U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is co-chair of the bipartisan 29-member Florida congressional delegation and currently serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, international trade, health care, welfare, Social Security and Medicare. Buchanan is second in seniority on the committee after Leader Kevin Brady and is the lead Republican of the Health Subcommittee, a key panel that has broad jurisdiction over traditional Medicare, the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage. The subcommittee also oversees issues relating to medical education, private health insurance programs and subsidies delivered through the tax code, consumer-directed health savings tools and issues related to the quality of and access to care. Buchanan is also the co-chair of House Republican Leader McCarthy’s Healthy Future Task Force which aims to develop Republican health reform initiatives.
“We need common-sense, bipartisan solutions that will help lower health care costs and increase coverage for all Americans.”
I am committed to helping Floridians and their families receive affordable health care. More than seven years after passage of President Obama’s national health care law, it is clear that a government-run system is not the answer to our nation’s health care needs. Instead, we must employ common-sense solutions that provide greater access and affordability to all citizens without jeopardizing the quality of care or harming senior citizens.
"No Amnesty. Secure the Border. Enforce the Rule of Law. Respect the Constitution."
While we are a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws. These laws must be obeyed and enforced. For Congress to grant amnesty to 11 million people who broke our laws and came here illegally would be an affront to the millions more who choose to play by the rules and comply with our laws.
I have consistently argued against amnesty and for a solution that secures our border first.
"We need to cut bureaucratic red tape to give businesses the flexibility they need to expand and create jobs."
Creating jobs and revitalizing the U.S. economy is my highest priority. Encouraging growth in the private sector is vital to achieving this goal. Too often Washington enacts policies that increase regulation, raise taxes and place heavy burdens that hold American job creators back. As a businessman for over 30 years, I know what it’s like to create jobs, balance a budget, and meet a payroll. I have introduced a jobs plan in Congress to help restore the economy and get America working again. As a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, I will continue to work to restructure our tax system to make it simpler, flatter and fairer. We need a tax code that spurs economic growth, creates jobs and puts money back in the pockets of hardworking taxpayers.
Providing for the common defense and keeping the American people safe is my number one priority in Congress.
First and foremost, that means giving our brave men and women in uniform the resources they need to combat threats around the globe.
It also means remaining vigilant at home and abroad at a time when radical Islamic jihadists have vowed to destroy our way of life.
One of the easiest ways we can do this is by bolstering our vetting process for those seeking to enter our country. As we learned in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, the federal government does not even screen the social media profiles of foreigners seeking to enter our country. That is why I introduced the “Social Media Screening For Terrorists Act,” legislation that requires DHS to vet all public records, including Facebook and other forms of social media, of any foreigner seeking to enter our country.
We must provide 21st century resources to penetrate and destroy the online activity of ISIS.
“Seniors have worked their entire lives with the promise of a safe retirement. That’s a promise we must always keep.”
Protecting Social Security is one of my highest priorities. Seniors have worked their entire lives with the promise of a safe retirement. Our Congressional district is home to the second highest number of Social Security beneficiaries in the nation. As the only Florida Congressman on the Social Security Subcommittee, I will work to preserve this vital retirement program for today’s seniors and future generations.
"If we can grow our exports, it will help Florida’s economy as we send our goods, services, and products to people around the world.”
Free trade means jobs. As Florida’s only member on the Trade Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over international trade policy, I am committed to expanding trade and investment opportunities in the global marketplace to create jobs and grow the economy.
The economic benefits of trade are well documented. International trade supports more than 38 million American jobs. In Florida alone, international trade – both exports and imports – supports 2.2 million jobs. Florida exports tens of billions of dollars in goods and services annually, which range from aerospace materials, to citrus products, to travel services. The vast majority of Florida exporters are small and medium-sized companies with fewer than 500 workers. International trade agreements create a huge opportunity to help grow the American economy. Free trade can ease trade barriers and open up foreign markets to U.S. goods and services.
“Our brave men and women in uniform deserve all the care and respect a grateful nation can offer.”
I am humbled to represent a region home to more than 66,000 armed service members who have served our country with great distinction. As a former member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, I am fighting every day to ensure these brave men and women receive the care and benefits they deserve.
Recent allegations of misconduct at VA medical facilities are extremely disturbing. That’s why I voted for legislation to allow veterans to seek treatment outside the VA system when delays become unacceptable. Every veteran has earned the right to timely access to quality medical care.
