Eric Burlison | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, c. 2023 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 7th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Billy Long |
| Member of the Missouri Senate from the 20th district | |
| In office January 9, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Jay Wasson |
| Succeeded by | Curtis Trent |
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 30th district | |
| In office January 5, 2009 – January 4, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | B. J. Marsh |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Austin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eric Wayne Burlison October 2, 1976 Springfield, Missouri, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Angie Burlison |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Missouri State University (BA, MBA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Eric Wayne Burlison (born October 2, 1976) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Missouri's 7th congressional district since 2023. He previously served as the representative for District 133 (Greene County) in the Missouri House of Representatives. A Republican, Burlison was elected to the Missouri House in 2008 and left office at the end of 2016. In 2018, he was elected to the Missouri Senate, representing District 20. He was reelected for a second term in the U.S House of Representatives in 2024.[1]
Burlison is a member of the new House Department of Government Efficiency Committee.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]A 1995 graduate of Parkview High School in Springfield, Missouri, Burlison received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 2000 and a Master of Business Administration in 2002 from Southwest Missouri State University.
Early career
[edit]Burlison was employed at CoxHealth as a software engineer before being promoted to business analyst. He worked for Cerner through his election to the U.S. House.[3][4][5]
Burlison is a member of the Freedom of Road Riders, Missouri Right to Life, National Rifle Association of America, and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.[3][6][7]
Missouri House of Representatives
[edit]Burlison served in the Missouri House from 2009 to 2016.[8] During that time, he chaired the House Committee on Professional Registration and Licensing and was vice chair of the House Special Committee on Health Insurance.[9]
In 2011, Burlison sponsored a bill that made Missouri join the Health Care Compact.[10] The compact became law in Missouri and seven other states.[11]
In 2014, Burlison passed a bill to provide children with dyslexia better access to educational services. The legislation added dyslexia to a state grant program to help the families of children with disabilities pay for special education programs.[12]
In 2016, Burlison sponsored and passed a bill to eliminate conceal and carry requirements for firearms in Missouri.[13]
Missouri Senate
[edit]In 2018, Burlison was elected to the Missouri Senate, representing the 20th District, which comprises Christian County and part of Greene County.[14] Burlison's committee assignments included:
- Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment
- General Laws
- Insurance and Banking
- Professional Registration (vice chair)
- Small Business and Industry (chair)
- Joint Committee on Government Accountability
- Cyber Crime Investigation Fund Panel
- Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan Board of Trustees
- State Records Commission
In 2022, Burlison proposed a bill to bypass a trial by jury for those who believe their use of deadly force is in self-defense. The bill received bipartisan opposition, including testimonies from law enforcement agencies and a prosecutor who described it as the “Make Murder Legal Act.”[15]
U.S. House of Representatives
[edit]Elections
[edit]2022
[edit]In 2022, Burlison defeated Democratic nominee Kristen Radaker-Sheafer in the race for Missouri's 7th congressional district with 70.9% of the vote to Radaker-Shefer's 26.9%.[16] His term of office in the 118th U.S. Congress began on January 3, 2023.[17]
Tenure
[edit]In a speech on the House floor at the start of his term, Burlison criticized DirecTV for removing Newsmax TV from its listings, despite Newsmax being caught spreading misinformation about alleged election rigging and widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, stories consistently proven false. Newsmax later retracted and apologized for spreading this misinformation. Regardless, Burlison invoked the Holocaust while condemning DirecTV's actions, alluding to, and misquoting, the poem "First they came ..." by Martin Niemoller and suggesting that cable companies were censoring conservatives.[18]
Burlison has said that constituent town halls are "where only political nutjobs show up."[19]
Abortion
[edit]In January 2025, Burlison introduced a bill recognizing personhood as beginning at conception.[20]
Epstein files
[edit]Burlison has commented on the investigation of the Jeffrey Epstein client list, saying that Americans are "sick and tired" of secrets and deserve to know the truth. Burlison has not committed to signing a discharge petition or congressional measure to release the files.[21]
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
[edit]Burlison was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[22]
