U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) last week pressed U.S. President Donald Trump to address bringing home the remains of U.S. soldiers still missing from the Korean War during planned meetings this week between the president and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) on Feb. 4 unveiled bipartisan legislation to prevent the human health threats posed by the consumption of horses raised in the United States by permanently banning their slaughter. The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, Read more…
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) on Feb. 8 applauded action by the U.S. Department of Commerce ending a trade agreement with Mexico that negatively impacted America’s tomato growers. “This is great news for tomato growers in the first district and Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) has introduced a bipartisan bill having the support of more than 160 representatives in Congress that aims to make crimes against animals a federal offense. “The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be Read more…
U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX), the Republican leader of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Jan. 23 introduced the Shark Fins Sales Elimination Act. H.R. 737, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, a Democrat representing the Northern Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) recently introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at streamlining how students apply for federal aid to attend college and how certain borrowers repay their student loans. Rep. Buchanan on Jan. 17 introduced the Student Aid Simplification Act, Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), co-chair of the Florida congressional delegation, on Jan. 8 reintroduced a bipartisan bill alongside his home-state colleagues that would forever ban oil drilling off the coast of the Sunshine State. “Allowing drilling off of Florida’s Read more…
U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) on Jan. 4 reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would advance alternative methods and increase transparency around reporting of federal animal testing processes. The Federal Accountability in Chemical Testing (FACT) Act, H.R. 249, aims to replace inefficient, Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and his Florida teammates in Congress on Jan. 3 introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to improve trade between Mexico and seasonal produce growers in Florida and other states. Rep. Buchanan unveiled the Defending Domestic Produce Production Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) wants to know how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) wasn’t able to spend more than $6 million in targeted federal funds this year to provide suicide prevention outreach services for the nation’s military Read more…
With Congress back in session for the final weeks of the 115th legislative session, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) on Nov. 27 renewed his plea to permanently reauthorize the now-expired Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). “It’s regrettable that despite Read more…
The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 27 approved the Tax Reform 2.0 legislative package of bills, which includes a proposal sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) to encourage Americans to save money for both their retirements and families. Read more…
It’s time for the United States government to cut the red tape negatively impacting small businesses owned by the country’s military veterans, said U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) during a Sept. 20 tour of the Salamanca, N.Y.-based Monroe Table Co. Read more…
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) on Sept. 10 introduced the Family Savings Act of 2018 to encourage Americans to save money for their retirements and families, one of three pieces of legislation comprising Republicans’ new Tax Reform 2.0 package. “I Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) requested that the Small Business Administration (SBA) step in to provide federal aid to Florida businesses being slammed by the devastating red tide’s blow to local tourism. “Gov. Rick Scott has formally requested a disaster Read more…
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States and Mexico have reached agreement on revisions to parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), while a bipartisan contingent including U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Tom Rooney (R-FL), Read more…
U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) led members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee in demanding information from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) about its decision to deny petitions for the return of taxpayer Read more…
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam’s (R-IL) bipartisan amendment to prohibit animal fighting has been passed as part of the U.S. House-approved Agriculture and Nutrition Act, H.R. 2, the 2018 Farm Bill. “This is a heartfelt issue, obviously,” said Rep. Roskam during Read more…
U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Peter Roskam (R-IL) were two of 19 Republicans who on June 8 voted against a White House proposal to cut $7 billion in federal aid for the national Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Nevertheless, Read more…
The Manatee County (Fla.) Board of County Commissioners (BCC) has endorsed a seven-point plan championed in a federal proposal by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) aimed at ending the nation’s prescription drug crisis. “Drugs are destroying lives and families not Read more…
Provisions from two bills introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) made it into recently approved legislation that would reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the nation’s cash welfare and services program for low-income families. The U.S. Read more…
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on April 9 proposed a bipartisan bill to improve the treatment of animals seized under federal animal fighting or gambling statutes and to hold offenders responsible for covering the costs of care for these animals. Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) on March 26 met in his Sarasota office with two Florida mothers who lost sons to the opioid scourge to detail how approximately $4 billion in federal funding will be used to address the ongoing Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), intent on extending an expiring federal prohibition on the slaughter of horses in the United States for human consumption overseas, successfully realized that goal with a little help from some friends. “This was a successful Read more…
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, learned from healthcare professionals how Medicare regulations are negatively impacting them, their patients and the overall industry during a March 15 roundtable event, but Read more…
