Deborah Ross: Senator Burr Must Release His Schedule In Wake of New Reports Showing He Skipped Nearly 70 Percent of Armed Services Committee Hearings

Press Release

In the wake of reports that he missed nearly 70 percent of his Armed Services Committee hearings, Deborah Ross is calling on Senator Richard Burr to release his schedule and explain to North Carolinians why he was absent most of the meetings and missed key discussions on military suicide, emerging threats and Iran.
"North Carolina is proud to have the third largest military population in the nation, so if our Senator is assigned to the committee that oversees the military, we expect him to show up," said Deborah. "It's disappointing that Senator Burr failed to attend nearly 70 percent of the hearings held, and he should release his schedule so North Carolinians know why he missed these important discussions."

A review of publicly available transcripts of 84 Committee hearings held when Senator Burr served as a member from 2009-2010 show that he was absent from as many as 58. Of the few he did attend, Senator Burr only spoke at six -- meaning he failed to participate in nearly 93 percent of the hearings overall.

The records also show that the topics of the hearings Senator Burr missed ranged from military suicide and emerging threats to Iran and Russia. A selection of the most pressing topics Senator Burr skipped out on are copied below.

The analysis of Senator Burr's abysmal attendance comes as he faces greater scrutiny of his more than 20 years in Washington, including how his personal wealth increased by more than 500 percent while he voted against a ban on insider trading by Members of Congress and pushed legislation that would benefit the energy, insurance, and for-profit college industries that have donated millions of dollars to his campaigns.

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