Foreign policy
[edit]Russia
[edit]On March 19, 2024, Burlison voted NAY to House Resolution 149 Condemning the illegal abduction and forcible transfer of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation. He was one of nine Republicans to do so.[23]
Syria
[edit]In 2023, Burlison was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[24][25]
Israel
[edit]Burlison voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[26][27]
Medicaid
[edit]Burlison supports cuts and adding work requirements to Medicaid.[19]
Take It Down Act
[edit]Burlison was one of only two representatives (along with Thomas Massie) who voted against the Take It Down Act, which criminalises the publication of non-consensual intimate images and adds protections for victims of deepfake pornography and revenge porn. Burlison has not elaborated on his opposition to the bill.[28][29]
UFOs and angels
[edit]In 2024, Burlison petitioned House leadership to create a committee to study UFOs.[30] Instead, a task force within the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform — with no subpoena power — was created to investigate UFOs, among other topics; as of 2025, Burlison serves on the body.[31][32]
He has stated that he believes purported UFOs are either angels or manmade objects,[33] and in 2025 introduced UFO-related legislation.[34]
In July 2025, Burlison traveled to Mexico to examine the Nazca mummies,[35] a popular hoax[36][37] alleged to be the corpses of three-fingered space aliens.[37]
During a September 2025 hearing on UFOs, Burlison presented a 2024 video recorded by the U.S. armed forces that, according to ABC News, showed a "U.S. military Hellfire missile bouncing off a bright, shiny object that was being tracked off the coast of Yemen".[38][39][40] In an initial assessment published the next day, Avi Loeb concluded the object was most likely a Samad drone, probably launched by Ansar Allah, a conclusion also reached by The War Zone.[41][42] Later analysis, according to Interesting Engineering, "determined the object was likely a weather balloon and that the apparent velocity was an optical illusion caused by parallax".[43]
Caucus memberships
[edit]Committee assignments
[edit]For the 118th Congress[46]
- Committee on Education and the Workforce
- Committee on Oversight and Accountability
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Personal life
[edit]Burlison lives outside of Springfield with his wife Angie and two daughters.[3][5][47] He attends Destiny Church in Republic, Missouri, and is active in supporting campus ministries such as The Potter's House and Campus Crusade for Christ. Burlison is involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks and was named the Big Brother of the Year in 2005. He serves on the board of D.R.E.A.M and the Harmony House for battered and abused women.[3][5][47]
Burlison is Protestant.[48][49]
Electoral history
[edit]State representative
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Burlison | 11,060 | 57.9 | ||
| Democratic | Nick Beatty | 8,047 | 42.1 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Burlison | 8,381 | 71.3 | +13.4 | |
| Democratic | Devon Cheek | 3,372 | 28.7 | −13.4 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Burlison | 11,878 | 70.5 | −0.8 | |
| Democratic | Nicholas Ivan Ladendorf | 4,972 | 29.5 | +0.8 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Burlison | 7,047 | 100.00% | +29.5 | |
State Senate
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Burlison | 62,209 | 73.9% | −26.1 | |
| Democratic | Jim Bellido | 22,004 | 26.1% | +26.1 | |
U.S House of Representatives
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Burlison | 178,592 | 70.9% | 2.9% | |
| Democratic | Kristen Radaker-Sheafer | 67,485 | 26.8% | 0.75% | |
| Libertarian | Kevin A. Craig | 5,869 | 2.3% | −45.2% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Burlison (incumbent) | 263,231 | 71.5 | |
| Democratic | Missi Hesketh | 96,655 | 26.3 | |
| Libertarian | Kevin Craig | 7,982 | 2.2 | |
| Total votes | 367,868 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ Riley, Claudette. "U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison wins another term in Congress representing Missouri's 7th District". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c d Member Biography - Retrieved June 17, 2009
- ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System".
- ^ a b c "Eric Burlison". Ozark Insurance Day. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ^ "Transportation bills give, or take, freedom on road". Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
- ^ "Springfield News-Leader". Archived from the original on June 10, 2015.
- ^ Representative Eric Burlison - Retrieved June 17, 2009
- ^ 2009 House Special Committee on Health Insurance Members - Retrieved June 17, 2009
- ^ "House endorses health care compact". News Tribune. March 31, 2011. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ Lankford, James (February 23, 2014). "The Health Care Compact: Fixing American Health Care, One State At A Time". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ Shorman, Jonathan (May 16, 2014). "Dyslexia legislation approved". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Springfield lawmaker will try to override Constitutional Carry veto". September 8, 2016. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016.
