April 28, 2020 Dear Friends, Texas stay-at-home orders will expire on April 30, beginning phase one of reopening the state. I appreciate Governor Abbott’s wisdom in setting up different phases to re-open the state. We are turning a dimmer switch, not flipping a switch. In preparation to re-open, Texas has made efforts to expand testing and contract tracing capabilities. National Update: The Trump Administration released a testing overview, blueprint, and fact sheet to aid state development of t... Read more

April 27, 2020 Dear Friends, This morning, the Paycheck Protection Program started to receive applications again. The Small Business Administration and U.S. Treasury Department provided a FAQ document to aid borrowers and lenders. National Update: The Department of Health and Human Services launched its COVID-19 Uninsured Program Portal today. Providers who have tested uninsured individuals for COVID-19 or have treated uninsured COVID-19 patients on or after February 4, 2020, can access more in... Read more

April 26, 2020 Dear Friends, Over the past month, I have been asked several times about the origins of this Coronavirus. Many, including myself, believe that China needs to take more responsibility for the spread of this virus. Earlier this month, I spoke with KLIF's Dave and Amy. During the show I was asked if China should take responsibility for the virus. I told them in January, I became very concerned when China shutdown a city of over 10 million people because not only were people not able... Read more

April 24, 2020 Dear Friends, Today, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. Additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. Clarity that publicly-owned rural hospitals and community-owned hospitals qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program. Additional emergency appropriations for COVID-19 response aimed at testing, health care providers, and research. National Update: The Department of Health and Human Services extended the deadline unti... Read more

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, went to the Floor of the House of Representatives today to express his support for additional funding and to request Congress waste no more time in providing support for the American people. As Prepared for Delivery: “Our actions today represent a lost opportunity. I am pleased that we are finally going to pass legisl... Read more

by Sam Manas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has lived through an oil crash before, and felt its effects firsthand. His parents owned a small oil services business in 1986, when a sudden drop in prices fundamentally changed his childhood. "I still remember the Monday where he had to lay off 19 of the 25 employees,” Cruz, speaking about his father, said last week on his podcast, The Verdict. “We lost the company. We lost our home — the home I grew up in." But even the crash of 1986 pales in comparison to what... Read more

As economists believe Oklahoma’s energy workers could be hit hardest by the impact of the coronavirus and On Tuesday, Congresswoman Kendra Horn introduced bipartisan legislation to support the energy industry by providing $3 billion in funding to purchase crude oil produced in the United States for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “Right now, Oklahomans are facing a historic health and economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and made worse by the destabilization of energy markets,” s... Read more

April 23, 2020 Dear Friends, On the Floor of the House of Representatives today, Iexpressed mysupport for additional funding to the Paycheck Protection Program and requested Congressstop wastingtime in providing support for the American people. National Update: The Food and Drug Administration issued temporary guidance on repackaging or combining propofol drug productsduring the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Health Resources and Services Administration is awarding nearly $5 million to P... Read more

April 22, 2020 Dear Friends, I am currently in Washington, preparing to finally vote for additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. It took almost two weeks for Democrats to agree to provide this additional funding. While this assistance never should have been delayed, the increase is great news for American small businesses. It is disappointing that it took this long due to Democrats playing partisan politics. Their tactics hurt small businesses and left Americans wondering if the... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Subcommittee on Health Republican Leader Dr. Michael Burgess (R-TX) released the following statement on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to disburse the second round of provider payments authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. “We thank Secretary Azar and HHS officials for making good on their commitment to bring equity to provider relief payments as they... Read more