Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), released the following statement after he voted against H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act.

"I am disappointed to see that the final legislation did not include full protections for Americans with sincerely held religious beliefs,” said Burgess. “I could not support the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act without certain amendments that would safeguard religious liberty for all, such as Senator Lee’s and Congressman Roy’s."  

"It is discouraging to see that Democrats are still focused on passing partisan messaging bills that could leave people of faith subject to endless lawsuits. We must uphold the religious liberty rights of ALL Americans and protect our religious institutions and faith community.

“Unfortunately, with this vote, we saw a continuation of an unfortunate trend disregarding the religious liberty rights our founders envisioned.”