U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., a member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and one of the co-chairs of the Florida delegation, hit the ground running as he began his ninth term in Congress.
Buchanan filed 10 bills to start his latest term and offered some insight on what his focus will be in the next two years.
“2021 will be a year of recovery and rebuilding,” Buchanan said. “We need to make sure people are safe and have jobs to return to.”
Buchanan brought back several proposals he has fought for in recent years including a constitutional amendment to ensure a balanced budget and his “No Pay Raise for Congress Act” which would ensure members of Congress would not be eligible for pay raises if they fail to pass a balanced budget.
The congressman also brought back the “Securing America’s Medicine Cabinet Act.” Buchanan’s bill, which he introduced in May, would create “a new federal office responsible for stockpiling adequate supplies of critical medicines and encourage companies to ramp up the manufacturing of those drugs.” Buchanan also reintroduced the “Protecting Local Communities from Harmful Algal Blooms Act” to reform federal law “to include algal blooms in the definition of a ‘major disaster.’”
Buchanan also reintroduced a bill to have the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study solutions on how to stop veterans from overmedicating; his proposal to stop gang members from entering the country; his “Thin Blue Line Act” to add more federal penalties for criminals targeting law enforcement personnel and first responders; his call to end daylight savings time; his proposal banning “lifelike child sex dolls;” and his legislation extending funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The congressman said this week that he plans to bring back his “American Innovation Act,” which he has pushed in recent years though he never has been able to get it across the finish line. Buchanan’s bill would increase tax deductions for start-up costs from small business owners from $5,000 to $20,000.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
