August Pfluger

The only person politicizing anything here is you.

They came here today because of the failures of you and your leadership. They came here because they want closure. They deserve answers.

I hope that all of my Democrat colleagues will meet the Tambunga family and listen to their story.

Not a single Border Patrol agent that I have talked to in the past 3 years has said that they trust your leadership.

The security of this country is not a political matter.

Mr. Secretary, they are standing there, and I think they deserve an apology from you.

This is a sad day. America's security has never been weaker than it is under the Biden administration in your reign as Secretary of Homeland Security.

I introduced a bill to make sure that there is an assessment of terrorist threats posed by those prisoners, 5,000-plus that were released from those two facilities by the Taliban.

The homeland security cost of the catastrophic withdrawal, as I mentioned, which resulted in the unfortunate deaths of 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghans in an ISIS-K orchestrated terrorist attack.

The Honorable August Pfluger, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence:

Unfortunately, to date, we have yet to receive an assessment from the administration on the threat that those released prisoners pose to the United States, our homeland, and to our allies.

The administration's continuous denial and downplaying of what happened is an insult to our service members sitting here and throughout the United States of America.

Less than 2 weeks ago, this administration released a report to whitewash and shamelessly shifted blame about the execution of the deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.

We have to continue to view strength as a peace through strength and security as a peace through strength mentality.

Passing H.R. 1 is just the beginning. The American public put their trust in Republicans under Speaker McCarthy and Chair McMorris Rodgers to lower costs, and that is exactly what we are going to do by boosting American production instead…

Chairman Thompson said last year that he would have a border hearing and he never did. Now he's been--he's acting as a partisan agent.

It's extremely disrespectful of my Democratic colleagues to not be here, to not support those who would put their lives on the line to keep our country safe.

America, wake up. Look over here to the side, to the colleagues that should be here, to my Democratic colleagues. How disrespectful is it?

We look forward to a bipartisan cooperation in this Congress as we all seek effective solutions to combat pervasive threats posed by the CCP to our homeland security.

We will meet CCP aggression with strength, its deception with unflinching truth, and its attempts at exploitation with justice.

This conflict is with the CCP. It is an authoritarian regime that commits genocide against its own people.

It is very important that we have a hearing here in the Permian Basin, Odessa, Texas, talking about the issues.

Energy security is so important. It is important to our economy. It is important to our livelihoods. It is important to our military.

It is important that free speech be upheld--protected free speech be upheld. Not libel, not slander, and not any sort of assertion that all MAGA Republicans are bad because we know that that is not true. In fact, there are many good…

Charles and JoAnne Powell were a perfect team, and they supported one another as they completed their missions of life with flying colors. Together, they raised an exceptional daughter, Terri, and adored their two wonderful grandchildren…