The date: April 29, 2009. The time: 05:31 p.m. On that day, at that hour, the United States Congress did something it has failed to do ever since – pass a budget.

That’s why I’m pleased the House will vote on legislation this week to withhold congressional pay until a federal budget is passed.

While countless families and businesses across America have had to make the tough choices to spend within their means, Congress has operated over a thousand days without passing a fiscal blueprint to restore financial sanity to Washington. This blatant neglect of a fundamental duty has led to runaway spending, trillion-dollar deficits and has contributed to the worst jobs climate since the Great Depression.

Make no mistake, passing a budget is not a choice. The 1974 Congressional Budget Act obligates both chambers to adopt a budget resolution every year by April 15. The House has done its part, passing resolutions the past two years that cut trillions in wasteful spending. Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and others in his chamber continue to sit on the sidelines – 1,364 days and counting.

During this time, the national debt has grown from $11 trillion to over $16 trillion – exceeding the entire U.S. economy. In fact, the United States recently joined Greece on the short list of seven developed nations with debt exceeding total economic output. The last time America’s debt topped the size of its overall economy was in 1947 due to the costs incurred fighting World War II. Today, there is no excuse for spending more than we’re taking in. Frankly, it’s a recipe for disaster. 


The people deserve better. And for that reason, I have four words: No Budget, No Pay.
 


The legislation I have co-sponsored is simple – members of the U.S. Senate and House do not get paid until they pass a budget. The appropriately named “No Budget, No Pay Act,” stipulates that if Congress does not approve a budget and spending bills by October 1st of each year, the paycheck for every single member of the Senate and House will be withheld until a budget is approved. Additionally, no member can retroactively receive pay that would have been earned during the time without a budget.
 


No small business would tolerate paying an employee who refuses to do his or her job. So why should taxpayers pay a Congress that refuses to complete one of its most basic annual responsibilities? They shouldn’t, and that’s why I support the “No Budget, No Pay Act.” 
 


In Florida, passing a balanced budget is priority number one for the state legislature. In Washington, we need less talk and more action if we’re ever to remove the burden of debt that weighs so heavily upon us and future generations. 


It’s time to hold Congress’ feet to the fire.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is increasingly becoming one of the loudest critics in Washington of Egypt’s new government.

Over the last two weeks, the Longboat Key Republican has called for the U.S. to suspend all foreign aid to Egypt and labeled new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s recent tactics as being like a dictator’s.

Buchanan said his frustration stems from how much foreign aid the U.S. sinks into Egypt — $2 billion annually since 1979. For that type of funding, Buchanan said in an interview Friday, the U.S. should expect a better friend than Egypt has been of late.

More specifically, Buchanan said Egypt needs to be a better supporter of key U.S. ally Israel and not be so quick to take up sides with Hamas amid the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

“It is clear to me they support Hamas,” Buchanan said.

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“I am honored by your trust in me,” Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, said at a victory party at the Sarasota Hyatt on Tuesday night.

Buchanan, who campaigned as a jobs creator with 35 years in business, easily defeated Democrat Keith Fitzgerald in both Sarasota County and Manatee counties — which together make up the 16th Congressional District.

“We need to focus on jobs,” Buchanan said in his victory speech. “We’ve got 23 million people out of work.”

To win, Buchanan had to overcome the stigma of two years of federal investigations into his previous campaign financing that Fitzgerald, a college professor, used aggressively against him.

Now, with growing seniority, a seat on a powerful House committee and a more secure seat, Buchanan predicted he will have a larger role on prominent issues, such as the federal debt, job creation and entitlement reform.

“I’m getting more seniority and I think I can have a bigger impact for the country going forward,” Buchanan said in a recent interview.

Seniority is critical in Washington, where time served is the main currency for deciding committee assignments and leadership posts. Buchanan has been in Congress for just six years, but he has climbed the ranks quickly because of substantial turnover recently in Congress. Already Buchanan outranks almost half of the 435 members of Congress. In Florida’s 27-member delegation, only six Republicans have been in office longer.

Already that has helped Buchanan win a position as the delegation co-chairman for 2013 — a role in which he will coordinate the state’s 27 House members on key votes for Florida.

But Buchanan also has gained notice by serving as the fundraising chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. In that role Buchanan helped raise money for GOP candidates across the nation.

“No doubt he’s made a lot of friends in leadership by doing that,” said former U.S. Rep. Dan Miller, a Bradenton Republican who served from 1992 to 2002.

The increased seniority and goodwill will likely show in Buchanan’s role on the House Ways and Means Committee — a key committee with say over Medicare, Social Security and all tax policy.

Buchanan also is carving out a key role on U.S. trade policy, another key area over which the panel has jurisdiction. Buchanan said U.S. goods need a better shot at reaching Asian markets, to help create U.S. jobs.

