Texas Congressman August Pfluger (R-TX11) held a town hall in Odessa Thursday, reporting to roughly 100 constituents in attendance on his activities in the nation’s capital, and listened to citizens’ concerns on the issues.
Pfluger, who is serving his first term in Congress, addressed numerous hot button issues during the event.
A primary issue that the congressman discussed in detail was the controversial National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which he characterized as having been one of the few extremely important pieces of bi-partisan legislation for decades, but now Democrats are planting “poison pill” amendments that could jeopardize the bill that funds our military and defense.
Pfluger told the audience he voted to send the NDAA to the Senate, where he strongly believes there are enough votes to strip the poison pills, including a “red flag” gun control provision that would harm the Second Amendment rights of veterans, and a provision that would extend military draft registration to woman.
Explaining his vote in support of the legislation, the congressman said that in addition to the essential funding for our military, the bill provides a pay increase to soldiers, authorizes military forces to secure the southern border, and would update our existing weaponry and technology to ensure the military remains competitive against major adversaries like “Russia and China.”
Pfluger said that unless the poison pill provisions are stripped out, he would be a hard “no” on the legislation when it comes back to the House.
“I will not vote for the NDAA unless the red flag provision is stripped out,” Pfluger said.
Other issues addressed during the town hall included the budget reconciliation, which he characterized as “one of the most damaging pieces of legislation this country has ever seen,” and said among 42 major problems with the legislation, some of the major issues include amnesty for 8 million illegal aliens, free college tuition for illegal aliens, tax hikes for all Americans, and would fund abortions with taxpayer dollars.
Saying he understands all too well how difficult it can be to get passionate or heated about these major issues, the congressman said he kept his composure as he voted “no” on raising the debt ceiling and described walking past Speaker Pelosi on his way out of the House and made sure she knew he voted no.
Addressing the hot button issue of vaccine mandates, Pfluger stated that while he was pro-vaccine, he was also for personal choice, and described President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate as a “most egregious overreach.”
Pfluger said he signed a letter to Governor Greg Abbott, urging the governor to push back hard against the Biden Administrations’ mandate.
On border security, Pfluger stated that roughly 2 million people would cross into the country this year, and said the Biden Administration was failing to carry out their constitutional duty under Article 4 of the constitution to protect the states against invasion.
The congressman is also trying to force the White House to reveal how many suspected terrorists have entered the country, information he says is presently being withheld from the public.
Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis also stood and addressed the crowd, describing a recent human trafficking bust where 32 human trafficking victims were stuffed inside a house, and said that the open border policies of the Biden Administration are enabling more human suffering and crime – burdening local law enforcement across the state.
Pfluger took several questions from residents and elected officials and concluded by re-emphasizing his position on key issues, including his opposition to deficit spending, and protecting national security issues unique to his district that include a strong military and agriculture industry.
Local officials in attendance in addition to the Sheriff included several hospital board members, Odessa Mayor Javier Joven, Councilman Mark Matta, and School Board Trustee Chris Stanley.