Mr. Speaker, this past Monday, June 25, marked the 8th anniversary of the bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. At 9:35 p.m. local time, a truck bomb exploded with the force of 20,000 tons of TNT, and Americans were left dead. Americans who were due to return home two days later on the 27th of June. Mr. Speaker, we now know this was one of the first battles in the global war on terror. We have seen other such battles, and other Americans have lost their lives. We are now engaged in what ... Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives have accomplished what many doubted was possible. Before the July 4th District work period begins, the Members of the House have managed to pass all ten of their appropriations bills providing ample time for the Senate to complete their bills. Included in these ten bills is funding for defense, homeland security, transportation, health and human services, and agriculture. “This is truly a great feat,” stated Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX). “Through the stron... Read more

Click here for the full version.Recent News from Capitol Hill Burgess Votes for Increased Enforcement of Texas Borders Congressman Michael C. Burgess (TX-26) voted in favor of H.R. 2360, the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006 (FY06). The House bill provides $30.85 billion for operations and activities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in FY06, an increase of $1.37 billion above the fiscal year 2005 (FY05) enacted levels. “Voting in favor of the FY06 Homeland Se... Read more

Today, Congressman Michael C. Burgess (TX-26) voted in favor of H.R. 2360, the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006 (FY06). The House bill provides $30.85 billion for operations and activities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in FY06, an increase of $1.37 billion above the fiscal year 2005 (FY05) enacted levels. The bill provides $19.4 billion for border protection, immigration enforcement, and related activities, an increase of $1.9 billion over FY05. “Voting i... Read more

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1544, The Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders bill. The bill provides priority assistance to first responders facing greatest risk. Congressman Michael Burgess voted in favor of passage. Representative Michael Burgess had been on the front lines arguing for a more commonsense approach to the funding formula for first responders. Hotly debated during committee hearings last year, Congressman Burgess had this to say about today’s bill: To... Read more

In December of last year, Congress voted on the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 (S. 2845). I was among a small group of Members who voted against the passage of S. 2845 because I believed the bill severely lacked adequate border security measures. The National Intelligence Reform Act was all bark and no bite. Today, Congress has sought to rectify this mistake, but including language in the defense supplemental conference report that mirrors the REAL ID Act (H.R. 418) aimed at preventing... Read more

Statement by the Honorable Michael Burgess, MD A Review of Security Initiatives March 18, 2005 Thank you Mr. Chairman, and thank you for having this important hearing. At this time in American history, our national security has become the most important issue facing our nation. It is critical that we do everything within our power to ensure that our nuclear weapons are highly secured and protected. We cannot allow our national security to be compromised because of inadequate safeguards that are... Read more

Today, Congressman Michael C. Burgess voted in support of H.R.418, REAL ID Act of 2005, to establish and rapidly implement regulations for state driver's license and identification document security standards. The bill was introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) on January 26, 2005 and passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 261 to 161. Congressman Burgess was an original cosponsor of the legislation. The REAL ID Act had strong support from the Bush... Read more

The President’s plainspoken remarks this evening are a clear call to all who wish to live in liberty. Tonight, I heard our leader’s emphatic statement for democracy around the world and major reforms in social security, health care and energy at home. On my recent mission to Iraq, I had the pleasure of meeting with Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. He stated that Iraq has its roots in ancient civilization and that he relished the opportunity for Iraq, “to spread the cause of democracy to other areas o... Read more

My first duty and the oath I swore upon taking this office, was to defend America. After careful deliberation, I voted against the conference report for the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. Although the original purpose of the legislation was to provide for reform of the intelligence community, terrorism prevention and prosecution, border security, and international cooperation and coordination, I believe the bill has been weakened to the point of being meaningless. There are strong emot... Read more