FY 23 Community Project Funding Requests
#1) Hillsborough County, Florida
601 E. Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, Florida 33601
$750,000 being requested
This funding will be used by Hillsborough County to help design and build a community center in Wimauma, Florida. The Wimauma Village Square will provide the citizens of Wimauma with a library, open space, and a community center at the heart of downtown Wimauma. It will be a springboard from which the long-term revitalization of the community’s main street can be realized and will provide a base of operations from which the community and Hillsborough County can administer the partnerships and programs vital to the economic, social, and physical wellbeing of the people it serves.
#2) Sarasota County, Florida
1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, Florida 34236
$1 million being requested
This funding will be used by Sarasota County for the construction of a pedestrian overpass where the Legacy Trail, a multi-use rail-trail, crosses S. Tuttle Avenue. This is located within the municipal boundaries of Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota. Sarasota County has recently completed the at-grade construction of The Legacy Trail northern extension, which includes design and construction from the previous terminus of The Legacy Trail at Culverhouse Nature Park to State Road 780 (Fruitville Road; approximately 7.75 miles).
#3) Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium
1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 34236
$3 million being requested
The funding will be used by Mote to help build its Science Education Aquarium (SEA). Mote SEA will utilize innovative 21st Century technology and engineering as an unprecedented platform for translating and transferring science that will allow tens of millions of visitors to experience the transformative power of discovery and learning, changing the way they think about our oceans, conservation and sustainable use.
#4) Manatee County, Florida
10266 26th Ave E., Bradenton, Florida 34208
$950,000 being requested
The funding will be used to help design and construct a pedestrian bridge over busy US 41 in Palmetto, FL, connecting a community to its schools and aquatic center. This project puts community safety at the forefront of the County’s capital investment. Manatee County and the City of Palmetto have invested in Lincoln Park Aquatic Center and a full renovation of Lincoln Park. The last item needed for the community to reap the largest benefits from this existing investment is a safe way for families and children to gain access to the site across the busy 4-lane US 41 highway that cuts the community off from the amenities.
#5) Manatee County, Florida
at 10266 26th Ave E., Bradenton, Florida 34208
$2.5 million being requested
This funding will be used by the County for a subphase of its overall 15th Street East corridor, which extends from Tallevast Road to 1st Street (U.S. 41) in south Manatee County. The funding keeps a programmed project on schedule. The purpose of the project is to implement complete street road improvements to increase safety and efficiency in the most active section of the corridor. The improved roadway will support an economic development corridor extending from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) to regionally significant U.S.41 near the City of Bradenton and Sarasota.
#6) Bay Park Conservancy
655 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida 34326
$2 million being requested
This funding will be used during Phase 2 of The Bay Park Improvement project, which will make improvements to the park’s water quality and create bike and multi-modal enhancements. The project will also improve open space and recreation areas by upgrading pedestrian amenities such as lighting, landscaping, and related park features. This project will preserve, enhance, and beautify the park area immediately surrounding these important civic assets. Preservation and enhancement of these historic public assets is an important benefit to the community.
#7) Florida Studio Theatre
1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota, Florida 34236
$1.8 million being requested
The funding will be used to help support the energy efficiency development and renovation of a multi-purpose nonprofit arts and music building project enabling greater access for affordable housing for artists, expanding educational arts programming for underserved youth and growing capacity for children, youth and families and seniors to have access to arts programming and events. Furthermore, this funding request will help redesign Florida Studio Theatre to create more space, resolve building code issues through energy efficiency improvements, renovation and building for weather modifications and modernization.
#8) Town of Longboat Key, Florida
501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, Florida, 34228
$3 million being requested
These funds will be used to install a new 16” HDPE wastewater force main to replace an existing force main that conveys all Town effluent from the island to the Manatee County Wastewater Treatment Facility.
#9) City of Sarasota
2099 Adams Lane, Sarasota, Florida 34327
$300,000 being requested
These funds will be used by the Sarasota Police Department to acquire and update obsolete equipment and technology used within the department as well as support the department’s initiatives with their community policing efforts within their jurisdiction. These technologies will assist officers with investigations, responding to critical incidents, and preventing crimes. This project will improve police effectiveness and the flow of information among law enforcement agencies, local government service providers, and the citizens of the surrounding communities served. The new equipment will also reduce the time and staff on crime and traffic scenes by fifty (50) percent, thus increasing man-hours available to assist in more investigations, provide analysis in point of view and liability cases, and deliver powerful courtroom presentations while allowing the department to collaborate with neighboring jurisdictions.
