Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

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Vernon G. "Vern" Buchanan (born May 8, 1951) is a Republican Congressman representing .Buchanan grew up in Michigan, the son of a factory foreman in a family of six children. Lauren Mayk, [http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061030/NEWS/610300366 "Buchanan: Big deals led to big riches"], ''Herald-Tribune'', October 31, 2006 When he graduated from high school in 1969, he joined the Michigan Air National Guard, serving there for six years. Buchanan got a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Cleary University, in Michigan, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Detroit.After graduating with a BA, Buchanan went to work for Burroughs, a Detroit-based computer company. Next, in 1975, he became the Michigan distributor for an SMI, a firm that specialized in sales and marketing training materials.In May 1976, Buchanan convinced the owner of a Michigan printing company that he could help the business grow. The two founded American Speedy Printing, which grew through franchising to more than 730 stores in 44 states. In 1989, a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch made Buchanan a $15.4 million loan, guaranteed by his ownership in the company. In 1992, the company filed for bankruptcy, three days after Buchanan resigned; at the time, he owned all the company's stock.Lauren Mayk, [http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051006%2FBUSINESS%2F510060664%2F-1%2FAUTOS&template=printart "A success story that's not so simple: Vern Buchanan's messy departure from American Speedy is a seldom-told tale"], ''Herald Tribune'', October 6, 2006Buchanan and American Speedy were defendants in a string of lawsuits during the late 1980s and early 1990s by franchisees and master franchisees, who said they were not making the money that Buchanan had said they could expect. After the bankruptcy, he was accused by a creditors committee of taking excessive compensation and actions that resulted in overstated earnings for American Speedy. In a 1995 deposition, he said that he had no personal obligation to repay the loan from Merrill Lynch; a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over taxes on the money Buchanan received from Merrill Lynch stretched through the 1990s.In 1992, Buchanan bought a Honda and Acura dealership in Ocala, Florida. In late 1999, he bought two more dealerships. He continued to acquire dealerships after that, but in 2006 he sold five dealerships, plus his interest a clothing store and a spa, to concentrate on his House campaign, his spokesman said.Buchanan's current net worth is more than $50 million. When he filed financial disclosure forms in the fall of 2005 as part of his bid for a seat in Congress, he had interests in more than 50 companies, including 25 auto dealerships, a charter jet business, offshore reinsurance companies and property in Florida and Michigan. His dealership group had $756 million in sales in 2005.Buchanan owns two reinsurance companies — Jamat Reinsurance Co. and Buchanan Reinsurance Co., in Turks and Caicos, and part of the Bermuda reinsurance company Greater Atlantic Insurance Co. The three companies offer extended warranty policies to car buyers. Buchanan invests some of the proceeds from his reinsurance companies in real estate developments in the Bahamas. Michael Bragda, [http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/NEWS/610310410 "Use of offshore companies helps Buchanan reduce his tax burden"], ''Herald-Tribune'', October 31, 2006The Internal Revenue Service has stepped up efforts in recent years to investigate offshore reinsurance companies, and has urged Congress to change laws that help people benefit from these offshore tax havens.Buchanan has defended his record saying, "I have always paid my taxes and it is a substantial amount, but I don't think anyone should pay more taxes than they owe." His campaign spokeswoman added that his use of offshore reinsurance companies is normal. She noted, "This is a widely accepted practice offered by hundreds of businesses and enjoyed by thousands of consumers."In 1999, Buchanan was approached to help to finance a very large project — the Ritz-Carlton condo-hotel development in Sarasota. But Buchanan was cut out of the Ritz deal, because the developers, Robert Buford and Kevin Daves, said he lied about his financial worth. Buchanan sued, and the parties settled in 2001.Michael Braga, [http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060910/BUSINESS/609101145 "Accountants, others question settlement between Buchanan, wealthy developer"], ''Herald-Tribune'', September 10, 2006The settlement was unusual: Buchanan bought a penthouse apartment from a nephew of Buford's for $5 million; the nephew had purchased it the day before for $2.368 million. Buchanan owned the unit for slightly more than a year, until January 2003, and then sold it to another member of Buford's family for $6.35 million, using a deed dated a year earlier. The arrangement resulted in Buchanan paying about $260,000 less in federal taxes, because