August 5, 2020 Dear Friends, If you are interested in voluntarily participating in a clinical trial to help find a COVID-19 vaccine, you can learn more and take a screening registry survey on www.coronavirus.gov. National Institutes of Health Director, Dr. Francis Collins, told WFAA how volunteers from the DFW-area can assist Phase 3 development. Operation Warp Speed Updates: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DOD) announced agreements with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline to support advanced development including clinical trials and large-scale manufacturi... Read More »
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, , led a letter to House Leadership, with 93 bipartisan cosigners, requesting that robocall prescription verification allowed by the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Contact Lens Rule be addressed in year-end legislation. "Despite repeated engagement from Congress, the FTC refuses to address the dangerous practice of verifying contact lens prescriptions with robocalls,” said Burgess. "This Coronavirus has increased t... Read More »
by Benjamin Fearnow Several Republican lawmakers rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion of delaying the 2020 presidential election, with GOP lawmakers noting Americans voted during the Civil War, two world wars and a previous pandemic. Top Republicans ranging from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy rebuked Trump's Thursday tweet calling to "Delay the Election." The GOP leaders agreed Trump should highlight concerns over potential voter fraud, but McConnell told Kentucky's WNKY-TV that "never in the history of this country" had a federal electio... Read More »
by RBR-TVBR A bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives now supports the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA) after 12 House Members added their cosponsorship to the resolution opposing “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” on local broadcast radio stations. The resolution, which signals Members of Congress’s opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 223 cosponsors in the House and 27 in the Senate. Adding their support recently for the Local Radio Freedom Act in the House are Rep... Read More »
Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, said the debate over COVID-19 liability shields was the major sticking point delaying an agreement. Published by WFAA. Read More »
by Chris Tomlinson Every morning, when I sit down behind my computer, I set my coffee cup on a coaster that reads: “A visionary CO2ncept for a Cleaner Tomorrow.” The graphic shows exhaust leaving a coal-fired power plant, running through a tower that extracts the carbon dioxide and then pushes it through a pipeline to an oilfield, where workers pump the greenhouse gas underground to force up oil and sequester the CO2. I picked up the coaster at the 2014 groundbreaking of NRG Energy’s $ 1 billion Petra Nova carbon capture project. At the time, I declared the project “the kind of innovation that... Read More »
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after the House voted in support of his amendment, the Keep Young Athletes Safe Act grant program funding increase. "While no abuse in sport should be tolerated, the protection of our children from sexual abuse should be our number one priority,” said Burgess. “In 2018, Congress authorized the Keep Young Athletes Safe Act grant program which provides funding for a nonprofit nongovern... Read More »
by American College of Emergency Physicians WASHINGTON, July 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) strongly supports the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, introduced today by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). This bill, named for the emergency physician tragically lost to suicide in April 2020, would take major steps to reduce and prevent suicide and burnout and alleviate other mental health concerns that have only been exacerbated by COVID-19. "Dr. Breen was one of our own—an ACEP ... Read More »
July 30, 2020 Dear Friends, The demand for convalescent plasma has drastically increased since it appears to be helpful in treating patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19. If you or someone you know has recovered from COVID-19, you can consider donating by visiting www.DonatingPlasma.org. Today, an appropriations amendment I offered to improve domestic plasma processes and capabilities was adopted with unanimous support. This investment in our nation’s plasma production is critical, especially in light of this pandemic. National Updates The Consumer Technology Association formed a Publ... Read More »
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after the House voted to pass both of his Health and Human Services amendments. "Today, the House took action on two bipartisan amendments,” said Burgess. “The first will be beneficial as we continue the fight against this novel Coronavirus because it will improve our domestic plasma manufacturing processes and capabilities. "Plasma is in our bloodstream, and plasma donations have hi... Read More »
