Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus, took to the House floor to read letters he has received from Texas state officials, medical associations and a growing list of other constituencies who oppose the Democrats' health reform bill.  Burgess read letters from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Joe Straus, Texas State Senator Tommy Williams, the Texas Medical Association, and also read a list of medical associations representing over 500,000 physicians, all express strong opposition to the Democrats' health reform bill and urging Members to vote "NO."  Click here to view the video of Burgess' floor speech.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take the opportunity - we've had a pretty full day with a lot of debate on the floor regarding the health care legislation that's going to be coming to the floor on Sunday - and I wanted to read into the Congressional Record some correspondence that my office has received.

First, is a letter from the Governor of Texas, received March 19, 2010. The Governor, says: "Texans deserve affordable, high-quality health care, but not higher taxes, increased health insurance premiums and unprecedented mandates.” The letter goes on to say: “We recognize the need for true health care reform that controls rising costs and ensures hardworking Texans can afford health care for themselves and for their families. But government programs should not be the first place we look to expand coverage."

It goes on to say: "In addition to the enormous cost to Texas, we believe the backroom negotiations and special deals that some congressional leaders have cut may well be unconstitutional. Additionally, it appears that congressional leaders might resort to employing an obscure parliamentary procedure to avoid an actual vote on the bill. This is not how the public expects legislation of this magnitude to be debated or enacted. It's signed, Governor Rick Perry, Governor of Texas."

I also have a letter from Tommy Williams, who's the chairman of the Administration Committee of the Texas State Senate, and also on the Senate Finance Committee. He says: "Recently, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission provided me with an analysis of the impact of President Obama's proposal on our state budget. It would, in a word, be devastating. The analysis estimates that the President's proposal would cost the State of Texas over $24 billion over the next 10 years. This includes a $6 billion reduction in available disproportionate share of funding for hospitals. Our State simply cannot afford an additional average cost of $4 billion to $5 billion per biennium over the 10 years it would take to implement this plan. Signed, Tommy Williams, State senator from Texas."

Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote to Senators Hutchison and Cornyn earlier this year in a very detailed correspondence about the problems he saw with the Senate bill as it was passed on Christmas Eve - and do remember it will be the Senate bill that will be here on the floor on Sunday. There will be a reconciliation bill to fix some of the things in there, but it will be the Senate bill, make no mistake about that. It will be the Senate bill that passes. All of those technical corrections could just as easily pass by the wayside if the administration is not interested in fixing the problems in the Senate bill. 

The Nebraska compromise. We've heard a lot about that. The attorney general was concerned about the equal sovereignty and due process contained within the Cornhusker Kickback, the Nebraska compromise. The individual mandate was particularly instructive. The attorney general talked about the Commerce Cclause.

And he concludes by saying: "The individual mandate is constitutionally suspect because it does not fall within any of the normal categories. The mandate provision in H.R. 3590 attempts to regulate a non-activity. The legislation actually imposes a financial penalty upon Americans who choose not to engage in interstate commerce because they choose not to enter into a contract for health insurance. In other words, the proposed mandate would compel every American to engage in commerce by forcing them to purchase insurance and then use that coerced transaction as a basis for claiming authority under the Commerce Clause." That is Attorney General Greg Abbott from the State of Texas.

Now I have a list of many physician specialty societies that are opposed to this legislation. This list was current as of today. This list represents nearly 500,000 physicians in the United States of America - more than the American Medical Association. The dermatologists; plastic surgeons; eye doctors; head and neck surgeons; trauma surgeons; neurological surgeons; American College of OB-GYNs; the College of Osteopathic Surgeons; the American College of Surgeons; the American Academy of Orthopedics; the Society of Breast Surgeons; the Society of Anesthesiologists; American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery; colon and rectal surgeons; metabolic and bariatric surgeons; the American Urological Association; the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

And I have a list of state medical associations. This is not a complete list, but state medical associations: Alabama; Delaware; District of Columbia; Florida; Georgia; Kansas; Louisiana; Missouri; Medical Society of New Jersey; Ohio; South Carolina; Texas; and Tennessee.

Opposition to the Democrats’ health reform bill is significant – I urge Members to listen to their state officials, listen to their state medical associations, and listen to the American people, and vote "NO" on this health reform bill, so we can start over and pass real reforms.

Letter from Texas Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, and Speaker Joe Straus
Letter from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott
Letter from 15 State Attorneys General
Letter from Texas State Senator Tommy Williams
Letter from the Texas Medical Association
List of America's Physicians Who Do Not Support the Current Health Reform Bill