Michael Burgess

If this Congress continues to bury its head in the sand about that, we are going to find that the world becomes very, very hostile.

I have talked to the doctors in Ms. Schakowsky's district and they tell me to a man and a woman that they are in deep trouble because they cannot afford the cost of delivering their care.

It just takes me back to a speech that Ronald Reagan gave in 1964.

Dr. Burgess has called IPAB 'Armageddon.'

It is not accountable to any constituency. It only exists to cut provider payments to fit a mathematically-created target.

The Independent Payment Advisory Board represents the worst of both.

This healthcare law that was signed 15 months ago contains countless policies that will essentially disrupt the practice of medicine.

Here's the bottom line: Those of us of a certain age under a compact fluorescent bulb, we don't look as good as we do under an incandescent bulb. Even the former chairman of my Committee of Energy and Commerce suffers from what might be…

I guess what I would ask is, will you work with me and my office to see if we can resolve this if there is a legislative fix that is needed so that people understand more clearly their individual roles in this?

I am grateful to have had the chance to help author and serve as a cosponsor of the Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2011.

I hope we will be serious about fixing this.

Conflict of interest rules are important and we recognize they provide credibility and transparency to the process.

It is not just sometimes. It seems like it happens all the time.

You admit that other countries are actively recruiting our innovators. Are you working on that?

It is fair to say the Democrats' last reauthorization slowed you down. Let's hope this reauthorization doesn't perform similarly.

I thought that was a serious and glaring oversight on the part of this committee.

I was concerned about some of the restrictions that this committee placed on the advisory panels that advise the FDA about the approval or non-approval of drugs and devices.

It is, I think, incumbent upon us to get that right.

The Legislative Branch is indeed a coequal branch of government, and the will of the Legislative Branch must not be thwarted.

The fact of the matter is, we have got very little to show for it.

I have introduced bipartisan legislation with Representative Ron Kind, the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act--the SMART Act--that would compel CMS to provide the medical bills information so the parties can settle within 65…

This hearing is an example of what this committee does best in exercising its oversight function...

The last thing we want is more of what you have got because we haven't got any more to give to pay for what you have got.

Only about half of it is accurate but the part that is, is so accurate that I think it is worth sharing with our colleagues and the general public.

You need one person to be accountable. I am sorry, I am old school. I am a doctor.