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Dr. Burgess weekly address: The Pope's Visit to the U.S.
Posted by on September 25, 2015 Congressman Burgess remarks on Pope Francis' historic address to a joint session of Congress. To read a copy of his remarks, click here.
Burgess Leads Letter to HHS on Medicare Appropriate Use Criteria Policy
Posted by Lesley Fulop on September 22, 2015 Washington, D.C. — Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, with colleagues Congressmen Tom Price, M.D. (GA-06) and Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-07), led a bipartisan letter to Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Secretary Burwell in support of the regulatory framework outlined in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule to implement imaging appropriate use criteria (AUC) requirements within Medicare.
The letter notes that the signatories, of which include a number of physicians and those with a background in medicine, are “strongly supportive of ensuring that physicians are armed with evidence-based tools to aid in diagnostic decision making.” Further, the letter states that guidelines that are not developed by clinicians, providers or national medical professional societies, “do not rely upon the same rigorous development process and, therefore, are more reflective of consensus of medical opinions rather than rooted in clinical evidence." A full copy of the letter to Secretary Burwell can be found here.
Burgess Statement on Department of Energy’s Funding Cut of the American Centrifuge Project
Posted by Lesley Fulop on September 18, 2015
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, issued the following statement on the announcement from the Department of Energy this week to cut funding for the wasteful American Centrifuge Project.
“For the past decade, the Department of Energy has failed to do its due-diligence when taking hard-earned tax dollars and wasting them on a project in a way that was careless and profligate. While provided an overly generous array of federal resources, including hundreds of millions of dollars in government assistance to continue working on USEC’s flawed centrifuge technology and tens of thousands of tons of free uranium transferred from the Energy Department, USEC failed to carry out its task and thus failed to produce a level of uranium required to meet national security needs,” said Dr. Burgess, a member of the House Energy & Commerce committee. “I commend the non-partisan work of the GAO in unearthing the corruption woven throughout the wasteful American Centrifuge Project that will bring justice for an industry still hurting, damaged by Department of Energy policies. I look forward to working on the Energy & Commerce Committee to identify a responsible solution that would more astutely utilize taxpayer money to develop innovative technology to enrich uranium fuel.” The GAO reports investigating the practices of USEC’s American Centrifuge Project were commissioned at the request of both Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA). The two reports can be found HERE and HERE.
Burgess Joins Members Calling for Senate to Stop Iran Nuclear Deal
Posted by on September 18, 2015 Washington, D.C. — Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26) joined Congressman Lamar Smith (TX-21) and 55 House colleagues today in sending a letter to Senate leadership asking to dispense with the 60-vote threshold that has thus far prevented Senate disapproval of President Obama’s Iran Deal. The full text of Congressman Lamar Smith’s letter can be found here.
Dr. Burgess weekly address: Constitution Day
Posted by on September 18, 2015 Congressman Burgess remarks on the importance of the Constitution and the need to remain vigilant in maintaining the government that our Founding Fathers intended. Read his full remarks here.
Dr. Burgess weekly address: Iran Nuclear Agreement
Posted by on September 11, 2015 Congressman Burgess remarks on the Iran Nuclear Deal on the 14th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. To read a copy of his remarks, click here.
Burgess Statement on House v. Burwell Ruling
Posted by Lesley Fulop on September 10, 2015
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, issued the following statement on the ruling of the D.C. District Court in the case United States House of Representatives v. Burwell.
“This is not only a great victory for the United States House Committee on Rules which crafted the resolution that resulted in the first of its kind ruling by the D.C. District Court, but also for the constitutional balance of power,” said Rep. Burgess. “The executive branch of the government has overstepped the boundaries of its authority, amassing more and more powers at the expense of the legislative branch. I am appreciative of the actions of the D.C. District Court as I firmly believe that the United States government only operates in the manner that it was intended when no one branch of the government is permitted to constitutionally trespass on the other’s authority.” The United States House of Representatives v. Burwell case centers around the lawsuit filed by the United States House of Representatives against departments and officials within the executive branch asserting that President Barack Obama acted illegally in his implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by authorizing Treasury payments to healthcare insurers and delaying the law's employer mandate. The federal district judge maintained that the ruling signifies that the courts have the right to hear the case.
Dr. Burgess weekly address: Cures Event at UT Southwestern
Posted by on September 4, 2015 Congressman Burgess remarks on the roundtable discussion regarding the 21st Century Cures Act at UT Southwestern on September 1, 2015. To read a copy of his remarks, click here.
Burgess Honored For Efforts Around Transformation of Local Park
Posted by Lesley Fulop on September 3, 2015 Washington, D.C. – Today the City of Highland Village named the pavilion in the newly developed Lakeside Community Park in honor of Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), recognizing Dr. Burgess’ instrumental efforts in helping to secure the lakeside property for the community’s newest public park. The property, located at 707 Highland Village Road, was seized by the federal government as part of a case involving racketeering, which previously posed dangerous circumstances in the community. “I have deep roots in Highland Village, as I called this city home for a long time and as a former resident of Highland Village, I share the sense of pride that you all have in this community and the desire to ensure its safety for our children and generations to come,” said Dr. Burgess. “I am honored to be recognized here today and look forward to witnessing this park being put to good use by the residents of this city." The Congressman Michael C. Burgess Pavilion is located in the Lakeside Community Park, which officially opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony. During the ceremony, Dr. Burgess expressed great appreciation for the newest public asset in the Highland Village community. As a former city resident, the development of this property has been a long time priority of Dr. Burgess, stretching over his time in Congress.
UT Southwestern doctors: Moving discoveries from test tube to treatment
Posted by on September 2, 2015  It’s too expensive and takes too long to move medical discoveries to the patient's bedside, and federal support and funding for biomedical research in the United States has dropped more than 22 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2003. Medical doctors, Ph.Ds and politicians gathered Tuesday at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas to discuss the 21st Century Cures Act. The legislation to support biomedical research recently passed the U.S. House and is being considered by the Senate. Its broad aim is to accelerate the discovery, development and delivery of promising new treatments for patients “The goal of the 21st Century Cures Act is to give you the capability to cut through the red tape to decide what’s the most most innovative, game-changing research, and get it done,” U.S. Rep. Joe Barton told UT Southwestern doctors, scientists and department heads at the event. Barton and fellow Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Michael C. Burgess, an ob-gyn and a former resident at UT Southwestern, joined UT Southwestern President Daniel K. Podolsky and others in the roundtable discussion. Barton said the prognosis for the 21st Century Cures Act is good. “I will guarantee the people in this room that the 21st Century Cure Act is going to become law,” Barton said. Dr. Marc Diamond, a neurologist recently recruited from Washington University to UT Southwestern, said consistency needs to be built into the research funding pipeline. Burgess, an architect and co-sponsor of the legislation, said consistency is one aim of the act. Barton told Diamond “you can’t go year-to-year, I get that,” but added that, because of the budget deficit, “you can’t expect increases every year.” “The medical research budget is competing against the defense budget and the highway budget and all of those,” Barton said. Diamond, professor of neurology and neurotherapeutics and director of the Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, said in addition to prolonging human life and easing suffering, there are big economic advantages to funding medical research. “I wanted to emphasize the implications on the general economy,” Diamond said. “If we can keep people healthy, keep people’s brain functioning at a higher level for longer, it can have many, many benefits.” Eric Olson, professor of molecular biology and chairman of that department, said UT Southwestern is making great strides in the fight against muscular dystrophy through “genome editing,” in which DNA is inserted, replaced, or removed from a genome. Muscular dystrophy is a hereditary condition typically striking men in their 20s and marked by progressive weakening of the muscles. “Changing a single letter in the genetic code can change a progressive disease,” said Olson, a National Academy of Sciences member. “A single letter in the book of life can essentially cause muscular dystrophy. We believe this (genome editing) approach can provide benefit and maybe cure 80 percent of children who have this disease.” Burgess said the legislation would establish an Innovation Fund at the National Institutes of Health to renew federal support and funding for biomedical research. The legislation also would set new guidelines for faster FDA approvals of drugs and medical devices. “It is crucial that America remains at the front lines of biomedical research and care,” Burgess said. “These investments lead to exponential advances in medicine.” Recently, regenerative medicine researchers at UT Southwestern identified a cell that replenishes adult heart muscle. Researchers have been trying for decades to find the specialized cells that make new muscle cells in the heart, because most cells of that type don’t replenish themselves after a heart attack or other significant heart muscle damage. Read the full article here. |
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