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November 25, 2024
NSSF PROFILE Q&A: U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas)
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to post the latest of our occasional Q&A features with an elected official who supports hunting and the shooting sports. NSSF thanks U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) for speaking with us about his staunch support for the Second Amendment and the importance of the firearm and ammunition industry to his constituents in the Lone Star State. Rep. Pfluger represents the Eleventh District in Texas and is about to begin his third term in Congress in January 2025. Rep. Pfluger serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep. Pfluger also serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security and co-founded the MACH 1 Caucus and the Texas Ag Task Force. Congressman Pfluger graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He served 20 years as a decorated fighter pilot, later as an advisor on the National Security Council, and still serves as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserves. We thank Rep. Pfluger for speaking with us.
1) Who introduced you to hunting and shooting sports, and why are hunting and the shooting sports important to you in your job representing your Congressional district?
I’ve been shooting and hunting my entire life. My dad and grandfather introduced me to it and taught me gun safety at an early age. I was in the Boy Scouts, and we also learned gun safety. I have continued to hunt and participate in shooting sports throughout my life, so it’s a big part of my life. Quite frankly, a ton of people in the 11th District of Texas love to shoot, so it’s an important aspect of our culture and one I am determined to protect.
2) What was your most recent shooting sports/hunting experience?
I had the chance to go to New Mexico and harvest an elk, which was awesome, and I was able to talk to several hunters there about the importance of making sure that the government agencies don’t over-regulate and make it tougher, especially on things like suppressors, because of the hearing loss that so many people are affected by.
3) Describe your favorite shooting sports or hunting activity.
I love sporting clays as a shooting sport, but also just hunting in general, whether it’s birds or deer or big game. I love being able to hunt and be outdoors.
4) Which piece of pending legislation in Congress related to conservation, hunting and the firearm industry is particularly important to you and why? What is your next priority for protecting the Second Amendment rights Washington, D.C.?
Well, we work on a lot of conservation legislation, and there are many different things that we’re doing with the Western Caucus and also with the House Natural Resources Committee, but I specifically want to highlight the PARTS Act, which is my main focus right now. The Biden Administration is trying to take every little part of the suppressor—screw caps and bolts and different parts of the suppressor—and call each of those individual small, tiny parts that attach to the firearm an actual suppressor. This is blatant overreach, and we’re calling them out on it. This is really important because there’s no other developed country in the world that does this, and yet the ATF is trying to overreach. Congress has not given them the authority to do that. Suppressors make hunting, shooting and all of these sports safer. They help our military personnel; they help our law enforcement; they help recreational shooters. The United States needs to get up to speed on this.
5) What do you see as the challenges and opportunities ahead both in Congress and home in Texas, or more broadly the country, for hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts?
The most important thing is that conservation and hunting go together. When you look at how we conserve and how we make sure that the animal population is respectfully taken into account and the process by which states are issuing licenses, I think there are a lot of opportunities to have a good conversation on conservation. And it’s something that I’m passionate about because I grew up doing it. We want to respect nature, and I think that the important part of being a Republican is that we do respect nature. We respect our land, and we’re going to leave it better than we found it.
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