Richard Burr
Richard Mauze Burr is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from North Carolina from 2005 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Burr was previously a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2005.
Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Burr is a graduate of Wake Forest University. Before seeking elected office, he was a sales manager for a lawn equipment company. In 1994, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina's 5th congressional district as part of the Republican Revolution.
Burr was first elected to the United States Senate in 2004. From 2015 to 2020, he chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee. In 2016, he announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022. Burr temporarily stepped down as chair of the Intelligence Committee on May 15, 2020, amid an FBI investigation into allegations of insider trading during the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 19, 2021, the Department of Justice announced that the investigation had been closed, with no charges against Burr.
Burr was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial.
Early life, education, and business career
Burr was born on November 30, 1955, in Charlottesville, Virginia, the son of Martha and Rev. David Horace White Burr. In 1963, he moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina He graduated from Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1974 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Wake Forest University in 1978. In college, Burr played defensive back for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team. He is a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.Before running for Congress, Burr worked for 17 years as a sales manager for Carswell Distributing Company, a distributor of lawn equipment.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1992, Burr ran against incumbent Representative Stephen L. Neal for the seat in the Winston-Salem-based 5th District and lost. He ran again in 1994 after Neal chose not to seek reelection, and was elected in a landslide year for Republicans.In the House, Burr authored the FDA Modernization Act of 1997. He also helped create the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he successfully sponsored amendments to improve defenses against bioterrorism.
As a representative, Burr co-sponsored, with Senator Kit Bond, an amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2003 relaxing restrictions on the export of specific types of enriched uranium that were first enacted in the Schumer Amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The original Schumer amendment placed increased controls on U.S. civilian exports of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium to encourage foreign users to switch to reactor-grade low-enriched uranium for isotope production. HEU is attractive to terrorists because it can be used to create a simple nuclear weapon, while LEU cannot be used directly to make nuclear weapons. Burr's amendment allowed exports of HEU to five countries for creating medical isotopes.
Burr was reelected four times with no substantial opposition.
U.S. Senate
Elections
2004
In July 2004, Burr won the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Edwards, who chose to not seek reelection while running for vice president as Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 presidential election.Burr faced Democratic nominee Erskine Bowles and Libertarian Tom Bailey; he won the election with 52% of the vote. Burr was sworn in to the Senate on January 4, 2005.
2010
Burr defeated the Democratic nominee, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, 55% to 43%. He was the first Republican since Jesse Helms to be reelected to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina and the first incumbent senator from North Carolina receive a double-digit margin of victory since Sam Ervin's 1968 reelection. Burr's win also represented the first time that North Carolina reelected a senator to this seat since Ervin’s 1968 victory, leading Burr to declare "the curse has been broken" on election night; Democrats and Republicans swapped control of the seat five times between 1968 and 2010.2016
Burr defeated Democratic nominee Deborah K. Ross, 51% to 45%. Burr was an advisor for Donald Trump's successful 2016 presidential campaign.2022
On July 20, 2016, while campaigning for a third Senate term, Burr announced that he would not seek a fourth term in 2022. He did not seek reelection in 2022.Burr delivered a farewell address on the Senate floor on December 14, 2022, and his final term expired on January 3, 2023. He was succeeded by Ted Budd.
Tenure and political positions
In 2007, Burr ran for chair of the Senate Republican Conference, but lost to Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee by a vote of 31 to 16. In 2009, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate Republican Whip, appointed Burr Chief Deputy Whip in the 111th Congress. In 2007, Burr was named a deputy whip. In 2011, he announced his intention to seek the post of minority whip, the number two Republican position in the Senate, but he dropped out of the race in 2012.As of January 2021, Burr's votes aligned with President Trump's positions about 89% of the time. He voted against the majority of his party in about 1.5% of votes. The American Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability gave Burr a lifetime rating of 84.22.
Burr served as a member of the board of Brenner Children's Hospital and the West Point Board of Visitors.
Campaign finance
Burr opposed the DISCLOSE Act, which would have required political ads include information about who funded the ad. He supported the U.S. Supreme Court decision Citizens United, which allowed political action committees to spend an unlimited amount of money during elections so long as they were not in direct coordination with candidates.Economy
During his time in office, Burr was critical of financial regulations; he strongly opposed, and voted against, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In 2018, he voted for legislation that partly repealed the Dodd–Frank reforms.In fall 2008, during the Great Recession, Burr said he was going to an ATM every day and taking out cash because he thought the financial system would soon collapse. In 2009, in response to press about his experience, Burr said that he would do the same thing again next time.
Burr was a signatory of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, vowing to oppose to tax increases for any reason. He opposed raising taxes on businesses or high-income people to fund public services.
In 2013, Burr criticized Senator Ted Cruz and other Republican colleagues for filibustering the passage of the fiscal year 2014 federal budget in an effort to defund the Affordable Care Act. Burr called the approach of Cruz and allies "the height of hypocrisy" and the "dumbest idea I've ever heard."
Burr opposed ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and supported the adoption of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement.
In March 2015, Burr voted for an amendment to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow employees to earn paid sick time. He opposed raising the federal minimum wage.
In 2016, Burr supported the privatization of Social Security.
Environment and climate change
Burr was one of 20 senators to vote against the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, a public land management and conservation bill. He supported renewal of the 1965 Land and Water Conservation Fund.During his time in office, Burr did not accept the scientific consensus on climate change; he acknowledged that climate change is occurring, but expressed doubt that it is caused by human activity. He opposed regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and opposed federal grants or subsidies to encourage the productions of renewable energy. In 2015, he voted against a measure declaring that climate change is real and that human activity significantly contributes to it. In 2013, Burr voted for a measure expressing opposition to a federal tax or fee on carbon emissions. He voted in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline.
In 2017, Burr voted to repeal the Stream Protection Rule as well as rules requiring energy companies to reduce waste, reduce emissions, and disclose payments from foreign governments. In 2019, he voted to repeal an Environmental Protection Agency rule regarding emissions. He supported lowering federal taxes on alternative fuels and the initiation of a hydropower project on the Yadkin River in Wilkes County, North Carolina. In 2011, Burr voted to abolish the EPA and merge it with the U.S. Department of Energy.
In 2019, Burr and nine Republican colleagues founded the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus, which advocates "market-based approaches" to environmental problems; the caucus is supported by the American Conservation Coalition.
Education
In 2017, Burr voted to confirm Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary; she was confirmed by vote of 51–50, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a tie-breaking vote after the Senate deadlocked. DeVos's family donated $43,200 to Burr's 2016 reelection campaign.Burr typically voted against any increased funding for federal education projects, and in 2016 said he opposed increasing Pell Grants and other forms of student financial aid, including new subsidies aimed at helping students refinance their loans. He supported the goals of charter schools and supported legislation requiring public schools to allow school prayer. He voted for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Foreign policy
Burr has been described as a foreign policy hawk. In 2002, he voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution, which authorized the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Burr supported President Bush's troop surge in Iraq in January 2007, saying that the effort to counter the insurgency would increase "security and stability" in Iraq. In February 2019, he voted for a measure disapproving of the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan and Syria. In February 2020, Burr voted against a measure restricting Trump from initiating military action against Iran without congressional approval.In 2017, Burr co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which would have made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank to protest actions of the Israeli government.
In 2018 and 2019, Burr opposed legislation to prohibit U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and to end U.S. military assistance to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.