Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Vice Chairman of the House Rules Committee, delivered the following remarks while managing the RuleDebate for consideration of H. Res. 863 and H.R. 485. 

As prepared for delivery:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule and underlying bills H. Res. 863, Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors and H.R. 485, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023. 

Today, this body begins consideration of one of its most solemn constitutional duties: the consideration of articles of impeachment against federal officials. House Resolution 863, Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors includes two articles of impeachment: willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law, and breach of public trust.  

On February 2, 2021, Alejandro Mayorkas was sworn in as the seventh U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security by Vice President Kamala Harris. On this day, Secretary Mayorkas solemnly swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” He swore that he took this sacred obligation “freely without any mental reservation, or purpose of evasion” and swore to “faithfully discharge the duties of the office.” 

Mr. Speaker, I submit to you that this oath of office sworn on February 2, 2021, has been broken. 

Since President Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than 7 million illegal migrants along the southwest border – 3.3 million of whom have been released into the U.S. interior – including 312 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Dataset. 

In 2023, Customs and Border Protection encountered over 2.5 million illegal migrants attempting to cross the U.S. southern border.  

In December alone, CBP encountered 302,000 illegal migrants attempting to cross the U.S. southern border - the highest number of unlawful migrant crossings in a single month in recorded history.  

Mr. Speaker, Secretary Mayorkas has shown his willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law time and time again. He has willfully refused to comply with numerous detention requirements spelled out by the Immigration and Nationality Act but has instead implemented a mass catch-and-release program, whereby apprehended illegal migrants are released into the interior of our country, without any effective way to ensure their return before an immigration court.  

Secretary Mayorkas has also willfully misused parole authority laid out in the Immigration and Nationality Act that permits parole to be granted “only on a case-by-case basis,” temporarily, and “for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”  

Mr. Speaker, Secretary Mayorkas has not only failed in his solemn statutory duty to control and guard the border of the United States, to protect and defend this country and its constitution, but he has also breached public trust. 

Secretary Mayorkas has willfully failed to put in place or enforce initiatives he abandoned that would enable the Department of Homeland Security to maintain operational control of our southwest border. He has also breached the trust of Congress and the American people by knowingly making false statements about the results of his refusal to comply with the law. 

The American people, especially those I represent in Texas, have had enough of Alejandro Mayorkas’s lies. Despite undeniable evidence that his gross negligence toward securing our southern border is endangering American families and communities across the country, Mayorkas thinks he is doing just fine. WRONG.  

Contrary to what the Secretary says, the border is NOT secure. America is in fact LESS SAFE because of his blatant negligence and numerous failures. Since Mayorkas will not resign, this Congress is taking action.   

Every day that Mayorkas remains at the head of DHS is another day of pathetic disservice to the American people.  

I’ve been to the border, and I’ve seen how understaffed, under-resourced, and unsupported the CBP is. And as my friends on the other side of the aisle might have you believe; it is not because of lack of funding. While more funding may be helpful for better technology or building and repairing the border wall, it will not make up for the time spent by CBP agents at the funerals of their coworkers or time spent wondering if they are next. 

It’s shameful that these brave men and women aren’t getting the support they need. The Biden administration’s policy of open borders and amnesty is killing Americans, and Alejandro Mayorkas, whose primary job is to secure the homeland, refuses to do his job.  

The worsening conditions of the men and women who have sworn to protect our border and actually honored that oath is unacceptable. We must hold those accountable who have willfully refused to honor that oath. 

Mr. Speaker,  this rule also allows for consideration of H.R. 485, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act, that I introduced along with Chairwoman McMorris Rodgers, Chairman Smith and my friend from Ohio, Mr. Wenstrup. This bill aims to preserve access to lifesaving cures and prevent discrimination against Americans with disabilities.  

During my nearly 30-year career as an OB/GYN, I treated each patient as a human being, not just a diagnosis. Quality-Adjusted Life Year or QALY measurements are cruel and hinder a physician’s ability to care for and treat all patients with dignity. The government should never have the ability to decide or determine the value of a life to approve or deny care.  

Mr. Speaker, Many years ago, the Affordable Care Act banned Medicare from using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) — a metric used in cost-effectiveness analyses widely known to discriminate against people with disabilities. The purpose of the QALY metric assigns a person living with disability a lower value of a year of life than a person considered to be in good health. 

The QALY often fails to consider outcomes meaningful to patients such as the impact on ability to work or impact on caregiving needs. In a QALY-based assessment, a person living with conditions like heart disease, ALS, or sickle cell disease will be considered “worth less.” 

Often QALYs are used by countries that have government-controlled health care systems to devalue treatment for those with chronic conditions and disabilities. This concept has been pushed by socialist health care advocates for years. Thankfully, the United States of America has not fallen totally prey to these harmful ideologies yet. 

I would like to remind my friends on the other side of the aisle that the first QALY ban within the ACA passed with strong democrat support therefore, this bill should be passed with strong democrat support as well. 

It is not the government’s place to determine whether a person living with a chronic condition, or a disability is worth less. This is why we need to prohibit the use of QALYs in all federal programs and ensure that all human life has inherent value. Republicans will continue to work to reduce the governments hand in health care, and I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting H. R. 485. 

Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of the rule and underlying bills and urge my fellow Members to support the rule.  

I reserve the balance of my time. 

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