his profit of $1.35 million was taxed at 20% (capital gains) instead of 39.6% (regular income). Buford benefited because potential buyers checking property records would see that a penthouse had been sold to a wealthy car dealer for nearly $2 million more than any other condo in the building and then resold for a large profit a year later.In the year he owned the penthouse, Buchanan used it for a number of charity benefits. That also benefited the developers: they got to show the Ritz experience to hundreds of the richest people in Southwest Florida and beyond.In June 2007, Buchanan, in his financial disclosure filing, reported having over $100 million in assets, making him among the five wealthiest members of Congress. Most of his wealth is from his automotive empire, which includes several dealerships in Florida. He also reported ownership interests in about fifty other businesses, including offshore reinsurance companies, and a charter-jet business. He reported receiving at least $19.5 million in income from these businesses in 2006.Duane Marsteller, [http://www.bradenton.com/280/story/75977.html "One of richest reps in Congress: Vern Buchanan"], Bradenton Herald'', June 16, 2007Buchanan served as state finance chair for Senator Mel Martinez's successful 2004 campaign. He was also co-chair of the Republican National Finance Committee.Buchanan ran in the 13th congressional district in Florida to replace incumbent Republican Katherine Harris, who was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. Buchanan won the Republican primary with 32% of the vote, against four opponents. His closest challengers were Nancy Detert, with 25% of the vote, and Tramm Hudson, with 24%.In the November general election, Buchanan faced Democrat Christine Jennings, a banking executive. There were 216,000 registered Republicans and about 155,000 registered Democrats in the district,Jeremy Wallace, [http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWS/610250312/1286/ELECTIONS "President Pitches In at Buchanan Fundraiser: Bush touts GOP principles at Vern Buchanan event in Sarasota"], ''The Ledger'', October 25, 2006 but Jennings polled ahead of Buchanan up to election day.[http://www.economist.com/printedition/index.cfm?d=20061209 "Another election mess in Florida"], ''The Economist'', December 9, 2006 Buchanan put more than $5 million of his own money into his campaign. In October, Vice President Dick Cheney held a fund raising luncheon for Buchanan;[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061006-10.html "Vice President's Remarks at a Luncheon for Vern Buchanan for Congress "], press release, October 6, 2006; later that month, President Bush held a fund raising reception for him.[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061024-2.html "Remarks by the President at Vern Buchanan for Congress Reception"], press release, October 24, 2006 Between the two events, Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Martinez, and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney came to the district to campaign for Buchanan.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15344959/ "GOP launches rescue mission in Florida race: Once-secure congressional seat now in jeopardy, polls say"], ''Associated Press'', October 20, 2006Initial results of the November election showed Buchanan leading by less than 350 votes. Due to the closeness of the race, and a high undervote of 18,000 in Sarasota County, a recount was ordered. Voters in Sarasota County had given more votes to a hospital board than they had to their Congressional representative-- with 13% of voters not voting, compared to an average of 2% in neighboring counties. The touch-screen voting machines used provided no paper record. On November 20, 2006, the Florida Department of State certified the results of the recount, which showed Buchanan winning by 369 votes.Although Buchanan took office January 4, 2007, the matter was not settled. Jennings challenged the results of the election in court, citing "pervasive malfunctioning of electronic voting machines." In December 2006, a Florida circuit judge ruled that her claim that voting machines in Sarasota County lost up to 18,000 votes was "conjecture" and didn't warrant overriding the trade secrets of the voting machine company. In June 2007, a Florida state appellate court ruled that Jennings did not meet the "extraordinary burden" of proving the lower court judge was wrong.