Michael Burgess

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U.S. Representative

Michael Burgess (R)

400052.jpeg

TX-26
Positions
Leadership: No leadership position
Committees: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
(subcommittees and past assignments)
Next election: Nov. 6, 2012

Primary challenge: No

Incumbent running: Yes

2012 candidates for TX-26

Confirmed: David Sanchez, Michael Burgess
Possible: None so far
Out: None so far
(more info & editing for TX-26)
On the Web
Official website


Michael C. Burgess, a Republican, has represented the Twenty-Sixth Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2002.

Contents

Record and controversies

Congressional scorecards

Click through the score to see the records of other members of Congress and full descriptions of the individual votes.

Want to see someone else's scorecard added to the list? You can do it!

Organization 2007 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio 		2008 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio
American Civil Liberties Union not avail. not avail.
American Conservative Union 100 - 23/25 not avail.
AFSCME not avail. not avail.
Americans for Democratic Action 10 - 2/20 10 - 2/20
Club for Growth not avail. not avail.
Drum Major Institute not avail. not avail.
Family Research Council not avail. not avail.
Information Technology Industry Council not avail. not avail.
League of Conservation Voters not avail. not avail.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People not avail. not avail.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 74 - 14/20 not avail.


Iraq War

For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Oil

Michael Burgess has voted in favor of big oil companies on 100% of important oil-related bills from 2005-2007, according to Oil Change International. These bills include Iraq war funding, climate change studies, clean energy, and emissions.[1] See below for oil money in politics.

Ties to Tom DeLay

In April 2005, Burgess was one of only 20 House Members (out of 427 voting) to vote in opposition to the restoration of the House Ethics Committee rule barring indicted members from holding leadership positions in the House [1]. His critics have claimed this was due to his ties to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay--although DeLay himself had voted in favor of the resolution.

Photos of Burgess and Delay

Ties to President Bush

The following is a letter Michael Burgess sent his constituents in July, 2006 in defense of President Bush:*

Thank you for expressing your support for the impeachment of President Bush. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.
On January 20, 2001, George W. Bush, was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States. Since taking office, President Bush's record shows that he is an honest and humble man who will seek to unite the American people and not divide them along political party, racial, ethnic, or gender lines. His vision for the United States is one based upon trusting American families through providing much-needed tax relief for everyone, empowering parents with control over their children's education, rebuilding our national defense, and protecting and enhancing Medicare and Social Security benefits for our nation's elderly. He has exhibited excellent leadership through crises like the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center and the economic recession. I believe that President Bush has and will continue to serve our country well, restore trustworthiness and respect to the Office of the Presidency, and work to ensure that every American has the opportunity to experience the American dream.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the U.S. House of Representatives. Please feel free to visit my website (www.house.gov/burgess) or contact me with any future concerns.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Burgess, M.D.
Member of Congress

Bio

Burgess was born December 23, 1950, in Rochester, Minnesota. He graduated from North Texas State University and from the medical school at the University of Texas in Houston. He completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

Burgess worked in Obstetrics and Gynaecology for over 20 years, delivering over 3000 babies in North Texas, including Paul LeBon and his children (Burgess would later face LeBon in the 2002 general election).

Burgess made his first run for elective office in the 2002 Republican primary to fill the seat of Congressman Richard Armey. The winner of the GOP primary was virtually assured of winning the November general election, as the district (comprised of the majority of Denton County) was (and remains, even after the controversial redistricting of 2004) strongly Republican. Using the campaign slogan "We Need a Doctor in the House", and with the endorsement of his fellow physicians, the relatively unknown Burgess took second place in the primary behind Congressman Armey's son Scott (a Denton County Commissioner), finishing with 23% of the vote to Armey's 45%, but Armey's failure to capture a 50% majority led to a runoff election.

Before the runoff was held, The Dallas Morning News reported that Armey used his influence to procure county jobs and contracts for his friends. In what was considered an upset, Burgess beat Armey by a 55%-45% margin in the runoff, and as expected went on to defend the district for the GOP, defeating Democrat LeBon by a large margin in the general election.

Congressional career

Burgess ran for re-election in 2004 (now using the slogan "We Need to Keep The Doctor in the House") and easily won by a 2-to-1 margin in his district.

2006 elections

In 2006, Democrats nominated Tim Barnwell to face Burgess in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [2] Burgess retained his seat.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. For specific controversies, see this article's record and controversies section.

Top Contributors to during the 2008 Election Cycle
DonorAmount (US Dollars)
Energy Future Holdings Corp$ 10,500
Abbott Laboratories$ 10,000
American Academy of Dermatology Assn$ 10,000
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons$ 10,000
American Academy of Otolaryngology$ 10,000
American Assn of Clinical Urologists$ 10,000
American College of Cardiology$ 10,000
American College of Emergency Physicians$ 10,000
American College of Radiology$ 10,000
American College of Surgeons$ 10,000
Source: The Center for Responsive Politics' www.OpenSecrets.org site.
Note: Contributions are not from the organizations themselves, but are rather from
the organization's PAC, employees or owners. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
Links to more campaign contribution information for Michael Burgess
from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by industry: 2008 election cycle Career totals

Oil Money in Politics

Michael Burgess has received $70,700 in oil contributions during the 110th congress. $54,000 of those dollars were from industry PACS. In total, Burgess has accepted $144,096 from oil companies since from 2000 to 2008, which makes him a top recipient of oil money.[2] See above for oil and energy voting history.

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

  • House Committee on Energy and Commerce
    • Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
    • Subcommittee on Health
    • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
    • Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

More Background Data

Wikipedia also has an article on Michael Burgess. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Contact

DC office
  • 2241 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
    Ph: 202-225-7772 Fax: 202-225-2919
    Webform email
District offices
  • 1100 Circle Drive, Suite 200, Fort Worth, TX 76119
    Ph: 817-531-8454 Fax: (none entered)
  • 1660 South Stemmons Freeway, Suite 230, Lewisville, TX 75067-0600
    Ph: 972-434-9700 Fax: (none entered)
On the Web
Campaign office
  • No campaign website entered.
  • No campaign webform email entered.
  • Post Office Box 292728, Lewisville, TX 75029
    Ph: 972-434-9700 Fax: (none entered)

Twitter

Michael Burgess posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/michaelcburgess/

Latest posts:

See all the members of Congress who Twitter

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ Vote Tracker, Oil Change International.
  2. ↑ See "Follow the Oil Money," "Follow the Coal Money," and vote tracker from Oil Change International and Appalachian Voices.

External resources

Local blogs and discussion sites

Critical of Burgess
Supporters of Burgess

Semantic data (Edit data)

Retrieved from "http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/Michael_Burgess"
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