- ^ "Senator Eric Burlison – Missouri Senate". Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ "Prosecutor slams Missouri bill as 'Make Murder Legal Act'". AP News. February 1, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
- ^ "Republican Eric Burlison wins election for Missouri's U.S. House District 7 open seat". www.ky3.com. November 9, 2022. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "Newest Members of Congress". Representative Burlison. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ Bacharier, Galen (February 1, 2023). "Southwest MO's congressman invokes Holocaust quote during speech about Newsmax". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Rosenbaum, Jason (March 10, 2025). "Missouri U.S. Rep. Burlison believes colleagues shouldn't cower from paring Medicaid". STLPR. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
- ^ "Congressman Burlison Introduces the Life at Conception Act". January 24, 2025.
- ^ Keller, Rudi (September 30, 2025). "Missouri's Republican members of Congress mostly quiet about bill to release Epstein files". KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
- ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Metzger, Bryan (March 19, 2024). "These 9 House Republicans voted against a resolution condemning the Russian abduction of Ukrainian children". businessinsider.com.
- ^ "H.Con.Res. 21: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of … -- House Vote #136 -- Mar 8, 2023". March 8, 2023.
- ^ "House Votes Down Bill Directing Removal of Troops From Syria". Associated Press. March 8, 2023.
- ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Dean, Rochelle (April 29, 2025). "U.S. House passes 'Take it Down' act". ABC Columbia. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
- ^ Shoaib, Alia (April 29, 2025). "Republicans who voted against Melania Trump-backed porn bill". Newsweek. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
- ^ Robertson, Nicki (March 12, 2024). "GOP lawmaker calls for House to form committee on UAPs". The Hill. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ "Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets". house.gov. U.S. House of Representatives. Archived from the original on July 9, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ "Congress creates task force to look into UAPs, COVID origins, JFK assassination, Epstein client list". Washington Times. February 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ Davis, Ron (March 28, 2024). "Eric Burlison interview transcript: ET is 'the least likely scenario'". Springfield Daily Citizen. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ "Rep. Burlison Introduces UAP Disclosure Act of 2025 as Amendment to NDAA" (Press release). August 29, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ Scott, Steve (July 18, 2025). "Burlison trip to Mexico to investigate possible UFO objects". KZRG. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
- ^ MacGuill, Dan (September 13, 2023). "Did Researchers Find a Mummified, Three-Fingered Alien in Nazca, Peru?". Snopes. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Jarus, Owen (September 13, 2018). "These 'Alien' Mummies Appear to Be a Mix of Looted Body Parts". Live Science. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Martinez, Luis (September 9, 2025). "Congressman shows never-before-seen video at military UFO hearing". ABC News. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ D'Agata, Charlie (September 11, 2025). "Newly released video at House UFO hearing appears to show U.S. missile striking and bouncing off orb". CBS News. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ Bryant, Chris (September 11, 2025). "Southwest Missouri congressman wants transparency when it comes to funding in UAP or UFO investigations". KYTV-TV. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ Loeb, Avi. "Did a Hellfire Missile Hit a Samad Drone Launched by the Houthis on October 30, 2024?". Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ "Revelation That MQ-9 Reapers Are Now Engaging Aerial Targets Comes From UAP Hearing". The War Zone. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
- ^ Kajal, Kapil (September 10, 2025). "Never-before-seen video shows UFO-like object absorb US Hellfire missile and vanish". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
- ^ "Congressional Motorcycle Caucus Continues to Take Shape". American Motorcyclist Association. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- ^ "Crane, Fellow Freedom Caucus Freshmen Launch New Podcast". Representative Crane. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Committees and Caucuses | Representative Burlison". burlison.house.gov. January 3, 2023.
- ^ a b "2011 40 Under 40 Honoree: Eric Burlison". Springfield Business Journal. May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). PEW Research Center. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 118th Congress". Pew Research Center. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved June 17, 2009
- ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved May 23, 2014 Archived February 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved May 23, 2014". Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
- ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
External links
[edit]- Congressman Eric Burlison official U.S. House website
- Eric Burlison for Congress
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN
