Michael C. Burgess

For other people named Michael Burgess, see Michael Burgess (disambiguation).

Michael Burgess
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 26th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Richard Armey
Personal details
Born	December 23, 1950 (1950-12-23) (age 60) Rochester, Minnesota
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Laura Burgess
Residence	Lewisville, Texas
Alma mater	University of North Texas, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Occupation	Obstetrician
Religion	Reformed Episcopal Church

Michael Clifton Burgess, (born December 23, 1950) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 26th congressional district, serving since 2003, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus.

Early life, education, and early career

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.^[1]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Burgess, who had never held any public office and voted in the Democratic primaries in 1990, 1992, and 1994,^[2] entered in the 2002 Republican primary election to replace U.S. Congressman and House Minority Leader Richard Armey. The district, comprising the majority of Denton County, was strongly Republican.

Using the campaign slogan "My dad is NOT Dick Armey",^[2] and with the endorsement of multiple medical Political Action Committees and the support of organizations like the National Beer Wholesalers Association,^[3] Burgess took second place in the primary behind Congressman Armey's son, Scott, finishing with 23% of the vote to Armey's 45%. Armey's failure to capture a 50% majority led to a runoff election. Before the runoff, the Dallas Morning News released a series of articles showing that Judge Armey used his influence to procure county jobs and contracts for his friends. The report strongly hurt Armey's campaign, and Burgess beat Armey by a 55% to 45% margin in the runoff.

Burgess went on to win the general election and has subsequently won reelection four times, most recently against Democrat Neil Durrance.

Tenure

Burgess is one of nine medical doctors in Congress, and one of seven in the House of Representatives. He is active in the health care reform debate, having served as a campaign surrogate for Sen. John McCain during his 2008 presidential campaign. During the 111th United States Congress, he chaired the Congressional Health Care Caucus, a Congressional caucus In May 2009, Congressional Quarterly noted that Congressman Burgess had "become a prominent voice on health care issues." ^[4]

On August 9, 2011, Burgess met with a local Tea Party group to discuss his recent vote to raise the debt ceiling. When a constituent asked if the House of Representatives was considering impeaching President Barack Obama, Burgess replied "It needs to happen, and I agree with you it would tie things up," Burgess said. "No question about that."^[5]

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

• Burgess, Michael (2011). Doctor in the House: A Physician-Turned-Congressman Offers His Prescription for Scrapping Obamacare--and Saving America's Medical System. Midpoint Trade Books. ISBN 9781936488254. http://books.google.com/books?id=njFHYgEACAAJ. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 

References

1. ^ "Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas)". Congressional Quarterly. http://www.rollcall.com/members/14812.html. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Michalski, Dan (2002-11-1). The Rise and Fall of Scott Armey. D Magazine. http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/2002/11/01/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Scott_Armey.aspx. Retrieved 2011-9-13. 
3. ^ "Michael Burgess Campaign Finance". Open Secrets. http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2004&type=I&cid=N00025219&newMem=N. Retrieved 2011-09-13. 
4. ^ Armstrong, Drew (2009-05-06). Luntz Shapes GOP Messages on Health Care. Congressional Quarterly. http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003111782&cpage=2. Retrieved 2009-08-21. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Batheja, Aman (2011-08-09). "Burgess meets with unhappy Tea Party group". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/08/08/3277547/burgess-meets-with-unhappy-tea.html. Retrieved 2011-09-13. 

External links

• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Congressman Michael C. Burgess Official U.S. House page
• Dr. Michael Burgess Campaign page
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Dick Armey	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 26th congressional district 2003–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Jo Bonner R-Alabama	United States Representatives by seniority 200th	Succeeded by Dennis Cardoza D-California

Persondata
Name	Burgess, Michael C.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1950-12-23
Place of birth	Rochester, Minnesota
Date of death
Place of death