Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Newsmax Tuesday that Republicans must move aggressively to pass another budget reconciliation bill, arguing it presents a rare opportunity to boost defense spending, strengthen election security, and claw back taxpayer money lost to fraud.
"We can get this done, but we've got to be aggressive," Pfluger told Newsmax's "Bianca Across The Nation." "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity right now to pass the SAVE America Act, to recapitalize our military and to attack fraud."
House Republicans have been preparing another reconciliation package that would advance key elements of President Donald Trump's agenda. Under Senate rules, reconciliation bills require only a simple majority rather than the 60 votes typically needed to overcome a filibuster, provided the provisions have a direct budgetary impact.
Pfluger, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, said the legislation is necessary because Democrats have opposed Republican priorities on defense and government spending.
"The reason that this bill is so important is because Democrats are not voting to increase defense spending," Pfluger said. "They are shutting the government down at times in the last year and a half, and they are obstructing what I would call the basics of governing, which is to help our military, to protect our borders, to increase and strengthen the economy."
The Republican Study Committee is the largest conservative caucus in the House, with about 190 GOP members.
Pfluger also argued reconciliation offers Republicans their best chance to advance the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo identification when casting ballots.
Asked about concerns that the Senate's legislative filibuster could block the measure, Pfluger said reconciliation provides a path around the 60-vote threshold.
"That's why reconciliation is important, because we want to have a budgetary nexus, a bill that would offer the Senate the opportunity to pass it with 51 votes, not 60, which is reasonable," he said.
Pfluger said Republicans should use the legislation to lock in savings from the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
"Reconciliation is a tool where we can recapture the gains that have been fraudulently spent, taxpayer dollars that have gone out the window," he said. "Let's codify those gains. Let's tie SAVE America [Act] to it. And at the same time, let's do what Democrats will not do, which is recapitalize our military and put money back into the men and women who are serving this country bravely, giving their lives to defend our freedoms."
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