Exit interview: Michael Burgess leaving Congress, how the Texas delegation has changed and the way forward for health care

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Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

LEWISVILLE – US Representative Michael Burgess is leaving on his own accord.

The North Texas Republican and former OB-GYN has served for more than two decades in Congress, making his mark on energy policy and health care by chairing several powerful committees. Known to his colleagues as polite and easy-going, he was re-elected earlier this year to chair the powerful Rules Committee, which plays a major role in what bills do on the ground, although he will leave the gavel after only four. months.

He is one of several long-term Texans to leave Washington in recent years, along with Reps. Kay Granger of Fort Worth at the end of this term and Kevin Brady of Houston who retired at the end of 2022. At a time when the average age of a member of Congress is increasing, with many serving into their eighties , Burgess is bowing, at the height of his influence.

Burgess, 74, spoke to The Texas Tribune about his experience as a physician-politician and where his party is headed from here.

Members of Congress who have left in recent years have cited gridlock and infighting as the reason. Did that play a role in your decision?

No, it’s just time. The founders did not intend for these to be permanent jobs. I am one of the luckiest people, and I worked medicine here in my hometown for 25 years, and I got to represent my hometown for 22 years. I really couldn’t ask for more. a lot.

Politicians accuse each other of staying in office longer than necessary, pointing to President Biden’s age, for example. Was that your reason, when you made the exit agreements?

We only have a certain amount of time on this earth, and we have had some very sad things happen. [Former Dallas Rep.] Eddie Bernice Johnson retired, and sadly passed away before the year was over. I want to have a few more years after I leave this job, work on other things, with a family. I think I’m going to do something else after this, but I’m not sure what it is. I did not have a formal job, but I decided not to be re-elected.

(Burgess says his medical license is still valid but no longer has malpractice insurance.)

Other long-time members of the Texas delegation are leaving or have recently left: Reps. Kay Granger, Kevin Brady are some examples. (Longtime Democrat Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas retired last year before his death, and Houston Representative Sheila Jackson Lee died last month.) What is your advice to the delegation? Texas as they move on to a new chapter?

Remember, the Texas delegation on the Republican side has about 10 more members than when I joined. It’s a very big team, which makes it even more difficult.

We used to meet as a family every Thursday at noon. One of the things that impressed me the most when I first started was that the Texas delegation was close-knit. The only good things that happened to me while I was in Congress were the results of the Texas delegation. The only reason I was on the Energy and Commerce Committee, at the beginning of my career, is because [U.S. Rep.] Tom Delay. The work I was able to do, and one of them is the second one, was in relations with the delegation in Texas.

Would you say that the unity is still present, or is it different?

It seems to have decreased. [Former] Sen. [Kay Bailey] Hutchinson was very focused on making sure that the Texas Republican and Democratic delegations met at least monthly. You see, he was a senior member, so when he called us all into his office, he would be right there.

We didn’t have that kind of unity. And on the Republican side, the weekly luncheon that we’ve had for years and years, the attendance is down a little bit. I think we are better together.

We will not all agree on things. At the same time, when we work as a team, we can be very powerful. If you have 24 members of the Texas delegation, it’s a big place to move, and people have to pay attention to you.

You chaired the Rules Committee in March. It is a very important position (The Rules Committee is the “traffic cop” of the rules and controls which bills are voted on by the full House.) Tell me about the power of that gavel and what it means to have it. it for this short time.

The Rules Committee is the back committee and has a very important job. All the work done in the committees, all the hearings held, all the rules marked up — that work goes to the Rules Committee, and we put it in a proper way to bring it down. in the House. We are big enough that if we bring a bill to the floor without a round structure, nothing will ever get done. We will be unmoved as a ruling class.

It is a very open system that we have in the House of Representatives. Anyone who wants to come in and speak can do so. In fact, many members do not take advantage of this. If you want to speak up, the Rules Committee is the place to do so. There is no one I can remember who ever accepted me for that.

What accomplishments have you achieved since your years in Congress? What will be the one thing you will remember?

We are in a fast growing area, basic needs are important. But we wouldn’t be at this demographic level, if people in their 40s and 50s didn’t decide to go ahead with the Lake Lewisville Dam.

A few years ago, the dam was labeled as unsafe and dangerous. I worked with the US Army Corps of Engineers to find out what the problems were, what needed to be fixed. The water level was decreasing, threatening the reliability of the dam. So I worked and got the money to stabilize the dam, stop the lake from leaving. I will live long after my time in Congress. We would not be where we are without the water provided.

There were other big things: I was part of the Food and Drug Administration approval in 2017; the fact that hearing aids are now a commodity, that was my job. We authorized the Children’s Health Insurance Program, by one Democratic vote, I might add. It was paid.

One last thing, this doesn’t get the headlines: the state Senate passed a bill authorizing the creation of a mental health center in Dallas, work on it is now underway. Now, there is discrimination written into the original Medicaid Act back in 1965, which continues. Hospitals can only provide 16 beds and are still covered by Medicaid.

I deleted that IMD [Institution for Mental Diseases] aside in March, when this new mental health center comes online in Dallas, there will be a Medicaid presence.

Many Texans are thinking harder, because of the recent storms, which are affecting them individually. What would you say to people who are worried about Texas power?

ERCOT has estimated that by 2030, the amount of new energy supply they will need will be staggering. We know we need more energy supplies, and some of that has to be natural gas. It is the bridge of the future. At some point there will be a better way to get renewable energy, wind and solar and store that energy.

Where I think we are lagging behind in this country, the biggest lag is in nuclear. People talk about small, modular reactors, but don’t forget about legacy nuclear plants, like Comanche Peak. If they can expand Comanche Peak on an existing site and double nuclear production, that would be a big deal in an area with a growing population.

You wrote a book in 2011 about repealing Obamacare. That has never happened. Do you feel the same way today? Is it a priority that people should pursue in the future?

I wish some smart, media savvy person would look at how much Obamacare passed in 2009 when it was no longer there. There was a bipartisan exercise to repeal what was called the Cadillac Tax [a 40% tax on high-cost insurance plans]which, in my opinion, was one of the worst things Congress has ever done, and [former President Donald] Trump actually vetoed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 (the tax was later repealed permanently in two elections in 2019).

So the worst, most offensive parts of Obamacare are over now. Two other things Trump did, by allowing limited-term plans, and removing the individual mandate, took the pressure off.

But there are a lot of other bad things that are still there, part of the current law, that you can work on.

You are an OB-GYN. You have been clear that you are pro-life, but that ectopic pregnancy and uterine rupture should be treated separately. [from abortion]. What is your advice to your party as they explore this issue?

Well, it’s a national issue now. I think the government should pay more attention to this than they have been. There should be no question about someone needing treatment for a miscarriage. That shouldn’t be difficult. When I was practicing medicine, I was a pro-life OB-GYN, I didn’t do electives, but I had miscarriages all the time – 12% of all pregnancies, unfortunately, it will end in miscarriage. We all know someone who has.

In 2018, I passed a bill when I was the chairman of the subcommittee on health that allows for the establishment of maternal death review committees. I’m pro-life, and that means I have to be pro-life and pro-family. You have to be prepared to take care of people. At Parkland Hospital, they have very good statistics, because they take such good care of the patient. That’s what’s really wanted, look for places that are doing the right thing. What can we do to make hospitals more like Parkland?

What are you most looking forward to when you retire, when you go back to Texas?

Being the chairperson of Laws is very time consuming. I haven’t thought much about it. I don’t have any kind of work in mind. There are all kinds of scoffers who say, oh, you’re going to get a big salary. No, I’m not working. If you guys hire the Texas Tribune…

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