BUCHANAN FLOODED WITH LATE MONEY SURGE FROM…YOU GUESSED IT… LOBBYISTS AND PACS DEAD SET ON REPEALING HEALTH CARE
SARASOTA — Ethically-challenged Congressman Vern Buchanan, who is attempting to fool voters into thinking he will protect coverage for pre-existing conditions despite his votes to eliminate those protections, has been flooded with a late money surge from lobbyists and political action committees (PACs) intent on repealing health care. Like many Congressional Republicans who have made a career out of promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Buchanan today is attempting to present a moderate face on coverage of pre-existing conditions, despite his record of repeal.
Buchanan, facing his toughest reelection campaign yet, has been under fire for his ill-timed purchase of a multimillion dollar yacht on the same day he voted to give himself a $2.1 million tax break. Now, he’s taking campaign cash from lobbyists looking to repeal health care while he’s promising to preserve its most popular tenet, coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Floridians for a Fair Shake communications director Stephen Gaskill issued the following statement:
“Vern Buchanan thinks he can have it both ways on pre-existing conditions, but he forgets he has a long record of repeal. Buchanan’s late campaign money-grab from lobbyists and PACs focused on repeal underscores that he will say whatever it takes just to get back to Washington. And while more than 273,000 of his constituents know Buchanan will toss their pre-existing conditions coverage aside, Vern is counting on voting himself another big tax break. Buchanan’s closing argument in this campaign seems to be ‘Grab That Dough!’”
Buchanan’s latest campaign filing lists the following:
- Received a $1000 contribution (for a total of $2,000) from Nancy Johnson, a lobbyist whose firm, Baker Donelson, lobbied on the American Health Care Act (ACHA, the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act) last year
- Received a $2,000 contribution from the National Association of Health Underwriters, which supported repealing parts of the ACA and lobbied on the AHCA in 2017 (it was their biggest issue)
In addition, just last month, Buchanan accepted more insurance and pharma money:
- $1,500 from CIGNA Corp. PAC, bringing their contributions this cycle to $5,000
- $2,000 from AFLAC Inc. PAC
- $1,500 from pharma giant Novo Nordisk PAC
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