An estimated 75 people attended a town hall meeting Monday at the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce to hear the Congressman August Pfluger.  The Republican member of the U.S. House represents Brown County and the expansive District 11, home to oil and gas, agriculture and military installations over West Central Texas.

Congressman Pfluger covered a number of topics including vaccine mandates, the National Defense Authorization Act and the ongoing border crisis.  He touched on the Sunday announcement by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin that he intended to oppose President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act.

“It’s a major turn of events for us.  It is such good news to taxpayers everywhere that we’re not going to go with this bill right now,” Pfluger told the crowd.  He added that the bill is not dead.  “It’s not dead until it’s voted on and killed and pushed aside.  It will resurface eventually and they’re going to reshape it and rework it and it will come back up and we’ll keep fighting against it,” Pfluger said.

Concerning the covid vaccine mandate, Pfluger called it overreach at the grossest level.  “I’m vaccinated, it was right for me.  Nobody in this room told me to go do it.  It was between my physician and myself.  You’re not going to hear me stand up and tell you what to do, and that’s what I believe in,” Pfluger said, noting his office was involved locally with concerns of many local employees of industry who are opposed to the vaccine mandates.

Concerning border security, Pfluger said there has been a 1% increase in our nation’s population just through people entering the country illegally.  To bring the problem closer to home, Pfluger pointed to the recent success by neighboring Comanche County Sheriff’s Department who recently arrested a 33 year-old illegal alien who is charged with human smuggling and possession of firearms by illegal alien.  The arrest came after a two-year long investigation.

“This is what I tell both Republicans and Democrats in the House.  You might live in Cincinnati, or you might live in Boston or Washington State, but you’re a border state now,” Pfluger said, noting the rise in Fentanyl crossing the border.  He said he has introduced five pieces of legislation to fight border violations.

Pfluger then opened the room to questions and comments which included trade with China, voter fraud and election integrity, among several others.