U.S. Rep. Pfluger discusses border, energy with Llano County constituents

U.S. Rep. August Pfluger talked about his recent legislative battles in Washington, D.C., as well as border security and energy independence with dozens of Llano County constituents during events in Llano and Horseshoe Bay on June 29-30.

Pfluger (R-San Angelo) represents Texas’ 11th Congressional District, which includes nearly 800,000 residents and 20 counties stretching from Odessa in the west to Killeen in the east. 

During a town hall at the Llano American Legion on Thursday evening and an informal coffee at the Horseshoe Bay City Hall on Friday morning, the congressman fielded questions from attendees regarding a breadth of topics, such as his support of Ukraine in its war with Russia, illegal immigration, and strategic resources.

As a representative of West Texas, one of the largest petroleum production zones in the world, and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Pfluger paid special attention to energy during the events.

“People don’t want to be paying exorbitant amounts of money for electricity, for food, for gas,” he told DailyTrib.com after the Llano town hall. “I’m in Washington, D.C., focused on lowering those costs and doing things like helping our energy production here so that we don’t have to be reliant on a foreign country.”

He also had strong thoughts and noted his action on border security. He sits on the Homeland Security Advisory Council and pushed for House Resolution 2, the Secure the Border Act.

“We have got to secure our border,” he told DailyTrib.com. “I’m on the Homeland Security Committee. It’s a priority of mine, and I’ve continued to lead on this. We have passed important legislation. Our communities deserve to be safe. We deserve to not have fentanyl being trafficked in our communities.”

The House of Representatives passed HR 2, which would provide billions in funding to the U.S. Border Patrol, construction of a border wall, and pay for 3,000 additional border patrol agents, according to Pfluger.

Llano County residents collectively voiced concerns about border security, asking Pfluger an array of questions about the state of illegal immigration.

“This is the most compassionate country on earth,” Pfluger said in response to a question at the Llano town hall. “We legally immigrate a million people into this country per year. There’s no question, I’ll be the first to tell you, that our immigration certainly needs reform. We can do it better, but we’re not doing anything until we get security.”

Pfluger’s support of Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia was also a point of interest for residents. 

“How much money have we actually sent (Ukraine)?” asked one constituent at the Horseshoe Bay event. “How much more money is going to be spent? What is our national security interest in that situation?”

Pfluger explained that the United States’ interest in Ukraine is complicated. He noted that the country borders several NATO member states, and if any one of them were to come under attack, it would trigger Article 5 in the organization’s charter, which would bring all 31 member countries into the ensuing war.

“The interest we have there is to make sure we don’t get pulled into World War III,” Pfluger said.

He concluded his Llano town hall with this message to his constituents.

“You may not agree with every single vote,” he stated. “But I want you to know that I am studying every single vote. I’m weighing the risks. I’m weighing the options. I think you sent me up (to D.C.) to move the country forward. I think West Texas and Central Texas and rural Texas have it right. I think we have it right, and I want to take that to Washington, D.C., and help the rest of the country understand how we do business.”

Additional reporting by staff writer Nathan Bush

dakota@thepicayune.com