Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus, released the following statement on today’s health care summit at the Blair House: “The summit was truly a 6-hour photo-op, and whether there will be meaningful action is yet to be seen. The truth is, Democrats already know the Republican ideas on health care reform, and Republicans already know what the Democratic Leadership and President Obama would like to see done. Read more

Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was named the top Republican on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee late Tuesday during a Committee business meeting. The subcommittee’s duties include oversight of federal agencies, departments, and programs that fall within the jurisdiction of the full Committee, and conducting investigations into matters that fall within the Committee’s jurisdiction. Read more

House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), along with Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-California), yesterday sent letters to White House Counsel Robert Bauer and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting information on the secret health reform meetings and negotiations that took place at the White House in May. The letters are a result of the Committee’s intent to ensure transparency and openness in the health reform process. Read more

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers wants to White House to turn over all documentation of meetings between Obama administration officials and representatives of the healthcare industry. In a letter sent to White House counsel Robert Bauer and a separate letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee say they are seeking information about the meetings that led to a series of healthcare reform ag... Read more

Well, Mr. Speaker, here we are at the end of another workday on Capitol Hill. It's a snowy night outside in the Nation's Capitol, and we are having a conversation, you and I, here on the House floor. I will do most of the talking, but I know that my remarks must be addressed to the Chair, and they certainly are addressed to the Chair. But, Mr. Speaker, both you and I know that people can listen in on our conversation because the cameras of C-SPAN are here in the Chamber. And although they don't ... Read more

Eight months after President Obama announced that health care companies agreed to squeeze $1 trillion worth of efficiencies out of the medical system over the next decade, lawmakers continue to wonder what the White House may have promised in return. The House Energy and Commerce Committee found itself in rare bipartisan agreement on Wednesday that the White House should turn over documentation of meetings between administration officials and industry executives, as well as details of any deals ... Read more

A top House committee responded to the mounting voter backlash against backroom deals on health reform by seeking more information Wednesday about White House negotiations with industry groups. Hours before President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address, Republicans and Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee agreed to pursue a revised GOP request for additional documentation about the talks that led to a series of controversial administration agreements with doctors, hos... Read more

A House panel on Wednesday rejected a Republican bid to force the White House to release records on all private meetings with health care industry groups as Democrats crafted the health care overhaul. But House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman said he would work with Republicans to pursue the data through a letter, but not a House resolution of inquiry, as they wanted. "There is a legitimate need for transparency regarding health reform. This is not an appropriate time to d... Read more

In an unusual bipartisan move, Rep. Henry Waxman (D) of California joined Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce panel Wednesday in a call for the Obama White House to produce documents and details on the deals cut with industry groups on healthcare reform. Those agreements – never released in any detail – set markers for Congress’s work on healthcare, which many lawmakers felt bound to respect. “Allowing these deals to guide the legislative process is a dereliction of our responsibility a... Read more

In a rare display of bipartisanship, a top House Democrat agreed to back a Republican lawmaker's quest for details of closed-door deals the White House made with industry insiders to produce a healthcare reform bill. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he'd help Michael Burgess, MD, (R-Texas), seek information on the names of representatives from the pharmaceutical, device, hospital, doctor, and insurance sectors, who met with White House offic... Read more