February 24, 2023

President Biden’s radical, anti-life administration is threatening to declare a public health emergency for abortions—using a measure meant to protect the health and safety of Americans to kill unborn children.

I introduced legislation with Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Chris Smith to preemptively halt any possible emergency and protect the sanctity of life. The bill would block the abuse of this executive authority granted under the Public Health Service Act, including other emergency declarations under the National Emergencies Act and the Stafford Act.

President Biden wants to declare a whole-of-government war against pro-life states. It is completely unsettling that a measure meant to protect the health and safety of Americans could be used to kill unborn children and endanger the well-being of their mothers. Congress should pass my bill and prevent this from taking place.

Click here to read more about my legislation in Fox News.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is infiltrating American universities and stealing intellectual property, conducting military espionage, intimidating Chinese dissidents, promoting communist propaganda, and funneling information back to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

To counter this malign activity, I introduced legislation this week to put an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in American universities. My bill, the Preventing Malign CCP Influence on Academic Institutions Act, increases transparency requirements for universities that receive funding from individuals, universities, think tanks, companies, or programs that have CCP members sitting on their boards of directors. It also requires universities that receive donations of more than $5,000 from any entities affiliated with the CCP to publicly report these donations to the Secretary of Education and be made available to the public on the university’s website.

I also joined Senator John Cornyn, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representative Jason Crow in introducing the Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation and Obscured Foreign Financing (PAID OFF) Act, which would help close Foreign Agents Registration Act loopholes that allow unregistered agents of foreign adversaries to lobby in the United States.

It is clear our nation’s adversaries are looking to find avenues to influence our government and policymaking decisions, including exploiting loopholes that allow a backdoor for unregistered foreign agents to lobby on behalf of authoritarian regimes like the People’s Republic of China and Russia. I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to close these loopholes and ensure we can properly combat foreign malign influence in our nation.

The Biden Administration and radical environmental groups are using the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a weapon against our critical agriculture and energy industries. We are seeing this play out in real-time with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s recent decision to list the Lesser Prairie-Chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)—a move that will have a disastrous impact on American energy and agriculture production.

This week, I introduced legislation to reform the ESA by delivering 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. Read more here.

Last week, Camille and I were honored to present Jan Lentz, who recently retired from years of serving in our San Angelo office, with a Congressional Certificate celebrating her achievements and service. For more than a decade, Jan has devoted herself to the people of Texas’s 11th Congressional District as a Constituent Services Representative and more.

I wish I could fully express the impact Jan has had throughout her lifetime of service. While she is a gifted social worker who has spent her entire adult career serving others, Jan’s greatest impact on our community is best felt through her work with veterans and their families. She has changed the lives of so many, including those in the Vietnam support group she has led for more than 15 years. Jan was also a part of the counseling rapid response team that served the community of Uvalde immediately after the tragic school shooting last year.

One of her passions, pottery, has particularly inspired hope and healing for our community. She has shared her love of pottery for years with her group at the local museum and through the “Poppy Project”—a dream project of Jan’s that brought Concho Valley veterans together to hand-craft one thousand poppies out of clay. The poppies became more than a symbol of sacrifice, but a way for veterans to connect and heal together. She brought our community around the veterans to offer support and care–seeing a need and filling it.

Jan is someone we all wish we could be more like. She consistently gives her all with no desire for personal recognition. As she now moves into her new chapter of retirement, we are grateful for all she has done for our community and grateful to have her as a part of our family.

Thank you from our team, district, state, and country. We are all better because of you!

My office is now accepting submissions for the 2023 Congressional Art Competition! It is open to all high school students in the 11^th Congressional District of Texas and is an opportunity for local artists to be recognized for their talents among artists from around the Nation. The deadline is Monday, May 1^st, 2023.

Students can register and upload images of their artwork our website here.

It was wonderful to host the House Natural Resources Committee and House Energy & Commerce Committee in the Permian Basin last week to highlight our region and the good it does for the world.

Read more from the House Committee on Natural Resources here and my recap on the Energy & Commerce Committee hearing in The Midland Reporter-Telegram here.

Mission Odessa is a wonderful center that provides assistance with rent, utilities, food, and small household items to those in need.

They truly spread the love of Christ every day, and it was an honor to learn more about their facility and impact on our community from their staff and board of directors on a recent tour.

Thanks to the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives, the U.S. Capitol is back OPEN for tours! I would love to see you in Washington—book a tour on my website here.

We have several upcoming town halls in the next few weeks. Mark your calendars—I hope to see you there.

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