Representative Ann Marie Buerkle

Ann Marie Buerkle (BUR-kəl; née Colella; born May 8, 1951) is an American nurse, attorney, and politician who served as a Representative from New York in the United States Congress from 2011 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party, she represented New York’s 25th congressional district for one term and later served as a commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including as the agency’s acting chairman from February 2017 to September 2019. Over the course of a varied public service career, she worked as a registered nurse, attorney, local legislator, federal legislator, and federal regulator.

Buerkle was born Ann Marie Colella in 1951 in Auburn, New York, the daughter of Sadie M. (née Fiduccia) and Alfred D. “Al” Colella. All of her grandparents were born in Italy, and she was raised in a family of Italian-American heritage in upstate New York. After completing her secondary education, she pursued nursing, graduating as a registered nurse from St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Syracuse, New York. She began her professional life in health care, working at Columbia–Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and later at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. For many years she also served as a substitute school nurse, balancing professional responsibilities with family life. She married August Buerkle in 1972; the couple, who later divorced in 1997, had six children.

While working and raising her family, Buerkle returned to school to study law. She earned her J.D. degree from Syracuse University School of Law, preparing for a transition from nursing to legal and public service work. Following law school, she entered public legal practice and, in 1997, became an Assistant New York State Attorney General. In that capacity, she served from 1997 through 2010, representing the state in legal matters and gaining experience in regulatory and consumer-related issues. In addition to her work for the Attorney General’s office, she served one term on the Syracuse Common Council, where she participated in municipal legislative affairs and local governance. By the late 1990s and 2000s, she had established herself as both an attorney and a local public official in central New York.

Buerkle’s congressional career began with the 2010 election cycle. Seeking the Republican nomination for New York’s 25th congressional district, she defeated turkey farm owner Mark Bitz and activist Paul Bertan in the Republican primary. In the general election, she faced incumbent Democrat Dan Maffei in a district that national analysts rated as “Leans Democratic” or “Democrat Favored.” Despite these expectations, and with substantial support from Tea Party activists, she ran on a platform emphasizing reducing the size of government and repealing the Affordable Care Act. She received high-profile endorsements from former Alaska Governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who labeled her a “Mama Grizzly,” and from former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. After weeks of absentee ballot counting and precinct recanvassing, Buerkle emerged victorious by a narrow margin of 567 votes out of more than 200,000 ballots cast. Maffei conceded the race on November 23, 2010, and Buerkle took office on January 3, 2011.

During her single term in the House of Representatives, from 2011 to 2013, Ann Marie Buerkle contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of her constituents in central New York. She served in the 112th Congress and was assigned to several key committees. On the Committee on Foreign Affairs, she sat on the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights; the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia; and served as vice chair of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade. On the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, she was vice chair of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending, and also served on the Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs. On the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, she chaired the Subcommittee on Health and served on the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, reflecting a particular focus on veterans’ health and services.

Buerkle’s voting record and legislative activity reflected conservative Republican priorities of the period. In 2011 she voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and supported renewal of certain provisions of the Patriot Act. That same year, on September 16, 2011, President Barack Obama named her to serve as a U.S. representative to the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, following her selection by House Speaker John Boehner to represent the Republican Conference in that role. During the 112th Congress she sponsored 17 bills and resolutions, primarily ceremonial or narrowly focused measures, including proposals to amend the charter of The American Legion and to rename federal buildings; none of these measures became law or attracted major national attention or extended floor debate. She also took an interest in federal transportation security policy. In May 2012, citing a report by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which she was a member, she publicly criticized the Transportation Security Administration’s procurement practices, arguing that the TSA was a flawed agency that wasted taxpayer money and had failed to effectively procure and deploy screening equipment that actually detected threats, while leaving significant amounts of state-of-the-art technology unused in warehouses.

In 2012, following redistricting, Buerkle’s district was renumbered as the 24th district and redrawn in a way that made it more favorable to Democrats. Running for reelection, she again faced Dan Maffei in a rematch of their 2010 contest. She was endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund and continued to campaign on conservative themes, but the altered political landscape and the more Democratic composition of the district posed significant challenges. In the November 2012 election, Maffei defeated Buerkle, receiving 48.7 percent of the vote to her 43.3 percent, ending her service in Congress on January 3, 2013, after one term in office.

Following her departure from the House, Buerkle moved into federal regulatory service. In May 2013, President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as a commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. She was confirmed by the United States Senate and assumed the role of CPSC commissioner on July 23, 2013. On February 9, 2017, she became the acting chairman of the agency. In July 2017, President Donald Trump nominated her to become the permanent CPSC chairman. During her tenure at the Commission, enforcement actions declined, the number of companies fined dropped sharply, and product recalls fell to their lowest level in a decade. These trends prompted criticism from consumer advocates and raised concerns among some lawmakers about the vigor of the agency’s enforcement posture. In 2019, her leadership came under intensified scrutiny amid accusations of incompetence and mismanagement related to a data breach, questions about her candor to Congress, and controversy surrounding a settlement that avoided the recall of unsafe strollers. On June 18, 2019, Buerkle withdrew her nominations both to become the full-time chairman and to serve an additional four-year term as commissioner. Her public service career stalled in the wake of these controversies, and subsequent congressional oversight, including a July 2024 hearing at which House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers stated that “the Commission fell into disrepair” under Buerkle’s leadership, further underscored the criticism of her tenure.

Ann Marie Buerkle is divorced and has six children. Over several decades in public life, she has combined backgrounds in nursing, law, local government, federal legislative service, and federal regulatory leadership, remaining a notable Republican figure from upstate New York and one of the women to have served in the United States House of Representatives.