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Eric Burlison - Wikipedia Jump to content

Eric Burlison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eric Burlison
Official portrait, c. 2023
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byBilly Long
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 20th district
In office
January 9, 2019 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byJay Wasson
Succeeded byCurtis Trent
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 30th district
In office
January 5, 2009 – January 4, 2017
Preceded byB. J. Marsh
Succeeded byKevin Austin
Personal details
Born (1976-10-02) October 2, 1976 (age 49)
Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAngie Burlison
Children2
EducationMissouri State University (BA, MBA)
WebsiteHouse 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

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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

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Burlison was employed at CoxHealth as a software engineer before being promoted to business analyst. He now works for Cerner.[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

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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

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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

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2022

[edit]
See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri § District 7

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

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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

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Committee assignments

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For the 118th Congress[45]

Personal life

[edit]

Burlison lives outside of Springfield with his wife Angie and two daughters.[3][5][46] 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][46]

Burlison is Protestant.[47][48]

Electoral history

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State representative

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2008 Election for Missouri’s 136th District House of Representatives[49]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 11,060 57.9
Democratic Nick Beatty 8,047 42.1
2010 Election for Missouri’s 136th District House of Representatives[50]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 8,381 71.3 +13.4
Democratic Devon Cheek 3,372 28.7 −13.4
2012 Election for Missouri’s 133rd District House of Representatives[51]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 11,878 70.5 −0.8
Democratic Nicholas Ivan Ladendorf 4,972 29.5 +0.8
2014 Election for Missouri's 133rd District House of Representatives[52]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 7,047 100.00% +29.5

State Senate

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2018 Election for Missouri's 20th District Senate[53]
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]
2022 Election for Missouri's 7th congressional district
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%
2024 Election for Missouri's 7th congressional district
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]
  1. ^ Riley, Claudette. "U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison wins another term in Congress representing Missouri's 7th District". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  2. ^ https://gazette.com/news/wex/marjorie-taylor-greene-announces-republicans-picked-for-house-doge-committee/article_49a9fd86-9df2-5d4b-a61e-b2fbe26fa0fb.html
  3. ^ a b c d Member Biography - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  4. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System".
  5. ^ a b c "Eric Burlison". Ozark Insurance Day. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  6. ^ "Transportation bills give, or take, freedom on road". Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
  7. ^ "Springfield News-Leader". Archived from the original on June 10, 2015.
  8. ^ Representative Eric Burlison - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  9. ^ 2009 House Special Committee on Health Insurance Members - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  10. ^ "House endorses health care compact". News Tribune. 2011-03-31. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  11. ^ Lankford, James (2014-02-23). "The Health Care Compact: Fixing American Health Care, One State At A Time". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  12. ^ Shorman, Jonathan (2014-05-16). "Dyslexia legislation approved". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  13. ^ "Springfield lawmaker will try to override Constitutional Carry veto". 8 September 2016. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016.
  14. ^ "Senator Eric Burlison – Missouri Senate". Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  15. ^ "Prosecutor slams Missouri bill as 'Make Murder Legal Act'". AP News. 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
  16. ^ "Republican Eric Burlison wins election for Missouri's U.S. House District 7 open seat". www.ky3.com. 9 November 2022. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  17. ^ "Newest Members of Congress". Representative Burlison. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  18. ^ Bacharier, Galen (2023-02-01). "Southwest MO's congressman invokes Holocaust quote during speech about Newsmax". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  19. ^ a b Rosenbaum, Jason (March 10, 2025). "Missouri U.S. Rep. Burlison believes colleagues shouldn't cower from paring Medicaid". STLPR. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  20. ^ "Congressman Burlison Introduces the Life at Conception Act". January 24, 2025.
  21. ^ Keller, Rudi (2025-09-30). "Missouri's Republican members of Congress mostly quiet about bill to release Epstein files". KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  22. ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  23. ^ Metzger, Bryan (2024-03-19). "These 9 House Republicans voted against a resolution condemning the Russian abduction of Ukrainian children". businessinsider.com.
  24. ^ "H.Con.Res. 21: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of … -- House Vote #136 -- Mar 8, 2023". March 8, 2023.
  25. ^ "House Votes Down Bill Directing Removal of Troops From Syria". Associated Press. March 8, 2023.
  26. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (2023-10-25). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  27. ^ "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. 2023-10-25. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  28. ^ Dean, Rochelle (2025-04-29). "U.S. House passes 'Take it Down' act". ABC Columbia. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  29. ^ Shoaib, Alia (2025-04-29). "Republicans who voted against Melania Trump-backed porn bill". Newsweek. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  30. ^ Robertson, Nicki (March 12, 2024). "GOP lawmaker calls for House to form committee on UAPs". The Hill. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ "Congress creates task force to look into UAPs, COVID origins, JFK assassination, Epstein client list". Washington Times. February 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  33. ^ Davis, Ron (March 28, 2024). "Eric Burlison interview transcript: ET is 'the least likely scenario'". Springfield Daily Citizen. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  34. ^ "Rep. Burlison Introduces UAP Disclosure Act of 2025 as Amendment to NDAA" (Press release). August 29, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  35. ^ Scott, Steve (July 18, 2025). "Burlison trip to Mexico to investigate possible UFO objects". KZRG. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  36. ^ MacGuill, Dan (September 13, 2023). "Did Researchers Find a Mummified, Three-Fingered Alien in Nazca, Peru?". Snopes. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  37. ^ 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.
  38. ^ Martinez, Luis (September 9, 2025). "Congressman shows never-before-seen video at military UFO hearing". ABC News. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  39. ^ 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.
  40. ^ 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.
  41. ^ 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.
  42. ^ "Revelation That MQ-9 Reapers Are Now Engaging Aerial Targets Comes From UAP Hearing". The War Zone. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  43. ^ 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.
  44. ^ "Crane, Fellow Freedom Caucus Freshmen Launch New Podcast". Representative Crane. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  45. ^ "Committees and Caucuses | Representative Burlison". burlison.house.gov. January 3, 2023.
  46. ^ a b "2011 40 Under 40 Honoree: Eric Burlison". Springfield Business Journal. May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  47. ^ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). PEW Research Center. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  48. ^ "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 118th Congress". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  49. ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  50. ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved May 23, 2014 Archived February 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  51. ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved May 23, 2014
  52. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  53. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 7th congressional district
2023–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
303rd 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eric_Burlison&oldid=1314521335"