Bradenton Herald
By LAURA C. MOREL
BRADENTON — With his sleeves rolled up and collar unbuttoned, Congressman Vern Buchanan visited Bradenton on Saturday as he spoke to more than three-dozen residents about the U.S. deficit, the creation of jobs and helping small businesses.
“I appreciate everyone coming out this morning,” Buchanan said at the St. Stephens Sunlight Middle School, 315 41st Street West. “I thought you’d all be out at the beach or something.”
The “biggest problem” right now, he said, is that the deficit is in the trillions. “We need to do something on a bipartisan basis,” Buchanan said, “so that it’s viable on the longer term.”
Buchanan also spoke about creating jobs in the United States and helping small businesses.
“The number one issue that we’re trying to work on everyday is to try to help small businesses with jobs,” he said.
The congressman said that most small businesses registered in Tallahassee had 50 employees or less.
“We’re writing out checks for unemployment,” he said. “If we can get people back to work, they’re writing checks in terms of Social Security and paying some income tax, ideally.”
The congressman also said foreign aid needs to be re-evaluated. “We need to focus on America,” he said.