Buchanan said his business background gives him a unique perspective in Congress. “I think I’ve gained a lot of credibility over the last six years,” he said.

Buchanan built a 700-store printing company, then a car dealership empire that once was one of the nation’s 50 largest.

His re-election came despite investigations that had loomed over him since early 2010. The Justice Department and Federal Election Commission investigated Buchanan as part of probes into illegal donation schemes that helped his past campaigns.

Buchanan was never charged with a crime, but the FEC fined his former businesses and business partners almost $100,000 for illegally reimbursing employees who gave to Buchanan’s campaigns. Two other Buchanan donors in Tampa face potential prison time after pleading guilty to a similar scheme to reimburse employees at other companies who gave to Buchanan’s campaigns.

Buchanan said he never let the legal issues distract him. He said despite efforts by Fitzgerald and others, the public saw the issues as mostly partisan.

“I think people know me and they realize this was just part of a smear campaign,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan wins EVERY newspaper endorsement in FL-16

Bradenton Herald Endorses Buchanan –”Earned High Marks”

SARASOTA — The Bradenton Herald this weekend announced it has endorsed U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s (R-FL) re-election to Congress, earning Buchanan a clean sweep of all newspaper endorsements in FL-16.

The Herald said Buchanan has “earned high marks during his House tenure,” praising the congressman’s “pro-business agenda” and “work on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee” as reasons to support his re-election.

Last week, the Sarasota Observer cited Buchanan’s “great work ethic,” “proven business smarts” and “superior constituent service” when offering its endorsement.  The Sun newspapers also touted Buchanan’s “focus on job creation,” declaring he “represents the interests of District 16.”

In total, Buchanan won twelve endorsements, including the Bradenton Herald, Sarasota Observer, Charlotte Sun, Venice Gondolier, North Port Sun, Englewood Sun, Punta Gorda Herald, Arcadian, Longboat Observer, East County Observer, Pelican Press, Tempo News.

Vern Buchanan’s pro-business agenda earns our support in U.S. House race

Published: October 27, 2012

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan hopes to return to Washington and continue work on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which is the nation’s chief architect of taxation.

As the only Floridian on the panel, the Longboat Key Republican holds significant influence over Medicare and Social Security, two programs of great importance to thousands of Manatee County voters.

His Democratic challenger in Congressional District 16, Keith Fitzgerald, a Sarasota resident and New College professor, hopes to upset the three-term incumbent in one of the fiercest U.S. House contests in the Sunshine State.

The two candidates have put out television commerials and mailers with sharp attacks that both campaigns have complained constitute smear tactics. The two repeatedly clashed in the Herald’s candidate forum produced in conjunction with Manatee Educational Television and Bay News 9.

All that noise amounts to little of substance. Both sides made allegations of ethical misconduct that have never been substantiated by any official body to date.

The newly redrawn District 16 includes most of Manatee County and all of Sarasota County.

Buchanan rightfully touts his success in business and job creation as a car dealership owner. Raised in a blue-collar family, he worked his way through college and built his fortune through his own entrepreneurship. Today, he ranks among the wealthiest members of Congress.

He embraces pro-growth, free-market policies and targets tax code reform in order to build a simpler and fairer system that will spur business development and make American companies more competitive globally. Tax loopholes that allow corporations to escape paying any income tax must be closed, he says.

Buchanan also advocates regulation reform to abolish burdensome rules that restrict job growth and increase an employer’s cost of doing business. He maintains government does not create jobs but the nation’s small businesses create 70 percent of new jobs. Innovation and entrepreneurship should be nurtured through less government intrusion.

We also agree with his call for tort reform to discourage frivolous lawsuits that are costly to consumers and small businesses.

Among his other pro-business positions is repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s “heavy-handed” mandate that all companies purchase health insurance for their employees.

We must dispute Buchanan’s contention that Obamacare cuts Medicare spending by $716 billion with an adverse impact on seniors. As has been widely reported by Politifact, the cuts are aimed at insurance companies and hospitals, not Medicare beneficiaries.

Another one of his campaign statements asserts: “The time has come to put aside partisanship and make the tough choices necessary to balance the budget for taxpayers today and future generations.” While Buchanan has long championed a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that will continue to be difficult to pass. We certainly agree that spending must be reduced and entitlement programs reformed.

But there’s another point in his statement. Early in his congressional career, Buchanan boasted about his bipartisanship. But in today’s polarized political environment, that has become lost in the partisan bickering that has earned Congress is lowest public approval ratings since polling began almost four decades ago. We challenge Buchanan to continue to make good on his bipartisanship on the House floor and resist marching in lockstep with the chamber’s Republican leadership.

