Bradenton Herald: At Bradenton town hall meeting, Rep. Buchanan calls for an end to Washington dsyfunction
January 31, 2015 09:37PM ET | Bradenton Herald
By Kathryn Moschella The Bradenton Herald
Feb. 01--BRADENTON -- The 114th Congress has begun work in Washington, D.C., and according to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Longboat Key), the biggest complaint he's hearing from his constituents back home, besides jobs and the economy is: Why can't Congress work together, stop the dysfunction, and deal with all the nation's challenges?
Buchanan, who addressed a town hall meeting at Bradenton City Hall Saturday, said he agrees there's too much politicking about the next election rather than doing what's right.
However, Buchanan told an audience of about 25 citizens who gathered in city council chambers, that the Florida legislative delegation, of which he is co-chairman, the largest in the country, they have managed to make progress on issues such as health care for veterans, flood insurance, and a new farm bill that protects Florida's citrus from threatening diseases.
As a former business owner in Sarasota for more than 30 years concerned about the rising federal deficit he's witnessed since taking office in 2007, Buchanan said he can't sit and watch the next generation get buried.
"They're projecting another budget deficit this year of $500 billion. At some point, you can't pay the bills and it will end badly."
While the federal government has released new reports indicating the economy is growing at a rate of about 2.6 percent, Buchanan, backed by some audience support for a proposed "Fair Tax Plan," agreed that less taxes for everyone would help the economy grow further.
David Leake, a retired U.S. Navy Reserve captain from Winter Park, called on Buchanan to co-sponsor a new Fair Tax plan reintroduced to the new Congress in January. "Some members of your own House Committee on Ways and Means are already co-sponsors. Will you do the same?" Leake asked.
"It's a very high priority for me to simplify the tax code since it really hasn't been dealt with since the 1980s. We want to do something that is pro-growth and will create more jobs," Buchanan said. "The key to economic growth is finding a way to help small businesses create more jobs, since 60 percent of the job growth comes from them."
Although unemployment has plummeted over the past three years from 8 percent to 5.8 percent, according to the U.S. Labor Department, Bradenton's Linda Neely questioned why Congress and the Obama administration, in her estimation, have failed to follow and enforce immigration and border laws.
"We have all these Americans that need jobs. There's a flat-line on income, so why do we continue to not enforce our laws?" Neely asked.
Buchanan replied that Congress will soon introduce a new border-security bill. "This new bill will address people who have overstayed their visas. We have a legal process in place that decides who comes into this country and who can stay. We need to enforce these laws," Buchanan replied.
Switching gears to the controversial issue of the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the construction of which the Republican-controlled Senate authorized last week through a bipartisan bill despite a threatened presidential veto, Buchanan told the audience that it's the right thing to do.
"If we create more product in the United States, does it matter? We become the top energy producer, which creates a lot of jobs."
