Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.)

U.S. Representative (since January 2007)

(Congress Bio Directory)

Why He Matters

A millionaire businessman who made his fortune through car dealerships and printing shops, Buchanan took his Florida 13th district seat in 2006. But the Republican won by just 369 votes in a race marked by recounts, lawsuits over controversial voting equipment and spending that made it the most expensive House contest of the year.

Though Buchanan opposed both President Obama's 2009 stimulus and the 2010 Democratic health-care plan, he has proven willing to work across party lines. In the 110th Congress, he voted for five of the Democrats' "Six for '06" legislative priorities. During the 112th Congress, Buchanan said he would push his bill for a balanced-budget amendment, a proposal that has failed to receive a committee hearing in the two previous terms.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Founder and chairman, Buchanan Enterprises (1992-2007); Founder and chairman, Buchanan Automotive Group (1992-2007); Founder and CEO, American Speedy Printing Centers (1976-1992)
Birthday: May 8, 1951
Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
Alma Mater: University of Detroit, M.B.A., 1986; Cleary University, B.B.A., 1975
Spouse: Sandy
Religion: Baptist

Committees: Ways and Means
DC Office: 218 Cannon House Office Building, 202-225-5015
District Offices: Bradenton, 941-747-9081; Sarasota, 941-951-6643
Email
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Path to Power

Born in 1951 in metro Detroit, Buchanan was the eldest of six children in a blue-collar family.

From 1970 to 1976, Buchanan served in the Michigan Air National Guard. A graduate of Cleary University in Ann Arbor, Mich., Buchanan paid his way through college as a tae kwan do instructor After graduating in 1975, he briefly worked as a marketing representative for a computer company.

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Business Career

In 1976, Buchanan founded what would become the American Speedy Printing Centers, an international chain of nearly 750 stores that he sold to a brokerage firm in 1989. After the sale, Buchanan took his family to Tampa.

American Speedy went bankrupt in 1992, with Buchanan's business partners accusing him of expanding the company too broadly, and then abandoning it after selling it for $15 million. In 1994, the company's creditors sued Buchanan in a lawsuit in which he settled to repay $1.5 million in "excessive compensation," while denying any other wrongdoing.

Buchanan's Michigan business issues didn't dog him in Florida where he built a regional automobile dealership empire, among the country's largest. Buchanan was influential in local business circles, serving as chairman of both the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the state chamber of commerce.

In 2002, Buchanan wanted to run for the 13th Congressional District, but stepped aside when Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (R), who had a central role in the 2000 presidential recount, entered the race. She would eventually win the seat.

2006 House Race

Buchanan did run in 2006, resigning as head of his automotive group and seeking to replace Harris who unsuccessfully sought a U.S. Senate seat. Though issues of the American Speedy bankruptcy surfaced during the campaign, Buchanan won a bitter five-way primary, spending more than $2 million of his own funds on the contest.

His Democratic challenger would be Christine Jennings, a businesswoman who was both a former Midwesterner and ex-Republican.

Several prominent national Republicans, including President George W. Bush, campaigned for Buchanan, who attacked his opponent for being too liberal on terrorism, taxes and immigration. Buchanan's prospects in the traditionally-Republican district were affected by the House page scandal involving illicit e-mails from former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.).

Buchanan spent $8.1 million on the race, $5.4 million of which came out of his own pocket. Jennings spent $3 million, $2 million of which was her own.

After the initial count, Buchanan held a 368-vote lead that triggered one of the most heated recounts in Florida history. After a recount gave Buchanan a 369-vote lead, Jennings filed a lawsuit alleging "pervasive malfunctioning" of touch-screen machines that resulted in undervotes.

Democrats opened the next session of Congress protesting the election results, though that didn't stop Buchanan from taking his oath of office. Jennings dropped her suit in November 2007 after the Government Accountability Office began testing the electronic- voting mahines, which her campaign said would accomplish the same objectives as court action. In February 2008, the GAO concluded the machines weren't responsible for the undervote.

House Career

Ahead of Buchanan's 2008 rematch with Jennings, Buchanan faced 13 lawsuits, including cases involving his auto dealerships. None of the suits made it to trial. Buchanan won his second term with 55 percent of the vote, defeating Jennings by 66,000 votes and 18 percentage points.

Buchanan defended his seat by a larger margin in 2010, beating James Golden (D), 69 to 31 percent.

When Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) announced his retirement in summer 2009, Buchanan began exploring the possibility of running for the seat. But he backed down when Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I), then a Republican, announced his bid for the 2010 Senate seat.

The Issues

Though a self-styled conservative, Buchanan started out his House tenure voting with Democrats on five of their first six bills in 2006 including a minimum wage hike, oil and gas company tax breaks and lowering student-loan rates. "I ran as a conservative, but I also ran as someone who is going to be independent," Buchanan said.

Buchanan voted with House Republicans on almost all major issues during the 111th Congress, but he has backed the party line 92 percent of the time.

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While Buchanan has indicated he would support the Republican leadership's push to roll back federal spending, Buchanan is not shy to show occassional praise for the other side. "I was very heartened by the president's call for a 5-year freeze on discretionary spending," Buchanan said following the 2011 State of the Union address.

The Economy

After opposing the initial version of the fall 2008 financial bailout bill, Buchanan backed the final $700-billion package after being swayed by changes, including fixes to the alternative minimum tax, increasing insurance limits for deposits and extending sales-tax deductions.

In February 2009, President Obama invited Buchanan to the White House for a one-on-one meeting, courting the Republican to support a $787-billion stimulus bill. Buchanan joked that while he would take Obama up on a game of basketball, he would join all Republicans against the bill, saying it would increase the national debt without boosting the economy fast enough.

Though Buchanan spoke out against government intervention to save General Motors and Chrysler in 2008 and 2009, the Republican was vocal in trying to keep dealerships intact during the companies' reorganizations. Buchanan co-owned a Chrysler dealership closed during the process.

Energy

Buchanan is a moderate on energy issues, opposing the expansion of fossil-fuel exploration around Florida while falling short of supporting Democrat-led policies such as cap-and-trade.

Buchanan has opposed opening Florida's Gulf Coast to oil drilling. In April 2010, after President Obama announced he would permit some offshore drilling, Buchanan called the plan "flawed because it fails to open the Alaskan and Pacific coasts to drilling but allows oil rigs off the eastern Gulf of Mexico, threatening our natural resources and tourism-based economy."

Following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf later that month, Buchanan called for suspending all offshore drilling permits. He also authored a bill seeking to reform the oil-drilling regulatory agency and remove liability caps for companies responsible for spills.

After being courted by supporters of cap-and-trade legislation, Buchanan opposed the climate-change bill in June 2009. He said in a statement the bill would hurt manufacturing businesses.

Health Care

Like all House Republicans, Buchanan voted against the 2010 health-care reform, saying it cut Medicare, increased taxes and did nothing to lower costs. "This bill represents all that is wrong with Washington," Buchanan said. "Deficit spending, higher taxes, more government control and an arrogant dismissal of the will of the American people."

The Network

Though Buchanan initially supported the 2010 Senate bid of Gov. Charlie Crist, Buchanan cooled his support after Crist decided to run as an independent instead of as a Republican.

In 2011, Buchanan was named chairman of the Friends of Panama Caucus, aimed at promoting trade through the expansion of the Panama Canal. The Democratic leader on the caucus is Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah).

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