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Like most members of Congress, Rep. Vern Buchanan (FL-16) is millionaire. In fact, he’s one of the wealthiest members of Congress with an estimated net worth of more than $80 million. He hops between Washington, DC, and Florida in his own private jet. And he benefited greatly from the tax cut that he had a big hand in crafting. From the Tampa Bay Times:
Buchanan, as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, had more of a hand than most lawmakers in putting the tax bill together. And he’ll play a central role this year monitoring how the Treasury Department and IRS implement the law. He was selected in January to head the panel’s subcommittee on tax policy.
Members of Congress are required only to report their assets, income and liabilities in broad ranges, making it impossible to know precisely how they’re affected by the tax law. Buchanan’s assets in 2016 ranged from $101.5 million to $269.5 million, according to his financial disclosure. His outstanding liabilities were between $21.3 million and $105.7 million.
As a key architect of the Republican tax bill, Buchanan must’ve been chomping at the bit to reap his huge payoff because on the very day he voted to give himself a massive tax break, he purchased a yacht. Florida Politics reported on his recent financial disclosure forms that show the purchase of the yacht.
According to the disclosure, Buchanan spent between $1 million and $5 million purchasing an Ocean Alexander yacht on Nov. 16, 2017, the same day he joined 226 other Republicans and no Democrats in voting for the first draft of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”
To put this in perspective, the United States government is asking immigrant families to pay for DNA tests to get their own children back, children taken by the U.S. The United States government has proposed taking funds from an organization that provides critical healthcare services to low-income HIV/AIDS patients to pay for an estimated 25,000 immigrant families to be detained in near future. And Vern Buchanan is out buying yachts with the mega tax cut he gave himself.
Rep. Vern Buchanan is the greedy face of the Republican party and the current U.S. government. Democrat David Shapiro is running against Buchanan in the upcoming 2018 midterm election. If you live in Florida, help Shapiro send Buchanan out to sea. Click here to learn more about Shapiro and how to volunteer for his campaign.
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