Pfluger Fly-By Newsletter

August 2, 2021

The Country is in Crisis and Democrats are Focusing on Mask Mandates and More COVID Restrictions

Last week, President Biden laid out new COVID-19 mandates, including re-implementing a mask mandate regardless of vaccination status and teasing a COVID vaccine requirement for all federal employees.

President Biden broke his word. In May, the President said all fully vaccinated Americans did not need to wear a mask. Now, he's reversing course based on a 100-person study from India that did not pass peer review and used vaccines that aren't approved in America.

Meanwhile, here in Congress Nancy Pelosi is running a socialist-style dictatorship by implementing a $500 fine for lawmakers, staff, and visitors who are not wearing a mask or subjecting them to arrest. 85% of lawmakers are vaccinated—Speaker Pelosi's mandate is completely ludicrous and misaligned. Last week, Washington, DC had 4 COVID deaths and 11 homicides. DC is not a hot spot for COVID—it's a hot spot for crime, because of radical policies and leadership.

The country is currently in crisis. We have an influx of migrants streaming across the border, rising inflation, and skyrocketing crime and drug numbers. Yet, power-grabbing Democrats are only focused on controlling people's lives and livelihoods. Instead of concerning themselves with masking and lockdowns, Democrats should come to the table to work with us on real issues that are facing Americans—crime, inflation, and the border crisis.

My Bill to Seal Cross-Border Tunnels Passes Committee

I am thrilled to announce that my bill to seal cross-border tunnels advanced through the markup process in the House Committee on Homeland Security.

This bill will thwart drug cartels and human traffickers who utilize the more than 230 tunnels currently in existence to smuggle narcotics, weapons, and cash back and forth on the border.

We cannot secure our border if we continue to allow drugs, narcotics, and weapons to be smuggled unabated back and forth underground and right under our noses.

We must seal these tunnels and defend American communities. Read more about my bill here.

Held a Bipartisan Press Conference Calling for the Release of Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan

Last week, I held a bipartisan press conference with Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) calling for the release of Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, two American citizens being wrongfully detained by the Putin Regime.

We were joined by Trevor's father, Joey Reed, and Paul's sister, Elizabeth Whelan, who bravely testified on behalf of their loved ones.

Trevor Reed is my constituent from Granbury, TX, who has been illegally held now for over 700 days. Now the Putin Regime has moved him to a Soviet-era gulag in an undisclosed location.

The Russian kangaroo court trial and conviction was a sham and his treatment has been completely inhumane ever since. We are calling on Vladimir Putin to immediately restore consular access, medical care, visitation and communication with Trevor's family.

We are also sending the message to President Biden that it’s time to bring the pressure and make it clear to Vladimir Putin that the United States does not compromise. We will not tolerate an American citizen being held by the Putin Regime as a political pawn.

President Biden's Decision to Cancel Laredo Sector Border Wall Contracts is Disgraceful

Recently, the Biden Administration announced that they will cancel the border wall contracts in the Laredo Sector. Not only will the Biden Administration’s suspension of the border wall construction cost American taxpayers millions of dollars and jeopardize our homeland security, but it will also threaten the livelihoods of numerous small businesses.

As my colleagues and I have called out, when the Biden Administration halted construction in January, businesses were forced to let expensive equipment lay idle and place many employees on furlough. Some businesses teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, while others missed out on other construction opportunities due to their obligation to build the border wall.

As illegal crossings at the southwest border continue to break records, the need for strong border security, including physical barriers, has never been more evident. I am calling on President Biden to stop playing politically-motivated games with American lives and livelihoods.

Had the Opportunity to Speak to Congressional Interns

It was an honor to visit and speak with a great group of congressional interns. Each of them, with a little determination, hard work, and a never give-up attitude, has the potential to be a future leader of this country.

I would like to thank our TX11 interns—Coleman, Royce, and Braydon—for introducing me. They are doing great work for both our district and the country.

Voted Against Partisan Spending Package

Last week, I voted against a partisan spending package that will devastate the economy and hurt all Americans. Despite inflation and our National debt spiraling out of control, Speaker Pelosi has led the Democrat party to produce one of the most bloated, radical spending packages in history.

These wasteful packages are chock-full of socialist policies that are bad for Texans and bad for our Nation. Most importantly, the package is intolerable because it strikes the Hyde Amendment, a provision preventing taxpayer dollars from going to fund abortions or abortion coverage. It also includes funds to renovate one of the largest abortion-performing Planned Parenthood facilities in the Nation, and strips longstanding pro-life riders.

On its face, I oppose the package for these crimes against the sanctity of life alone. Unfortunately, it also piles on burdensome regulations and ‘Green New Deal’ mandates that cripple our energy and agriculture industries and further weakens our immigration laws, all while managing to woefully underfund our military.

The Democrats rejected several of my amendments that would have protected our energy and agriculture industries and bolstered our national security. Unfortunately, the House Democrats instead chose to push policies that will wreck our economy, devastate the oil and gas industry, harm farmers and ranchers, and cripple our military.

Spoke to Texas Farm Bureau About My New ESA Bill

I sat down with Jessica Domel to discuss my new bill, the Listing Reform Act, which modernizes the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and prevents the ESA from being used as a tool to undermine critical agriculture and energy industries.

Extreme environmental groups regularly wield the outdated Endangered Species Act as a weapon against the agriculture and energy industries. We have seen this play out numerous times in the Permian Basin, with past attempts to list the Sagebrush Lizard, and current threats from the Biden Administration to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken.

This legislation reforms the ESA to deliver reasonable, common-sense protections for endangered species while preventing overbearing regulations coming from Washington, DC. Notably, the bill also requires the federal government to analyze the actual costs that ESA listings impose on our communities and critical industries. We can protect important species without devastating our local and rural economies.