Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26) will be joined this Saturday, July 11 by Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael L. Williams, local and state officials, and industry experts for a summit and fair on energy efficiency and conservation. The event will be held at Killough Lewisville High School North, and will highlight steps North Texans can take to become more energy efficient. Read more »

Several members of the North Texas congressional delegation plan a fierce fight against the climate change bill scheduled to go before the House today, saying it will hurt the economy. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, has made it a mission to kill the bill, which for the first time would limit the pollution blamed for global warming. The bill "is a costly and harmful policy… Read more »

Today the House of Representatives will vote on cap and trade, a costly and very harmful energy policy that could cripple our economy. I will vote NO on cap and trade today. While I agree that we need to do more to decrease our dependency on foreign sources of energy and improve energy efficiency, cap and trade is not the answer. It is an idea based on questionable science and economics. Over the past few days I have heard from hundreds of North Texans who share my strong opposition to cap and trade. You can be assured I will continue to stand up for North Texas and continue to be your strongest advocate in the federal government. Read more »

U.S. Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement following the House of Representatives’ narrow passage of HR 2454, the Waxman/Markey Cap and Trade bill by a 219-212 vote: “Tonight I stood up for Texans and Americans and voted ‘no’ on the Democrats’ detrimental cap and trade proposal. “In the Energy and Commerce Committee, I sat through almost 40 hours of discussion on an almost 1,000-page bill and debated over 100 amendments, including three of my own. I watched as Democrat Committee members blocked all Republican attempts to make this bill better. Read more »

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on the evening of May 21 passed the biggest piece of the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats' agenda to put the federal government in charge of the American economy. On a 33 to 25 vote, the Committee approved the "American Clean Energy and Security Act," H. R. 2454. The 946-page energy-rationing bill is better known as Waxman-Markey,… Read more »

It was a tough week for Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington. Two years after he had to give up the powerful chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to the new Democratic majority, Barton, still the panel’s top Republican, watched grimly as the panel’s Democrats rolled over his GOP alternative energy plan. They rejected 54 of 56 GOP amendments, and with just one… Read more »

A House committee will vote today on climate-change legislation to reduce greenhouse gases and boost solar and wind power after Democrats and Republicans agreed to hold another hearing on the plan next month. Representative Joe Barton of Texas, the senior Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said members of his party would clear the way for a vote later today. Since… Read more »

Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, tonight introduced an amendment to HR 2454, the Democrats’ cap and trade proposal, that would prohibit the transfer or receipt of carbon credit derivatives in an attempt to curb manipulation of the carbon credit market the proposal creates. After the amendment was rejected on a party-line vote, Rep. Burgess released the following statement: “There is almost unanimous agreement that financial derivatives, such as mortgage-backed securities and credit default swaps, are two significant sources of the problems our country’s financial system now faces. We all remember the impact speculation had on gasoline and diesel prices last summer. Read more »

The House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday chugged sluggishly in its first day of marking up climate and energy legislation. The panel approved an already announced "cash for clunkers" deal giving thousands of dollars to consumers to trade in older cars for newer, more fuel-efficient models. New cars in the program must get at least 22 miles per gallon, with the size of… Read more »

It was one of those instances where everything hung in the balance. For just a moment Monday afternoon, everyone kept still in the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing room. Like game that doesn’t move in the brush after it’s been spotted by a hunter, lawmakers, staff, journalists and lobbyists froze and held their breath. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) asked unanimous… Read more »