Congressman Burgess leaves copies of 1,990-page bill at local library

North Richland Hills, TX—Congressmen Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (Texas-26) today delivered copies of H.R. 3962, the latest version of House Democrats’ health care reform bill unveiled by Speaker Pelosi last week, to the North Richland Hills Library.  The bill is expected to be brought to the House floor for a vote sometime this week, and Burgess encourages North Texans to read the massive bill and contact him with their concerns before the vote.

Town hall to be held in Fort Worth on Saturday, October 24th

Lewisville, TX—Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (Texas-26) has scheduled a Town Hall meeting for this Saturday, October 24th, at 10:00 a.m., on the Texas Wesleyan University campus in Fort Worth . 

   On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Health began what will be week-long hearings on a draft of the Democrats’ health care reform plan.  Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), a member of the Health subcommittee, said he looks forward to learning more about the draft plan, but believes the hearings are a far-cry from real bipartisan efforts.

    Congress is back in Washington to finish for the year. There's much work to be done, and not a lot of time to do it. Congress must spend the time left on the people’s business and not the business of growing the federal government. What exactly is the people’s business? It’s the things you talk to me about when I see you in the store, at my town halls, when you call or write my office: energy, transportation, and spending.

     Energy tops your list.  With record gas prices and unease about America’s dependence on foreign oil, people rightly expect Congress to do something to address energy. Up until now, we have failed to do so.  Republicans - including myself - were so dismayed with this lack of progress that we stayed behind in a darkened House of Representatives when Congress left town in August to call for action on energy.  Now that everyone is back in town we should do the people’s business and have an up-or-down vote to increase the supply of American-made energy, invest in alternatives, and promote conservation.  No gimmicks or half-measures. We need a comprehensive approach to energy.

     Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement on Tuesday, as the Committee began to mark up HR 2454, the Democrats’ cap and trade bill.

By Michael Burgess, cowritten with Newt Gingrich

Nothing is certain except death and taxes, and physicians will tell you that death is much less complicated than the American tax code. The complexity of today’s tax code is a consequence of countless deductions and exemptions aimed at promoting a variety of congressionally determined policy agendas.