BUFFALO, N.Y. — Congressman Nick Langworthy isn't wasting time setting, what he hopes is, the agenda for a Republican-controlled Senate, and a, potentially, Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
"We are entering a new era in America," Congressman Langworthy said. "This is a call to action, and we have a lot of work to do."
While the Republicans haven't secured a majority in the House, the latest election results are trending in that direction.
At a press conference Wednesday, Congressman Langworthy echoed many of the issues he campaigned on, which also aligns with President-elect Donald Trump policy positions.
A big priority for Langworthy is, what he referred to as, wasteful federal spending.
"We've seen too much reckless big government spending over the last few years," Langworthy said.
According to the Department of the Treasury, federal spending is down more than $1.19T since fiscal year 2020.
In FY2020, the federal government spent $7.94T, and in FY 2024 the federal government spent $6.75T.
"We have clear priorities, we're going to work to revitalize our economy," Langworthy said. "Under President Biden and Kamala Harris, Americans have seen their dollar stretched very thin by inflation, and they've struggled to make ends meat in the face of rising prices on everything from groceries to gasoline to home heating to housing to insurance."
Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, and has since settled a bit to 2.4%. However the current inflation rate is still higher than it was when President-elect Trump left office in 2020.
Langworthy says he and his colleagues in the House will work to "solidify President Trump's tax cut and jobs act" to make it permanent.
"So that every family can have a fair shot at success in the American dream," Langworthy said.
The 23rd District Congressman also spent time during his press conference outlining the need to securing and strengthening, what he called, American energy independence.
"American energy should be produced by American workers right here at home," Langworthy said. "It'll create jobs, it'll create opportunities, and it will take money from our foreign adversaries, and put money into American companies and American workers and drive down the costs of of everything."
The United States is the largest producer of crude oil in the world, and has been for the last 6 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2023, the United States produced 12.9M barrels per day.
Still, Congressman Langworthy believes that energy prices were one of the early drivers of the rising inflation during the Biden administration.
"Putting more American energy out there for the world to purchase will make our country rich again," Langworthy said.
According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. exported 10.15M barrels/day of petroleum in 2023.
With the possibility of a fully Republican-controlled Congress, Langworthy also wants to focus on passing a border security act, and supports the President-elects plans for mass deportations.
"We're going to deport the criminals that shouldn't be on American soil, and we're going to shut down the border," Langworthy said.
Right now, it's unknown how much Congress could plan to spend in order shut down the border or begin mass deportations.
An independent study conducted by the American Immigration Council suggests that a mass deportation program that aimed to deport 1 million people per year could cost $88B annually.