Washington, D.C. — Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed two important public health bills today that will expand the medical workforce, H.R. 3728, the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency Readiness (EMPOWER) Act, and H.R. 5385, the Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018.
“These important, bipartisan public health bills will ensure that American patients have access to skilled physicians and medical professionals – regardless of where they live. I introduced the EMPOWER Act to support physician workforce programs. By reauthorizing key Title VII funding, this bill will increase access to physicians and other providers in underserved areas, and promote training opportunities for physicians to maintain and improve their skills.
“The Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018, which I co-sponsored with fellow Texan Rep. Gene Green, will ensure that children in Texas and around the country have access to quality health care by maintaining and growing our pediatric workforce. As a physician who practiced medicine in Lewisville, T.X., it is a special honor to name this important legislation for Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks – a North Texas pediatric surgeon whose groundbreaking work broke barriers for women in medicine. I urge the Senate to take action on these commonsense, bipartisan bills as soon as possible.”
