After spending nearly three decades practicing medicine in North Texas I have served the constituents of the 26th District since 2003 in the United States House of Representatives.
I currently serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Rules Committee, and House Budget Committee.
As of the 115th Congress, I am the most senior medical doctor, on both sides of the aisle, serving in the House of Representatives. Because of my medical background, I have been a strong advocate for health care legislation aimed at reducing health care costs, improving choices, reforming liability laws to put the needs of patients first, and ensuring there are enough doctors in the public and private sector to care for America’s patients and veterans. I have voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act over 50 times, and have played an important role in bipartisan efforts to reform the Food and Drug Administration.
Now more than ever, as America faces the threat of terrorism, we must ensure that our borders are secure. We must do everything we can to protect our country from threats by those who wish to do us harm while simultaneously protecting the constitutional rights of citizens. As a member of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, I have been working with my colleagues to address the problems in our current policy. I strongly oppose any proposal to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Today, there are nearly 11 million illegal aliens in the United States. At this critical juncture, we need to improve enforcement of our immigration laws and support provisions that make the legal immigration process viable.
I am committed to reducing illegal immigration into our country, and promoting legal immigration. I support more limited and verifiable forms of immigration. Throughout our history, immigrants have made important scientific, cultural and political contributions to the United States. I believe immigration policy must ensure that the contributions of law-abiding individuals are not eclipsed by the negative impact that illegal immigration may have on our country.