With his history of helping his district on such projects as the Wares Creek-Cedar Hammock flood control and construction of Sarasota National Cemetery, Buchanan has earned high marks during his House tenure. The Herald Editorial Board recommends Vern Buchanan to represent District 16.

U.S. House, District 16

 ”…Vern Buchanan has earned re-election.”

“Ever since he first ran for Congress in 2006, Democrats have wasted millions of their contributors’ dollars trying to smear Buchanan’s reputation. They can’t win on what matters — that Buchanan always earns high marks for providing superior constituent services and votes to reduce government spending and regulations.” 

“As a longtime, successful businessman and entrepreneur, Buchanan understands that: 1) customer (constituent) service counts first; and 2) for any enterprise to survive, it cannot spend and borrow its way to prosperity. For six years running, Buchanan has been one of Congress’ staunchest advocates of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.”

“But put the whole package together. He brings much to the office: Great work ethic; a deep passion for doing what’s right for the economy; the defense of the nation and constituents; and proven business smarts and leadership.”

Recommendation: Buchanan

“Here’s why they’re in real trouble beyond the polling numbers,” Cardenas said of the Obama-Biden ticket during an appearance Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“They’re in real trouble in terms of intensity. The 18-29-year-old vote, which was decisive for [Obama] in 2008, the intensity factor is down 25 percent. And in Florida, it’s even higher because of the unemployment rate among young people,” Cardenas asserted.

Cardenas added that Obama is doing poorly among seniors, a key Florida demographic.

“If he’s behind in Florida, according to history, he’s not going to win the election,” Cardenas said. Obama won Florida in 2008.

SARASOTA, FL — Jobs and the economy are the focus of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s second TV ad of the campaign that begins airing tomorrow on broadcast and cable TV stations in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

“He embodies America’s can-do spirit,” the narrator begins. “From a blue collar background, Vern Buchanan built businesses from the ground up, creating thousands of jobs.”

The 30-second ad goes on to highlight Buchanan’s fight for lower taxes, a balanced budget and incentives for small businesses to create jobs.

Buchanan campaign manager Sally Tibbetts said the ad highlights Buchanan’s strength as a successful businessman and common-sense problem solver.

“Vern is fighting to change Washington’s broken system, not play petty partisan games like so many members of Congress from both sides of the aisle,” Tibbetts said. “He’s interested in results — paying down the debt, creating jobs, restoring America’s prosperity.”

The ad will begin airing tomorrow on ABC-7, SNN6, and cable.

Buchanan’s first ad, “Main Street,” focused on the need to help small businesses be more successful.

Democrats in Washington have scrapped a planned $230,000 ad buy on behalf of Keith Fitzgerald, the Democrat challenging Rep. Vern Buchanan, a sign the incumbent Republican is in stronger position after being cleared in some ethics cases.

Roll Call reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had reserved $229,800 of air time in the Tampa market but yanked it Wednesday along with other moves.

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Nationally renowned political scientist and political analyst Larry Sabato this week moved Florida’s 16th Congressional District race from a “lean” Republican seat to a “likely” win for U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan.

The move comes days after a series of fortunate happenings for the Buchanan campaign.

On Sept. 11, the Justice Department cleared Buchanan of corruption charges. On Sept. 15, in exclusive interviews with Sunshine State News, Democrat Keith Fitzgerald was denounced by Habitat for Humanity officials for falsely attacking Buchanan, and just a few days after that Buchanan was publicly endorsed by his opponent’s sister, Linda Fitzgerald-Huber, who also donated to Buchanan’s re-election campaign.

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Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., is pulling out a really big political weapon now in his reelection bid — his challenger’s own sister.

Buchanan’s reelection campaign on Wednesday announced that he gained the endorsement of Linda Huber, a Louisville, Ky. resident.

Why is that particularly noteworthy?

Huber is actually Linda (Fitzgerald) Huber, sister to Buchanan’s Democratic opponent, Keith Fitzgerald, a political scientist and former Florida state representative, who was raised in Louisville.

Endorsing Buchanan over her own brother certainly may not play well during any upcoming family holiday get-togethers for the Fitzgeralds. Fitzgerald has a number of other siblings, but which way they are leaning could not immediately be determined.

Huber herself also could not be immediately reached. Her brother was, well, taken by surprise.

“Though I’ve never loved her politics, I love my sister,” was all that Keith Fitzgerald offered, in a statement.

“Vern’s background as a businessman is exactly what we need in Congress,” Huber is quoted as declaring in a release from Buchanan’s campaign. The campaign also said she donated $25.

“We’re honored to have her support,” Buchanan campaign spokeswoman Sally Tibbetts stated.

Huber first reached out to the Buchanan campaign before the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., wanting to meet with them in the Sunshine State that week. They did. And she apparently liked what she heard–at least as compared to her brother.