Burgess Owens
RepublicanU.S. Representative, UT-4| Age | 74 (b. 1951-08-02) |
| Gender | Male |
| In office since | 2021-01-03 (~5 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | Black / African American |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (joined 1982; raised Baptist) |
| Education | B.S. in Biology/Chemistry, University of Miami (early 1970s); graduated Rickards High School, Tallahassee, FL, 1969 |
| Prior occupation | Professional football player (NFL safety, 1973-1982, New York Jets and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders); businessman; Fox News contributor; nonprofit founder (Second Chance 4 Youth) |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Columbus, Ohio |
| Marital status | Divorced — Josie Owens (married 1978, divorced 2012) |
| Children | 6 |
| Residence | Herriman, Utah |
Pending research: languages · notable relatives · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 2020 |
| Committees | Committee on Education and the Workforce (Vice Chair) · Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development (Chair) · Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure |
| Caucuses | Republican Study Committee · Congressional Western Caucus |
| Leadership | Vice Chair, Committee on Education and the Workforce · Chair, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development |
| Ideology | Self-described 'very conservative' Republican; member of the Republican Study Committee |
| Signature legislation | Accreditation for College Excellence (ACE) Act (included in End Woke Higher Education Act passed by the House) · Universal School Choice Act / Educational Choice for Children Act · One Door to Work Act (included in Stronger Workforce for America Act) · Ensuring Distance Education Act |
Financial
Net worth: disclosed $0–$30,000 (2025) · estimate
| Chase Bank account | other · $0–$15,000 · 2025 |
| Mountain America Credit Union account | other · $0–$15,000 · 2025 |
| Book royalties | other · 2025 |
Top donors: Cool Master Pro LLC ($19,800) · Rail Management Corp ($16,215) · Delta Air Lines ($10,008) · American Bankers Association ($10,000) · L3Harris Technologies ($10,000) · National Association of Realtors ($10,000) · National Auto Dealers Association ($10,000)
Top industries: Retired · Air transport / Airlines · Commercial banks / Finance · Real estate · Automotive
Scandals & crimes ledger
resolved — FEC administrative fine for failing to report late campaign contributions (2020 campaign) business
In June 2021 the Federal Election Commission, through its Administrative Fine Program, fined the campaign committee Burgess Owens for Congress (and named treasurer Paul Kilgore) nearly $4,000 for failing to timely file 48-hour notices for about $34,000 in contributions received in the final 20 days before the November 2020 election. The committee, not Owens personally, was the entity assessed (is_business_entity = true). Separately, during the 2020 campaign the New York Times reported the campaign had accepted roughly $135,500 in contributions exceeding federal limits, which the campaign said it refunded; no separate formal enforcement penalty for the excess-contribution issue was documented. The campaign attributed the reporting failures to problems with a hired compliance team and said it later hired a new compliance firm and conducted an audit.
resolved — FEC Fine for Failure to File 48-Hour Contribution Notices (2020 Campaign)
The FEC found that Owens's principal campaign committee, Burgess 4 Utah, failed to file required 48-hour notices for 20 last-minute contributions totaling approximately $33,800 received between October 15 and 29, 2020, each exceeding the $1,000 threshold within 20 days of the general election. The committee entered a conciliation agreement with the FEC and paid a civil penalty of $3,984. The campaign attributed the lapses to failures by its third-party compliance vendor and stated it replaced the vendor and conducted a full audit after the election.