Michael Burgess

Michael Clifton Burgess, (born December 23, 1950) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing Texas's 26th congressional district. In 2002, he defeated Scott Armey, the son of House Majority Leader and then-representative Dick Armey, in a primary runoff election. Prior to his election, he practiced as a doctor of Obstetrics and gynaecology. Burgess is a member of the congressional Tea Party Caucus, and he has been involved in the debates over health care reform and energy policy.

Early life, education, and medical career
Michael Burgess was born on December 23, 1950 in Rochester, Minnesota to Harry Meredith Burgess and Norma Crowhurst. He graduated from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) in 1972 and graduated from the medical school at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 1977. He completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas.

Elections
Burgess, who had never held any public office and voted in the Democratic primaries in 1990, 1992, and 1994, entered in the 2002 Republican primary election to replace U.S. Congressman and House Majority Leader Dick Armey. His primary opponent was Armey's son, Scott. The district, comprising the majority of Denton County, was strongly Republican, and political pundits had predicted that if Scott Armey won, he was assured of at least a decade in Congress. Using the campaign slogan "My dad is NOT Dick Armey", Burgess touted the support of medical Political Action Committees and organizations like the National Beer Wholesalers Association. Burgess took second place in the primary behind Armey, finishing with 23% of the vote to Armey's 45%. Since neither candidate earned the required majority of votes, the election led to a primary runoff election. Before the runoff, The Dallas Morning News released a series of articles alleging that Armey used his influence as a judge to procure county jobs and contracts for his friends. The report hurt Armey's campaign, and Burgess won the runoff with 55% of the vote. He won the general election with 75% of the vote. He won re-election with 66% in 2004, 60% in 2006, 60% in 2008, 67% in 2010, and 68% in 2012.

Tenure
A member of the Republican party and Tea Party caucus, Burgess is considered to be a conservative member of the House of Representatives. Through 2011, he had a lifetime rating of 93.59 percent from the American Conservative Union. Burgess is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge, wherein the signer pledges to: "ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and

TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates."

On August 9, 2011, Burgess met with a Tea Party group in Keller, Texas to discuss his vote to raise the debt ceiling. When a constituent asked if the House of Representatives was considering impeaching President Barack Obama, Burgess responded "It needs to happen, and I agree with you it would tie things up... No question about that."

Burgess is one of nine medical doctors in Congress, and one of seven in the House of Representatives. In May 2009, Congressional Quarterly noted that Congressman Burgess had "become a prominent voice on health care issues" in the U.S. House. Since the 111th United States Congress, he has chaired the Congressional Health Care caucus, of which Burgess is the only official member.

As a member of the United States House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Power, Burgess has been active in the debate over energy policy. In 2011, he submitted an amendment to the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Act to defund part of the act that established higher efficiency standards for household light bulbs. However, Burgess' claims that the standards represented a "ban" on conventional lightbulbs were rated as "Mostly False" by the fact checking website PolitiFact.com.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Energy and Commerce
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Power
 * Subcommittee on Health (Vice Chair)
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Vice Chair - Health)

Works


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