electricity is going to come from for electric cars.
Citizens also questioned how they can make sure that money is spent efficiently on infrastructure projects and in general what the congressman and Republicans are going to do about the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Can I count on you to restrict solar and water and make some laws?” Georgia Scott, a school board member for Bluff Dale ISD said. “There are no laws.”
Erath County Commissioner Joe Brown asked what would happen with the road tax fund since electric cars are not taxed with buying fuel and paying a gasoline/diesel tax.
Pfluger addressed the frustration many Republicans face when the party gets control of the House and the Senate and then takes limited action. He said one of the focuses will be to build out infrastructure to provide reliable American energy.
“This didn’t happen overnight,” Congressman Pfluger said. “We have to be realistic about what we can do. It’s a series of first downs, not a Hail Mary.”