U.S. House Rep. Vern Buchanan To Retire, Won’t Seek Reelection

SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL — U.S. House Rep. Vern Buchanan, who represents District 16 in Southwest Florida, is retiring at the end of his current term after 20 years in Congress and won’t seek reelection, according to a news release from his office.

Buchanan will retire as the longest-serving Republican to represent Southwest Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Every achievement worth doing began with listening to my constituents and fighting for their priorities,” he said. “I came to Congress to solve problems, to fight for working families and to help ensure this country remains a place where opportunity is available to everyone willing to work for it. After 20 years of service, I believe it’s the right time to pass the torch and begin a new chapter in my life.”

A successful entrepreneur before entering public office in 2007, Buchanan saw 51 of his bills and legislative initiatives signed into law under four presidents — George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Donald Trump — including securing $27.8 million to design and construct a national veterans cemetery in Sarasota, his office said.

Shortly after arriving in Washington, Buchanan was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the nation’s tax, trade and health care laws.

He later served as chair of the Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee and as a member of the Joint Committee on Taxation, where he played a key role in the development and implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

During his legislative career, he also worked directly with the White House to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, "modernizing North American trade and strengthening protections for American workers and manufacturers,” his office said.

Buchanan currently serves as vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee and chair of the Health Subcommittee, and for more than a decade, he has served as co-chair of the Florida Congressional Delegation.

He’s also known as an advocate for animal welfare. His bipartisan legislation to ban animal cruelty and torture nationwide was signed into law in 2019 and he received the Humane Society’s national “Legislator of the Year Award” twice.

Buchanan has also been focused on “protecting Florida’s natural resources, working to combat red tide, safeguard water quality, and protect manatees and coastal ecosystems vital to Southwest Florida’s economy and way of life,” his office said.

Other legislative accomplishments include creating a national veteran identification card, providing targeted tax relief for Florida’s citrus growers, bolstering military preparedness, and advancing bipartisan legislation to support small businesses, strengthen Medicare, and improve care for those who served, according to the news release.