RSC Chairman Pfluger Joins the Ruthless Variety Progrum to Champion Reconciliation 3.0
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman August Pfluger joined the fellas on the Ruthless Variety Progrum this week to lay out the case for a third reconciliation package and push back on skeptics who say it can't be done.
Chairman Pfluger, who earlier this year unveiled the RSC's "Making the American Dream Affordable Again" framework, told the Ruthless hosts Republicans are already in the planning stages for what he called a "two-minute drill" legislative push built around affordability, fraud elimination, and defense spending.
Also, Chairman Pfluger dove into his predictions for this year's Congressional Baseball Game, his love of America’s pastime, and the chemistry of the Republican Team members.
Watch and listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Read highlights from Chairman Pfluger below:
On a Third Reconciliation Bill: “We've got some great answers on fraud. In fact, the RSC has helped push over 50 pieces of legislation from our members across the finish line this year, and we're proud of that. Some of these are going to come together in 3.0. I know everybody is like there's no way you're going to get it done. There's just no way. Well, I'm going to take the opposite view for a couple reasons. Number one, because our constituents are asking us to unify, to come together to get something done. Number two, President Trump is standing up for our military, and we need to recapitalize, which means we need more money, and the Democrats are never going to do that. They're not going to spend another dime on the military, which is sad. So, for all those reasons, on affordability, on fraud, and on defense, I think that we're going to run a two-minute drill. In fact, we're in the middle of planning for it right now, and I think we're going to be successful. It's not going to be the One Big, Beautiful Bill. The scope of it is not going to be like that. And I know you guys know a lot about the Senate. When we send it over to the Senate the last week of July, they're going to look at this bill and go, "That's good, like that's what we've been asking for.”
On Rampant Fraud Found in California: “You've heard Dr. Oz recently talking. It’s sad that we have people who are starting hospice businesses in Los Angeles, and literally stealing identities from people there. I mean, they're using real people saying that they're about to die. Hospice is a serious program. When you join hospice, it's because you don't have more than a couple weeks. This is the dignified way of passing away. There are over 400 businesses that popped up in LA County alone, and 99 percent of those were not valid companies. They're stealing hundreds of billions of dollars, and that's just scratching the surface. That has got to stop. The daycare stuff in Minnesota has got to stop, and there's so much more of that. This is not a partisan issue, it's just there's only one party who will do it.”
On the Congressional Baseball Game: “We are focused. We have great players. I'll tell you that the best hitter on our team is Eric Schmitt. He's got an amazing swing. He's dialed in, he's been practicing. And then we've got just several guys who have come along, Jake Ellzey, not normally a baseball player, and over the past three or four years, he's really gotten into a good place. Morgan Luttrell, his last game this year. Imagine a Navy SEAL with a baseball bat in their hand in combat, that's basically Morgan. So, if you remember, a couple years ago, he turned around with such force to chase the ball down, he knocked the ref off the home plate, he knocked him out cold. I'm like, this is amazing. I'm glad this guy's on our team. Look, we have a great team. I feel very confident we will win. We're not cocky about it. We've buckled down because we know that they're coming for us, but just like legislating, they're chaotic, and they're not really together.”
On Tackling Fraud for the American People: “75 to 80 million people came out in support of Donald Trump. We got to get those people back out [to vote]. We got to give them something to be excited about. We have to tell them, we hear you in Minnesota, we hear you in California, we know there's fraud in many states, and we're going after it, and we're taking it seriously. We're not going to be able to uncover every bit of it, but we're going to do as much as we can. We need some more time. We need two more years.”