Florida citrus growers rang in the New Year with the welcomed news that U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s (R-FL) bipartisan, bicameral Emergency Citrus Disease Response Act of 2017 had been built into the nation’s new tax reform law signed by President Read more…
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) on Wednesday introduced the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, a bill that would extend the federal ban on animal fighting for entertainment or gaming to U.S. territories. Although federal law in the United Read more…
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement that the social media accounts of all foreigners entering the United States will be monitored beginning this week mirrors legislation previously introduced by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL). In response to the San Read more…
Challenges to modernizing IRS information technology (IT) systems, and Equifax being awarded an IRS contract in the wake of a massive data breach, were cited as examples of how the agency is failing taxpayers in a recent subcommittee hearing led Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) scored a victory for the environment last week when his legislation to help fund the fight against the growth of harmful algae known as red tide recently passed the House as part of a government-funding Read more…
The Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017, included in a larger bill reauthorizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), became law Aug. 18 when President Donald Trump officially signed it. U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), a bill co-sponsor, said Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) convened a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that explored findings that IRS policies on the retention of electronic records don’t comply with federal requirements that the records be retrievable and usable. Buchanan, the chairman of the Read more…
Following reports that more than 400 people had been charged with over $1.3 billion in fraudulent billings in the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) led a congressional panel’s review on Wednesday of steps Read more…
U.S. Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) led a congressional call on Tuesday for a briefing from the IRS about what is being done to correct what was found to be deficient procedures Read more…
A national defense spending authorization bill that would boost missile defense, troop pay and counter-terror initiatives was approved by the House on Friday with key contributions from Florida’s Republican congressional delegation, including U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo, Vern Buchanan and Thomas Read more…
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed three bipartisan bills aimed at fighting the nation’s ongoing and increasingly problematic human trafficking epidemic. The measure drew strong support from U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Fred Upton (R-MI) and Read more…
House Republicans applauded President Donald Trump’s signing of a bill into law on Friday that updates Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) civil service rules to promote accountability and transparency. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, S. Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) underscored the need for bipartisan collaboration to make progress on reforming the IRS in ways that would ultimately benefit taxpayers during a subcommittee hearing on Friday. Buchanan, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Read more…
The House approved legislation last week from U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) to ensure severe penalties are imposed for the murder or attempted murder of local law enforcement officers, firefighters and first responders. The Thin Blue Line Act was approved Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) recently called for greater federal funding to help combat harmful blooms of algae, a growing national concern due to their release of harmful toxins that hurt humans, marine life and the economy. Toxins found in Read more…
Optimistic that 2017 could be the year that comprehensive tax reform gets enacted, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is advocating for pro-growth tax policies like his bill that would ensure more equitable tax treatment between small businesses and large corporations. Read more…
Concerned that another major oil spill could wreak havoc on Florida’s environment and tourism-driven economy, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is leading the charge against the Trump administration’s plans to open up more of the Gulf of Mexico to off-shore Read more…
Legislation reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) would rein in the IRS’s ability to seize taxpayers’ assets without first charging them with a crime, an improper use of government authority that was confirmed on Tuesday by an audit of Read more…
Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee hailed the Department of Justice announcement on Monday of a lawyer’s guilty plea for his role in a massive fraud case involving more than $550 million in Social Security disability payments. Kentucky-based Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) said there is significant room to improve Social Security Administration (SSA) oversight of the 6.5 million people enrolled in the representative payee program, following a Social Security Inspector General audit that raised red flags about Read more…
U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and John Katko (R-NY) led recent congressional efforts to voice concern about reports of anti-Semitism and threats of anti-Semitic violence across the country. Curbelo, Frelinghuysen and Katko were among a group of Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) co-chaired a hearing this week that focused on protecting Social Security recipients from fraud perpetrated by financial guardians. Buchanan, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, and Sam Johnson (R-TX), the Read more…
With one-third of Americans lacking any retirement savings, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) recently reintroduced legislation that would make it more affordable for small businesses to offer employee retirement plans. The bipartisan Retirement Security for American Workers Act would enable Read more…
U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Adrian Smith (R-NE) were selected to chair key subcommittees of the House Ways and Means Committee. Buchanan was named chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight. Tasked with overseeing investigative authority of Read more…
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) introduced seven bills designed to spur job creation and improve the standard of living in America on the first day of the 115th Congress. Buchanan said his top priorities in the new Congress include tax Read more…