#10) Foundation United
P.O. Box 5576, Sarasota, Florida 34277
This funding will be used by the Foundation United to assist law enforcement, and others, in building their own set of tools, skills and expertise ultimately leading to increased identification and rescue of human trafficking victims. Foundation United will share its practical, proven, collaborative strategies designed to increase victim healing, stability and cooperation, create prosecutable cases and hold predators accountable. Foundation United also proposes to work with law enforcement in a top-down approach to ensure that educators and students and recognize the red flags of sexual abuse and identify when human trafficking is taking place. This funding will allow the Foundation to bring this life-saving program to school and youth organization personnel nationally to prevent students/youth from sexual exploitation and allow communities to protect children and recognize the needs of those seeking help.
#11) Gulf Shellfish Institute
1320 Eastern Avenue, Palmetto, Florida 34221
$2.5 million being requested
The funding will be used to support large-scale estuary habitat restoration and resilience projects in focus areas implemented by non-Federal entities within estuaries located in Southwest Florida to: improve estuary water quality; reduce the toxicity and persistence of harmful algal blooms; enhance estuary resilience to climate-related factors; stabilize sediment and improve shoreline protection qualities; mitigate estuary habitat loss; increase ecological productivity and biodiversity; and, stimulate new commercial and recreational opportunities in local communities.
#12) Centerstone
371 6th Avenue West, Bradenton, Florida, 34205
$1.2 million being requested
The funding will enable Centerstone to expand its Behavioral Hospital and Addiction Center in order to increase the availability of acute psychiatric and addiction inpatient treatment options for residents in Manatee County and the surrounding region. In addition, it will also allow Centerstone to simultaneously increase patient safety and customer experience.
#13) University of South Floirda
8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida 34523.
$2 million being requested
The funding will be used for the planning, design and early construction phase of the Sarasota-Manatee Nursing/STEM building. Once finished, this building will enable USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus to expand current STEM-related academic programs for students, provide new research capabilities for faculty, and support local, regional, state, and national workforce demands for USF graduates.
#14) All Star Children's Foundation
3300 17th Street, Sarasota, FL 34235.
$1.5 million being requested
The funding will enable the Foundation to continue operating an innovative child welfare pilot program. The pilot program is seeking to establish a brand-new, trauma-intervention model. If successful, this pilot program could serve as a template for other child welfare programs to follow.
#15 Manatee County Port Authority
300 Tampa Bay Way, Palmetto, Florida, 34221
$2.3 million being requested
These funds will be used to reimburse Port Manatee for federally authorized work it has successfully performed over the last 25 years. Specifically, it conducted maintenance dredging in 1997, widened the entrance channel and constructed a ship turning basin in 2005, and constructed the south channel extension in 2011-2012.
15thStreet.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
AllStar.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.061622.pdf
BPC.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
Centerstone.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.061622 v 2.pdf
FoundationUnited.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.071122.pdf
FST.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
GulfShellfish.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.071222.pdf
HillsboroughCounty.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
LBKWastewaterMain.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
LegacyTrail.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
MoteSEA.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
PortManatee.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.pdf
SRQPD.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.071222.pdf
US41.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23 (002).pdf
USF.FinDisclosureLetter.FY23.061622.pdf
FY 22 Community Project Funding Requests
#1) PACE Center for Girls Request:
PACE Center for Girls – Bradenton campus
6745 Phillips Industrial Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32256
$2 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of PACE Center for Girls. The funding will be used to renovate an existing facility and build a new facility on PACE’s Bradenton campus where the current enrollment exceeds capacity. The funding will be used to build a health care, mental health, and education complex on-site in Bradenton for at-risk young girls in the Manatee County public school system.
#2) All Star Children’s Foundation Request
All Star Children’s Foundation of Florida
3300 17th Street, Sarasota, FL 34235
$1.5 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the All Star Children’s Foundation. The funding will enable the Foundation to design and implement an innovative pilot child welfare program. The pilot program will seek to establish a brand-new, trauma-intervention model and will also help establish a Pediatric Mental Health Treatment and Research Center. If successful, this pilot program could serve as a template for other child welfare programs to follow.
#3) Easterseals of Southwest Florida Request:
Easterseals of Southwest Florida
350 Braden Ave. Sarasota, FL 34243
$1.96 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Easterseals of Southwest Florida.The funding will allow Easterseals to expand its current facility in Sarasota to better serve the local community while also enabling it to offer expanded services to children and underserved populations dealing with autism and other disabilities.
