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Burgess Receives Response From Waxman On Subcommittee Dispute, Statement Will Be Added To Hearing Record
Lewisville, TX
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Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), today received a welcomed response from Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-California) regarding a information Ranking Member Burgess attempted to enter into the Committee's official record, but was prevented from doing so by Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak (D-Michigan).
On October 15, Ranking Member Burgess wrote to Chairman Waxman expressing his concern over the incident, which occurred during a September 22 subcommittee hearing, when Ranking Member Burgess was prevented from entering information into the Committee record. Ranking Member Burgess wrote "I would like to express my concern that this incident did not reflect a cooperative, bipartisan, and respectful manner and was not in keeping with the traditions of the Committee. My purpose in writing is for the Committee to work together to ensure such an incident does not arise again. Ranking Member Burgess went on to say "We occurred at this hearing should not create a precedent. I hope that...courtesy, respect, and civility are the touchstones for the conduct of Committee hearings." On October 18, Chairman Waxman responded to Ranking Member Burgess letters, saying "After receiving your letter, I reviewed the transcript of the hearing...I agree with you that you should have been able to insert the statement into the hearing record...I will make sure that the Senator's statement is made part of the official record of the hearing." To view the video of the dispute, click here. To view the full text of Ranking Member Burgess' October 15 letter, click here. To view the full text of Chairman Waxman's October 18 letter, click here. Background: During a September 22 Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, Ranking Member Burgess attempted to read a statement from Senator Tom Coburn regarding the Senate's inaction on food safety legislation. Earlier in the hearing several Democrat Committee Members mentioned Senator Coburn and blamed him for the Senate's inaction, and Ranking Member Burgess wanted to insert a statement from Senator Coburn into the record, so that both arguments would be represented. Subcommittee Chairman Stupak first rejected Burgess' request for unanimous consent to insert the statement into the record. Later in the hearing, Ranking Member Burgess chose to use the remaining 30 seconds of his allotted time to read the statement, so it would be in the record. Chairman Stupak repeatedly interrupted Ranking Member Burgess so the statement could not be read, and then turned his microphone off. Later that day, Ranking Member Burgess released the following statement on the dispute: “It is very unfortunate that the Majority chose to turn today’s hearing on a bipartisan food safety issue into a vicious coordinated character assassination on Senator Tom Coburn. Even more appalling was the Majority's refusal to allow the other side of the issue to be aired. It was never my intention to use today’s hearing for political purposes, but I could not stand by and allow misleading statements to go unanswered. “After I used the first portion of my 5 minutes to question the first panel of witnesses, I chose to spend the last 40 seconds reading a statement from Senator Coburn to set the record straight and present the opposing view to the Majority’s attack. Chairman Stupak immediately interrupted me, and then he turned my microphone off, not allowing me to finish. “Never before have I witnessed a Member of this Committee being censored in this fashion. “The Food Safety bill is strong, bipartisan legislation that I support and worked on extensively with the Majority. It is my hope that the Senate can resolve any issues promptly so this bill can be brought to the Senate floor and passed as soon as possible.” Below is the full text of Senator Coburn’s statement that Burgess attempted to read in today’s subcommittee hearing: Dr. Coburn Encourages Reid to Bring Food Safety Bill to the Floor Sep 16 2010 (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today encouraging Majority Leader Reid to bring food safety legislation to the floor of the Senate for a full and open debate. “If Majority Leader Reid believes this legislation is a matter of life and death he should bring it to the floor immediately for a full and open debate. As Majority Leader, he sets the schedule. I do not. His claim that I am blocking the Senate from considering the bill is false, and he knows it is false,” Dr. Coburn said. “The Majority Leader also knows that one of my concerns with the bill is that it is not paid for. Unfortunately, he has refused to even discuss ways to pay for the bill by reducing spending on lower priority items. With our national debt at $13.5 trillion we simply can’t continue to borrow and spend without restraint. The American people should question the competence of any member of Congress who can’t find $1.4 billion of waste in a $3.5 trillion budget that could be cut to pay for improved food safety. “Finally, I don’t question the Majority Leader’s commitment to safe food even if he does not extend the same courtesy to me. However, as a practicing physician, I am not impressed with public health lectures from career politicians who have little real world experience in any field, much less health-related fields. If the Majority Leader wants the bill to advance he should pay for it. If he doesn’t want to pay for it, he should then bring it to the floor and explain to the American people why he can’t cut a penny of wasteful Washington spending to pay for a bill he says is a matter of life and death,” Dr. Coburn said. ### Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, and a member of the Health and Energy & Environment subcommittees. He is the founder and Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus, and is also a member of the bipartisan, bicameral Joint Economic Committee. Prior to becoming a member of Congress in 2002, Congressman Burgess practiced medicine in North Texas for over 25 years. |
