Statement by the Honorable Michael Burgess, MD The United Nations Oil-for-Food Program: Saddam Hussein’s Use of Oil Allocations to Undermine Sanctions and the United Nations Security Council May 16, 2005 Thank you Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this important hearing. As we all know, the United Nations originally established the oil-for-food program for the noble cause of aiding and providing for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people trapped under Saddam Hussein’s regimen. This pr... Read more

Representative Michael Burgess (TX-26)is pleased to announce that James Duncan, a teacher at Everman Joe C. Bean High School in Everman, has been selected to participate in Gateway on the Gulf: Galveston and American Immigration, 1845–1915, a teacher institute sponsored by Humanities Texas, the nonprofit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Bob Bullock Texas State Historical Museum. Forty outstanding classroom teachers from throughout Texas will attend the institut... Read more

Mr. Speaker, it's May 12, and May 12 is a special day because that's the day that the lady with the lamp, Florence nightingale, was born in 1820. She was the founder of modern nursing, the woman who found that cleanliness and hygiene, the effect on wound healing actually helped wound healing and transformed military medicine back in the 1,800s. This day -- back in the 1800's. This is National Nurse’s Week…and it's time to value health. We can't afford to pay for disease any longer. The American ... 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

Opening Statement Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. Hearing on Specialty Hospitals May 12, 2005 Mr. Chairman, thank you for convening the panels before us today on specialty hospitals and the impact they have on the hospital market and patient care. Specialty hospitals have been part of the health care market since before the inception of Medicare. The rise of physician-owned specialty hospitals in recent years has injected a measure of much needed competition in the hospital market. I think... Read more

Today, Congressman Michael C. Burgess reintroduced legislation promoting osteoporosis screening for men. Osteoporosis, a degenerative bone condition that can make bones fragile and can gradually erode quality of life for our seniors, is characterized as a condition primarily impacting women. In fact, 2 million American men have osteoporosis and nearly 12 million more are at risk from developing the disease. Smoking, prostate cancer and obesity surgery may all be risk factors for men. Unfortunate... Read more

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1279, The Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005, which authorizes increased federal funding to support federal, state and local law enforcement efforts against violent gangs, to coordinate law enforcement agencies’ efforts to share intelligence and to jointly investigate violent gangs. Congressman Michael Burgess voted in favor of this legislation. The Act creates new criminal gang prosecution offenses, enhances existing gang and vio... Read more

(Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, being from Texas , I am frequently asked, are things truly bigger in Texas ? And the answer, of course, is yes. As you work your way down that list of cattle farms and oil wells, put a big checkmark next to biomedical research. Mr. Speaker, in the State of Texas , the 15 members of the University of Texas system in the year 2004 contributed almost $13 bi... 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

Opening Statement Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. The State of Readiness for the 2005-2006 Flu Season May 4, 2005 Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this important hearing on public health readiness and how it relates to flu outbreaks. I believe that we must work with our public health agencies to ensure access to adequate supplies of vaccines, and at the same time work with manufacturers to make sure they have the ability to produce flu vaccine. I would like to take a moment though to ra... Read more