#4) Town of Longboat Key Flooding Mitigation Request:
Town of Longboat Key
501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, FL 34228
$350,000 is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Town of Longboat Key. The funding will allow the town to elevate a roadway to mitigate against flooding that negatively impacts both first responder access and local resident access. The roadway is also adjacent to fringe mangrove forests and a bayou area directly connected to Sarasota Bay. Elevating the roadway is also intended to preclude harmful impacts to the forests and the Bay.
#5) City of Sarasota Wetlands Restoration Funding Request:
City of Sarasota
1565 1st Street, Sarasota, FL 34236
$2.578 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the City of Sarasota. The funding will allow the city to both restore and create more than 18 acres of wetlands that will significantly improve regional water quality. The successful implementation of this project can serve as a model for all of Southwest Florida and could be used to educate local, regional, national, and international visitors regarding best practice water quality projects. In addition, this project aligns with Governor DeSantis’ executive order 19-12 prioritizing water quality projects. Finally, it has been prioritized as part of the Bobby Jones Master Plan approved by Sarasota City Commission.
#6) Bay Park Conservancy Conservation and Environmental Restoration Funding Request:
The Bay Park Conservancy
655 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236
$2 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Bay Park Conservancy (BPC). The funding will allow BPC to fund critically-important conservation and environmental restoration. It will help fund the Bay Park, 53-acres of public land on Sarasota Bay that is being conserved and redeveloped to provide the local community and the region with a world-class public park. The project is intended to conserve precious wetlands, including a Mangrove Bayou, restore the natural Sarasota Bay shoreline, its ecology and natural habitat, and improve water quality to a condition and level that has not been seen for 100 years by deploying a range of innovative and proven water treatment technologies and systems on-site.
#7) Manatee County Palmetto Trails Funding Request:
Manatee County
P.O. Box 1000, Bradenton, FL 34206
$2.9 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of Manatee County. The funding will allow the County to begin the planning and design of the “Safe Routes to Schools Partnership” component of the overall Palmetto Trails Mobility and Connectivity project. This project will support connecting trails beginning in the Washington Park Community, extending south through Lincoln Park, and crossing over into Lincoln Memorial school grounds through an upgraded Florida Department of Transportation tunnel beneath US 41.
#8) Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Security Funding Request:
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232
$1.43 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. The request will provide funding for capital improvements to ensure a safe campus for the Jewish Federation, its staff, members and visitors. It will also help build a community training center for classes and security training. These improvements and enhancements are intended to ensure a safe campus that will protect children, citizens and families who will participate in various activities, such as classes, camps, sports and special events, on-campus.
#9) Sarasota County Legacy Trail Funding Request:
Sarasota County
1660 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota, FL 34236
$990,000 is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of Sarasota County. The funding will allow for the design of a pedestrian overpass where the Legacy Trail, a multi-use rail-trail, crosses S. Tuttle Avenue. This project will help greatly enhance the safety of a highly used multi-use trail by separating bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicles where the trail crosses Tuttle Avenue. Given crash data collected by Sarasota County from 2013-2018, it is anticipated that the addition of the overpass along the Legacy Trail will help reduce bicycle and pedestrian crashes and fatalities at this crossing location.
#10) Mote Marine Laboratory Education Aquarium Funding Request:
Mote Marine Laboratory
1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236
$10 million is being requested
I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Mote Marine Laboratory. The funding will allow Mote Marine to continue moving forward with building the Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA). Mote SEA will utilize innovative 21st Century technology and engineering to translate and transfer science so tens of millions of visitors can experience the transformative power of discovery and learning. An important, strategic focus of the Mote SEA will be serving at-risk and underprivileged youth who are often deprived of advanced technology opportunities in marine science, technology, engineering and math. To date over $3,000,000 has been spent on design, engineering, permitting and site preparation. This funding request will make an important but small contribution towards the successful completion of Mote SEA.
AllStar.FinDisclosureLetter.pdf
Easterseals.FinDisclosureLetter.pdf
LBKFloodMitigation.FinDisclosureLetter.pdf
LegacyTrail.FinDisclosureLetter.pdf
PalmettoTrails.FinDisclosureLetter.pdf
SarasotaWetlands.FinDisclosureLetter.pdf
SMJewishFed.FinDisclosureLetter.pdf
2022 WRDA