Republican Study Committee’s Plans for Reconciliation Package

As Congress races to put together a third reconciliation package, Representative August Pfluger, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), expressed optimism in a recent conversation on the Ruthless Podcast. “On affordability, on fraud, and on defense, I think that we’re going to run a two-minute drill,” Pfluger stated in an interview released on Tuesday morning. “In fact, we’re in the middle of planning for it right now.” Reconciliation allows budget-related measures to pass the Senate with a simple majority vote, avoiding the usual requirement of 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

The House is expected to vote on the second reconciliation bill this week, focusing on immigration, after the Senate’s approval last week. Pfluger expressed concerns about the necessity to use reconciliation to pass measures funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). “I’m hopeful about this country,” he remarked, “but it is a sad state of affairs when you have to do partisan-only bills like reconciliation, especially for defense-related things.”

Co-host Josh Holmes echoed this perspective, highlighting the partisan nature of the process. “[The Democrats] forced it on a partisan basis on something that should be a consensus,” he acknowledged. Pfluger detailed his goals for the third bill, focusing on issues such as affordability, fraud, and defense, with an emphasis on housing, energy, and healthcare.

Pfluger outlined that the third package will aim to address concerns raised by constituents about rising costs. “3.0 is us going into our districts, listening to our constituents who are saying, ‘Hey, things are pretty expensive,’” he stated. He emphasized the importance of showing Republican voters that their concerns are being heard, referencing a large base of supporters previously mobilized by former President Donald Trump. “We gotta give them something to be excited about. We have to tell them, we heard you in Minnesota, we hear you in California, we know there’s fraud in many states, and we’re going after it.”

Fraud has become a central theme of the Republican message as November approaches, underlined by the efforts of Vice President JD Vance’s Fraud Task Force. During a recent hearing, Representative Brandon Gill brought fraud to the forefront. Additionally, in an interview with Ruthless, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy noted that the federal and state governments have about $1.1 trillion in improper Medicaid payments.

Pfluger’s participation in the Ruthless Midterm Interview Series is part of an initiative to engage with major political figures nationwide ahead of the November elections. The podcast hosts have already conducted interviews with candidates in 15 states, with more planned as the election date, November 3rd, approaches.