MO-07: Eric Burlison (R)

REPLACING:

Billy Long (R)[i]

WORK HISTORY:

Missouri State Senate (State Senator, District 20); Missouri House of Representatives (State Representative, District 30); City of Springfield, Missouri (Web Designer & Graphic Artist); CoxHealth (Software Engineer / Programmer / Business Analyst); Cerner Corporation (Senior Process Architect); SavingYouTaxes.com / American Tax Strategies LLC (Tax Planner / Retirement Designer)[ii]

EDUCATION:

BA, Missouri State University[iii]

CAMPAIGNED ON:

Top-Ranked Conservative; Backing President Trump’s Agenda; 2^nd Amendment Champion; Friend of the Business Community; Families First Values; Fixing Broken Systems; National Leader on Healthcare[iv]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Burlison, who has said that abortion is “murder,” has expressed openness to take further federal action to limit access to abortions. [v] [vi] [vii]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

According to his campaign website, Burlison has worked on “tax reform for Missouri manufacturers that became the national standard according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers,” medical malpractice tort reform, and state funding for job training programs and healthcare at Missouri State University. As a member of the Missouri State Senate, Burlison said he worked to pass COVID liability protection legislation that would “protect our businesses and aid in economic recovery.”[viii] To lower gas prices, Burlison has called for ending certain regulations that he says lead to higher gasoline usage, including the trucking industry’s ten-hour and 300-feet rules.[ix]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

According to his campaign website, as a state legislator, Burlison introduced the Health Care Compact, and legislation that would reauthorize credits for residential renovations for disability access and a Good Samaritan law that he said “allows doctors to volunteer their services without worry of lawsuits and red-tape.”[x] He has previously opposed expanding Medicaid.[xi]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Burlison has expressed opposition to providing government-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants and has called himself a “supporter of Trump’s America First Agenda” that he said “protected our border.”[xii] [xiii] He opposes sanctuary cities and supported building a border wall between the United States and Mexico.[xiv]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

In a June 2020 tweet, Burlison expressed opposition to defunding police departments, stating, “Defunding police departments is a knee-jerk reaction that creates more problems than solutions.”[xv]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

As a member of the Missouri Senate, Burlison filed a resolution that he said “condemn[ed] the sham [Trump] impeachment proceedings conducted largely behind closed doors” and introduced a bill that he said would “require a photo ID to vote; allow the secretary of state to audit the voter registration records of any election authority to ensure accuracy; and require that all electronic ballot tabulation machines are ‘air-gapped,’ meaning they are not connected to the internet, to help prevent hacking or other interference.”[xvi] [xvii]

EDUCATION:

On his campaign website, Burlison touted that he “sponsored and fought for bills protecting students' religious liberties in our schools” as a state legislator.[xviii]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Burlison has advocated against a Green New Deal and instead for “exploring every resource that is in America that includes all of our gas.”[xix] In a March 2022 Facebook post, Burlison  argued that the US was “crazy to rely on energy from hostile countries like Russia and Venezuela” and expressed support for drilling on US soil.[xx]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

Burlison has accused Twitter of promoting pro-Biden stories and has criticized the social media website for its “censorship.”[xxi] [xxii]

GUN SAFETY:

On his campaign website, Burlison touted that he was chairman of the Missouri Sportsmen's Caucus and sponsored and helped pass legislation to enact constitutional carry, stand your ground, and protect Second Amendment Rights in Missouri. He also noted that he has consistently received the highest marks possible from the National Rifle Association.[xxiii] He expressed opposition to recent federal legislation that incentivized states to enact “red flag laws” and has also previously opposed “no gun” zones.[xxiv][xxv]