[http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_169202530.html "Jennings Dealt Setback In Voting Machine Challenge"], CBS local news (cbs4.com), June 18, 2007The U.S. House of Representatives had the right to make the final determination as to whether Buchanan will hold the seat for the remainder of the term or be replaced by Jennings. In April, a three-person House task force was created to evaluate the election.Phil Davis, [http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/17/ap3623464.html "House Panel to Consider Florida Contest"], ''Associated Press'', April 17, 2007 In early May, the task force voted along party lines to refer an investigation into Florida’s 13th district House race to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Chairman Charles Gonzalez said he hoped to see results in as little as 45 days.Aaron Blake, [http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/fl-13-task-force-will-turn-over-investigation-to-gao-2007-05-02.html "FL-13 task force will turn over investigation to GAO"], ''The Hill'', May 3, 2007 In mid-June, the task force voted unanimously to move forward with a review of Sarasota County operations, suggested by the GAO. The target completion date is July 27.Aaron Blake, [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/review-of-contested-election-advances-2007-06-15.html "Review of contested election advances"], ''The Hill'', June 15, 2007. Buchanan has not publicly commented on the investigation to this point.On 25 February 2008, the committee and the House accepted the GAO's findings that no machine error was demonstrated as sufficient to have altered the outcome of the election. The House passed HR 989 affirming the findings of the committee, accepting the results of the 2006 race and formally dismissing Jennings' challenge of the election's results. Jennings formally dropped her challenge shortly thereafter to focus on her 2008 rematch against now-Congressman Buchanan.Buchanan and Jennings have qualified to face off in the general election on 4 November 2008, a rematch of their 2006 race. They are also opposed by former 13th District Democratic nominee Jan Schneider, now running as a No Party Affiliation (NPA) candidate, and Don Baldauf, another NPA candidate. Neither Buchanan nor Jennings have primary opposition in the Florida primary election, which will be held on 26 August 2008.Buchanan was sworn in as Representative for Florida's 13th Congressional District on 3 January 2007. His freshman term in the house was defined by his ability to secure federal funding for a number of projects in the 13th District. Among his more prominent accomplishments in this areas have included a $2 million reimbursement for cleanup efforts in Anna Maria Island and $4 million dollars for cleaning up Wares Creek in Manatee County. Buchanan's top legislative priorities in the 110th session included lowered federal spending, veterans' affairs and fighting crime. To those ends, he introduced a constitutional amendment in January 2007 which would require Congress to pass a balanced budget if ratified.[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.J.RES.21: "H.J. RES 21, Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States"], Sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, 1-31-2007. He introduced legislation to create a US Postage stamp honoring and assisting disabled veterans, as well as secured funding for the construction of a national veterans' cemetery in Sarasota County.[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.CON.RES.176: "H.J. CON. RES. 176, Expressing the sense of the Congress that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued to honor our Nation's disabled veterans."] Additionally, Buchanan introduced a bill to increase federal assistance for fighting gang crime and secured grant funding for local anti-gang efforts in Manatee County.[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.3922: "H.R. 3922, Gang Reduction, Investment, and Prevention Act"] As of July 2008, Rep. Buchanan has voted to override five of President Bush's vetoes of legislation passed by the 110th Congress. These override votes include a vote in support of expanding the coverage range of the SCHIP program, the 2008 farm bill, and the Water Resources Development Act.Buchanan's exact ideology has been described in varying terms. Congressional Quarterly noted that Buchanan voted in support of President Bush's legislative agenda 66 percent of the time in 2007, the third lowest rate of the 16 members of Florida's Republican congressional delegation. [http://www.ontheissues.org/FL/Vern_Buchanan.htm OnTheIssues.org] positions Buchanan as a "Populist Conservative", while [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=412196 GovTrack.us] labels him a "Moderate Republican".*Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure**Subcommittee on Aviation*Committee on Small Business**Subcommittee on Finance and Tax**Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare and TradeBuchanan was chairman of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and is now the chairman of the board of the Florida state chamber of commerce. He is also a member of the board and the executive committee of United States Chamber of Commerce.[http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=MFL70813 Project VoteSmart bio], accessed November 1, 2006 He and his wife Sandy and their two sons live in Sarasota.*[http://buchanan.house.gov/ Congressman Vern Buchanan] official U.S. House site*[http://www.vernbuchananforcongress.com/ Vern Buchanan for U.S. Congress] official campaign site*[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Vern_Buchanan Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia*[http://www.buchananautogroup.com/ Buchanan Automotive Group]

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