On Wednesday evening, the House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act to avoid a catastrophic default on our national debt. June 2, 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act On Wednesday evening, the House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act to avoid a catastrophic default on our national debt. With just a slim majority and Democrat control of the Senate and White House, I am proud of the conservative wins we secured in the bill after President Biden wasted 97 days refusing to negotiate while putting our nation on the brink of default. House Republicans negotiated aggressively to get the best deal possible for hardworking Americans. We held the line and made it clear that we would not allow the Democrats’ unchecked spending addiction to continue. Since President Biden took office, the deficit has grown by $6 trillion—bringing our national debt to a disastrous $31 trillion. This spending is not only unsustainable but is causing record-high inflation forcing every American family to make hard choices on the essentials like gas, groceries, and electricity. While not perfect, this legislation is the biggest spending reduction bill in history. It includes $2 trillion in cuts, claws back tens of billions in unspent COVID-19 funds, protects our seniors, veterans, and the military, gets people back to work and off welfare, defunds the additional IRS agents President Biden intended to unleash on the American people, restarts student loan repayments, and importantly for our district, cuts red tape to streamline energy & infrastructure projects. The legislation includes the first major reforms in 40 years to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which has been weaponized against the Permian Basin and the oil & gas industry. I take my commitment to our district extremely seriously and am extremely proud of the work I did to secure these major reforms to end the bureaucratic nightmare across federal agencies. At least 229 major fossil fuel projects in the United States are currently awaiting permit approval. These are projects that could boost American energy production, restore American energy independence, and bring down costs for all Americans. The White House website admits that projects take nearly 10 years to complete, with the permitting approval process wasting about seven to eight years. No more. 229 energy projects will be sped up by this vote. Pipelines sitting idle for years will be brought online. $157 billion in energy investments will be unlocked. A quarter of a million new jobs await American workers. Billions in tax revenue will come into the treasury. This is how we grow the economy. We can build, expand, improve, and most importantly—producers in the Permian can drill—now. We also secured federal welfare work requirements. No longer will our country pay able-bodied Americans between the ages of 18-54 to sit at home and receive a paycheck. We are restoring the dignity of work and lifting these individuals out of the welfare system. Some important opponents to the bill include left-wing radicals Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representatives Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) because it helps the oil & gas industry and stops paying people to sit at home. AOC said, “I mean, where do we start? [No] clean debt ceiling. Work requirements. Cuts to programs. I would never – I would never – vote for that.” Jayapal said: “There will be impacts for environmental justice and the fight against the climate crisis and the recisions in funding.” Elizabeth Warren was equally distressed by the conservative wins in the bill, saying the provisions were “really bad.” Again, this is not a perfect bill, but it was an important 'first down' for our side. We will continue to work to pass a budget that balances in 10 years and will be holding the Democrats’ feet to the fire in appropriation bills to further cut our spending and get us on a fiscal trajectory to save this country. I went LIVE on Facebook further explaining my position. You can watch that here, and feel free to reach out to my office if you have any more questions or concerns here. A Chance to Govern I joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business to discuss the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Watch here or below. Congress Overturn Student Loan Bailout Scheme: Will Biden Veto? This week, H.J. Res. 24, a Congressional Review Act to override the Biden Administration’s student loan bailout scheme, passed both houses of Congress. President Biden’s unconstitutional student loan bailout program was nothing but a scheme to buy votes for the 2022 election. The President’s plan will force Americans who either didn’t go to college or already paid off their loans to foot the bill for roughly $400 billion of student loan debt. House Republicans are protecting hard-working Texans from being burdened with increased taxes to pay the bills for those who willingly took on—and have yet to pay off—their debts. Our bill to override his student loan bailout program is on its way to the President's desk. I am urging him to sign it into law and end this madness. Honoring the Fallen Throughout TX-11 On Monday, my family and I commemorated Memorial Day by paying tribute to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Memorial Day is a solemn reminder of the courage, dedication, and selflessness displayed by those who fought for our freedom. These heroes answered the call of duty and left behind their families to protect the values of this nation. May we continue to express our deepest gratitude to those who fought and fell, as well as to their families, who carry the weight of their loss every day. Texas-11 is home to many brave servicemembers who paid the ultimate sacrifice. One of these heroes is Craig Ledsome of Brownwood, Texas. He was a friend, leader, husband, father, and Marine who lost his life in the line of duty during a mission in Western Iraq on November 25th, 2006. The community of Brownwood honored him with a portion of the highway in his name and the Michael Craig Ledsome Memorial Playground at Veterans Park. Please join me in honoring Craig and his sacrifice to our country, and praying for his family as they continue to feel his loss. Eden Town Hall Next Week I am hosting a Town Hall in Eden on Friday, June 9th at 11:00 am at 409 W. Blanchard Street. I would love to see you there! Bringing Washington D.C. to You: Telephone Town Hall On Wednesday, I held a Telephone Town Hall from my Congressional office in Washington D.C. I enjoyed hearing and answering a variety of your questions concerning the debt ceiling, energy, border security, and other topics affecting the district. I frequently host Telephone Town Hall meetings in addition to in-person Town Hall meetings to provide an official update from my Congressional office and answer your questions. If you missed the call, please visit my website here to join our call list. If you have any questions, contact my office at 202-225-3605 or visit my website here. I value your feedback and opinions. The People's House is Open Thanks to the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives, the U.S. Capitol is back OPEN for tours! I had the pleasure of meeting students from Midland Classical Academy this week on their visit to our nation's capital. If you're planning an upcoming trip to Washington, D.C., make sure to book a tour on my website here. Thank you for reading. It is the honor of my lifetime to serve you in Congress. Please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for daily updates. Rep. August Pfluger Member of Congress Rep. Pfluger | 1531 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]