Congressman August Pfluger, U.S. Representative for the 11th Congressional District of Texas

Image
Body

Pfluger Leads Letter supporting USMCA provisions that benefit Texas Energy and Agriculture Producers

Tuesday, October 19th, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter from leaders in the Texas Congressional Delegation to the recently confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar. In the letter, the lawmakers draw attention to Mexico’s discriminatory actions that violate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and urge Ambassador Salazar to directly engage with senior Mexican officials to ensure fair trade for Texas agriculture and energy producers.

The letter was signed by Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as Representatives Henry Cuellar, Michael McCaul, Michael C. Burgess, M.D., Randy Weber, Roger Williams, Brian Babin, D.D.S., Vicente Gonzalez, Jodey C. Arrington, Michael Cloud, Dan Crenshaw, Van Taylor, Lance Gooden, Ronny L. Jackson, Tony Gonzales, Beth Van Duyne, Jake Ellzey, and Pete Sessions.

In the letter, the lawmakers note that they are concerned that: “Mexico has taken several actions that discriminate against American energy producers and favor SOEs [state owned enterprises]. This includes the recent modifications to the Hydrocarbons Law, which allows Mexican officials the power to suspend and revoke key permits for private operations. Most recently, the government’s proposed constitutional reforms would increase state control of the electricity industry and severely limit private investment. These steps, among others, harm our critical trading partnership with Mexico and potentially violate key tenets of the USMCA.”

The lawmakers underscore that: “Proper implementation of the USMCA is a top priority and the U.S. must engage at all levels of government to ensure that the American people can reap the full benefits from this important trade agreement.”

Pfluger Reports on Biden’s Border Crisis

Tuesday, October 26th, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) responded to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s report on the number of illegal migrant encounters along the southern border in the month of September.

Rep. August Pfluger: “The border crisis is beyond tragic, and the blame falls squarely on President Biden and his open-border policies. We now know that over 1.7 million illegal immigrants were apprehended crossing the southwest border this year—the highest number ever—and CBP has seized enough fentanyl at the border to kill every person in the United States seven times over.

“Right now, migrant caravans with thousands of unknown migrants are marching towards our border, and the Biden Administration continues to mislead Americans and deny the crisis.

“I am extremely concerned about who is facilitating these caravans, and what organizations are possibly involved in drug and human trafficking along the way. The Biden Administration has abandoned Texans. Their blatant disregard for border security is unacceptable and puts the safety all Americans at risk.

“President Biden and Democrats in Congress must come to the table and work with Republicans on commonsense measures to secure our border and protect American lives.”

Pfluger Resolution Exposes Democrat Natural Gas Tax

Thursday, October 28th, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) led seventy-eight of his colleagues in introducing a resolution to expose the natural gas tax that Congressional Democrats are proposing.

Rep. August Pfluger: “Congressional Democrats are pushing a natural gas tax that will reduce our GDP by $9 Billion, kill at least 90,000 jobs, and raise energy bills for all Americans. President Biden’s out-of-control spending is already driving up prices on everything— from the grocery store to the gas pump—while causing our national debt to skyrocket. Now, Democrats are desperately searching for new ways to squeeze even more money out of the American people to pay for their big-government programs. A natural gas tax is a tax increase on every single American that will disproportionately harm working families, farmers and ranchers, and our energy producers in the Permian Basin.”

Pfluger Opposes Biden Efforts to Undermine US Diplomatic Missions in Israel

Monday, November 1st, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) joined with House Republicans imploring the Biden Administration to reconsider their proposal to reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem and provide separate diplomatic services to Palestinians. The President’s proposal to open a separate consulate would promote division in Jerusalem and undermine US diplomatic efforts that would harm Israel.

In a letter to President Joe Biden, the Members called the proposition “unacceptable, shameful, and wrong.” The Members highlighted the detrimental impacts of opening a consulate for Palestinians—notably due to it being illegal, duplicative, and rewarding to the Palestinian Authority—an organization that supports terrorism against Israeli families and more. Pfluger stands in strong support of Israel, the U.S.’s closest ally in the Middle East.