Rep. McCormick: Don’t lose your way. Realize that it’s a massive pay cut. Even if you’re not in Congress, you can be involved in this process. The reason I think orthopedists have done so well because they’ve been involved, they’ve been politically engaged, they’ve used their assets to preserve their assets. When you’re disengaged, guess what? You’re in the trough, you’re getting fed on. And if you look at ER physicians for example, we have taken essentially a 25% pay cut in the last couple of years.

We need to be involved, whether it be in the lobbying effort, or in the political effort. Realize it is truly a sacrifice, it is not something you’re going to go up here, and say, “Wow, I’m treated so well. Oh, wow, I’m so respected.” You lose respect instantly. Politicians are at the bottom for respect. I went from being a Marine and a doctor, highly respected, to being a politician. I think we’re about equal with telemarketers.

ACEP Now: You went to Morehouse School of Medicine, which is one of the four historically Black medical schools, which includes Howard, Meharry, and King Drew at UCLA. Morehouse School of Medicine talks about being successful at shifting the curve by accepting matriculants with MCAT scores that are maybe on par for minority applicants, but then they outperform other tests like USMLE, relative to peer institutions. And I was wondering about Morehouse, and what allows them to see that success. One of the reasons I wanted to bring that up is because there’s this bill called the EDUCATE Act, which you’re a co-sponsor of, and which ACEP stands in opposition to. Do you feel like the EDUCATE Act might risk the future success that has been experienced at places like Morehouse School of Medicine?

Rep. McCormick: First of all, I’m very proud of my Morehouse heritage. I was actually student body president, elected the same year that Obama was elected President of the United States in a school that’s 60% female, 8% Black, and about 95% liberal, a white male conservative was elected student body president. That’s based on relationships, it’s not based on politics or identity.

But I will say this, the reason I’m against DEI, and the reason I co-sponsored this bill is because [DEI] has gone way overboard. It’s going to create more racism.

Now, if you’re a historically Black school, that’s a totally different thing, and I actually have an amendment to this that excludes traditionally Black schools. I think that’s very important, to realize there’s a tradition, and there’s a reason for having Howard, Morehouse, and Meharry. I think there’s a reason for those schools, and I’m very, very proud of those schools and what they do. I agree, I watched firsthand, people that probably wouldn’t have gotten into most schools and did just fine on the USMLE. I think they had individual attention, because they were given a belief system, they had a work ethic, and they just continued to plod and improve, and I loved it.