Chairman Pfluger Touts RSC’s Record in the 119th Congress on Punchbowl’s ‘Fly Out Day’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman August Pfluger (TX-11) joined Punchbowl’s ‘Fly Out Day’ to highlight two years of conservative wins, address the national security threats facing America 25 years after 9/11, and outline what’s still ahead for House Republicans this Congress.

Chairman Pfluger credited the RSC’s work as the driving force behind the historic Working Families Tax Cuts Act one year after its passage. This landmark legislation prevented the largest tax hike in American history, made key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, strengthened border security, provided a historic investment into our military, codified no tax on tips or overtime for hardworking Americans, and enacted sweeping reforms to bloated federal spending and taxpayer-funded welfare programs.

As the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, Chairman Pfluger discussed how the threats we face today have evolved, including the national security implications of emerging technologies and the ongoing conflict with Iran. Drawing on his experience as a combat fighter pilot, Chairman Pfluger emphasized the dangers posed by AI in adversarial hands and expressed support for President Trump’s efforts to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Chairman Pfluger closed by making clear the RSC’s agenda is far from finished, with House Republicans carrying a strong record into the final stretch.

You can watch the full interview HERE.

Key highlights from the interview are below.

Chairman Pfluger on what the RSC has accomplished this Congress:
“Let me rewind the clock a little bit on what the RSC is…We have 190 members. It’s an awesome group. It’s 50 plus years old…And we’re only as good as our team, and our team is incredible. We have so many Members that have contributed great ideas, and I can mention a few of those that they’ve come to the table and they said, ‘This is a conservative priority. This is good for our country.’...And look, our job isn’t to call the plays. Our job is to provide a menu of options for what those plays can be. So guys like Brad Finstad on fraud issues. Here’s a guy from Minnesota that is seeing it firsthand every day. Bryan Steil and Abe Hamadeh on election integrity. Jodey Arrington and Jason Smith. I mean, these guys were amazing on the Working Families Tax Cuts, and then helped out in the second…So I just can’t brag enough about the team that we have and the folks that we got a chance to work with. So no, not disappointed right now. We always want to do more. That is our job. That’s our nature. That’s why we’re up here. But we’ll get it, and we’ll keep pushing. And that is the job of the RSC.”

Chairman Pfluger on Democrats voting against the Working Families Tax Cuts Act:
“It is our job to remind our constituents that every single Democrat voted against lowering taxes and Trump accounts, which there are millions of people putting additional money in. So, you know, the folks that are working in a restaurant in my district, or the guys that are working in the oil field with no tax on overtime. I mean, these are really important things. I think if there’s a criticism of Republicans, it has been at times that we don’t communicate, we’re not as emotional. Whatever Democrats can get credit for, I’m not sure what that is right now, but we have a very serious job in the next couple of weeks. I think we’re up for that task of reminding people just how successful that bill really was.”

Chairman Pfluger on Republican victories this Congress:
“Well, from the positive side, we have a tremendous agenda. We have accomplished a lot of different things, quality bills. Okay, so don’t just look at the quantity of bills that are passed…Just from day one, I mean, look at securing the border. We had 10 million plus people in four years. I mean, my state was impacted by this more than any other state. So, when it comes to the things that we’ve done, I think we have a good record. When it comes to the agenda that we know we want to get done, I don’t trust the Democrat Party right now because they are completely lost. They have no leader. They have no direction. They’re out there advocating for crazy things. I mean, I’ve got three daughters, so think about men in women’s sports…It’s not helpful to the country at all. So, on the positive side, our agenda I think is still intact…There’s more to do. We acknowledge that, and that’s why we’re up here. You know, that’s why we continue to push for it. On the competition with [the] Democrat side, they’re rudderless. They’re completely rudderless. So now the trick is, and I think we’re going to win this communication battle, is to make sure our constituents see that and understand that, in that they are motivated to allow us to continue to do that agenda.”

Chairman Pfluger on the latest in Iran:
“One difference now is that the Iranian regime has one commodity that maybe we in the Western world, because of our democratic governance and because of the systems that we have governing our countries, they have the commodity and the leisure of time. We have elections, and that’s true in Europe. It’s always been a Parliamentary system where they can call a snap election tomorrow, and they’re afraid to do a lot of different things, but it certainly is true for us…I flew combat missions in that area. I flew over the Strait of Hormuz. I’m familiar with that area. I’m so glad that the President made the decision to not allow them to have a nuclear weapon…Every single person wants that conflict to come to a culmination and to a resolution, but nobody more than President Trump. I mean, he absolutely wants that, and I think he’s doing everything he possibly can. But we saw how dangerous it was. I mean, I fought against ISIS. They didn’t have a nuclear weapon. A horrible regime. Iran was building that nuclear weapon, and they really could have changed the course of history had that become successful.”

Chairman Pfluger on the evolving threat landscape 25 years after 9/11: 
“We just had a demo day on the Hill…The threat of AI as a generative radicalization tool is really dangerous…AI allows things to speed up. You don’t need a chemical engineering degree to make a bomb. You don’t need a chemical engineering degree to, you know, help a terrorist organization. Also, with AI, the interface between kids and those who could be radicalized is happening quicker…So a lot of these systems, you type in something, you know, on Claude or any of these other open systems, and it’s something that could be like terroristic, they’re going to come back and say ‘I’m sorry, that’s illegal. We can’t tell you that.’…The demo that we did has like a jailbroken way that it tells you ‘Ok, this is how you inflict mass casualties.’…I’m worried about that. I’m concerned about that. And thank goodness, Markwayne Mullin is doing a great job of trying to wrap his arms around it and DHS.” 

“I’ve got legislation of my own on this. In general, the philosophy is we need a faster system to keep up with the threats. And I think that is very true on this particular issue. It’s true on AI, just in the industry. It's true on AI in the threat environment…I mean, what did the 9/11 report say? It said the system was blinking red, right? And that’s true. And I think right now it is blinking red because we have this new tool that can be used for good. But it’s also like, ‘Oh my goodness, like how are we going to keep up with this?’”