~'""'}. rth' t~.}4 ThcNature 6:'-'0. -" \Audubon Ocean <B:1•~r Consen'am:y ~ WILDLIFEm Protcct.nti n.:~ture... Ptcsming l,rc· lmmiEI:J. Conservancy ~ut1' o !to Ot1r.t;;· I gr~~UlC : ~~'\'-JGuLF cQ} \ ttU;;;J 1 ~~~~ION ----­•-,r •. -,,..,...,,,·;.'-..r-, '-. -- } t',.l.....,.l~·-t 11.~/r'-.• 1,,.u MOBILE AREA GLOBAL CIIAIIBER OF COMMERCE GREEN fif'!'I,\;'lfiliBI!l:v.@1ll4ri:DI us~ a1iC*~ress ActHm fum ~ Support the Nelson-Shelby Amendment to Transportation Bill RESTORE Act Ensures BP Penalties are Used for Restoration Reuters and other major media outlets have recently reported that BP may reach an agreement this month to settle with the Justice Department on all charges related to BP's unprecedented Gulf oil spill, including fines to be paid under the Clean Water Act. Unless Congress takes action before fthis seUiement is reached, a significant portion of those funds could be used for unrelated federal spending, instead of helping ihe Gulf. Thai's no~ right ~ The damage from the oil spill was done in the Gulf, so Congress should ensure that oil spill fines go to the Gulf. o Using the oil spill penalties to restore the Gulf region's communities, environment and economy is the fair and right thing to do. );> By passing the RESTORE Act, Congress can ensure that BP's fines from the spill go to the Gulf where they belong- instead of being used for unrelated federal spending. • Bipartisan polling shows that 83 percent of voters nationwide support efforts to dedicate the BP oil spill penalties to restoration of the Gulf ecosystem. • The poll also showed that support for restoration is strong across party lines. Those who support funding restoration include: o 90 percent of Democrats; o 84 percent of independents; o 76 percent of Republicans; and o 78 percent of Tea Party supporters. ~ The Gulf region and its environment support some of this country's most vital industries. o Duke University released a study in December showing that the RESTORE Act could create jobs that would benefit at least 140 businesses across the country with nearly 400 employee locations in 37 states. • The Gulf produces roughly 40 percent of all the seafood in the contiguous 48 states. (National Marine Fisheries Service) o The region is home to 10 of our nation's 15 largest ports by tonnage. More than 25 percent of the nation's waterborne exports pass through Louisiana ports alone. (American Association of Port Authorities) ;.. Strengthening the environment of the Gulf region will make it stronger and more resilient so it will continue to be the backbone of our nation's economy and a safe home to the communities that make it a national treasure. Manatee County Itinerary • Charlie Hunsicker Wednesday, March 7th: NACO Legislative Conference 8:30 a.m.- 9:30 a.m. Manatee Strategy Breakfast 434 New Jersey Ave SE • Jocelyn, Jack, Allen, & Hadley to Attend 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Congressman Bill Shuster (R-9th/P A) Stephen Martinko, Deputy Chief of Staff & Legislative Director (202) 225-2431 (Stephen) 204 Cannon House Office Building Issue: Port Manatee Connector Road • Jocelyn to Attend 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. Manatee Strategy Lunch 434 New Jersey Ave. SE • Jocelyn, Jack, Hadley, & Jay to Attend • 12:30 p.m.- 1:00 p.m. Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11 th/NJ) Kathleen Hazlett Appropriations Committee (202) 225-5034 (Austin Bone) 2369 Rayburn House Office Building Issue: Anna Maria Island • Congressman should be there. • Jack to Attend 1 :30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Congressman Tim Bishop (D-1 st/NY) Ranking Member, Water Resources & Energy Subcommittee Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (202) 225-3826 (Taryn) 306 Cannon House Office Building Issue: Anna Maria Island • Allen to Attend 2:00p.m.- 2:30p.m. Congressman John Duncan (R-2nd/TN) Chair, Highway & Transits Subcommittee (202) 225-5435 (Denise Lambert) 2207 Rayburn House Office Building • Issue: Port Manatee Connector Road • Jack to Attend 3:00p.m.- 3:30p.m. Office of Governor Rick Scott • Vern Buchanan (R-I3th/FL) Elected: 2006, 3rd term. Born: May 8, 1951 , Detroit, MI. Home: Longboat Key. Education: Cleary U., B.B.A. 1975, U. of Detroit, M.B.A. 1986. Religion: Baptist. Family: Married (Sandy); 2 children. Military career: MI Air Natl. Guard, 1970-76. Professional Career: Taekwondo instructor, 1971-74; Marketing representative, Burroughs Corp .• 1975-76; Founder, Vern Buchanan and Associates, 1976-78; Founder and CEO, American Speedy Printing Centers, 1976-92; Founder and chmn., Buchanan Automotive Group, 1992-2007; Founder and chmn., Buchanan Enterprises, 1992-2007. The congressman from the 13th District is V em Buchanan, a Republican first elected in 2006. Buchanan grew up outside of Detroit, the eldest of six children and the son of a factory foreman. He joined the Michigan Air National Guard and worked his way through college as a tae kwon do instructor. He earned a business degree at Cleary University and later an M.B.A. at the University of Detroit. Buchanan founded American Speedy Printing Centers and made his fortune by selling 700 quick-printing franchises before his 40th birthday. In 1990, he moved his family to Florida, where he found new success as an automobile dealer with franchises throughout the Southeast. Buchanan became active in Republican Party politics, serving as a top fundraiser for Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Mel Martinez. In 2002, he wanted to run for the 13th District House seat, but stepped aside for then-Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, • who had become a national Republican figure after her controversial role in the 2000 presidential vote recount. Buchanan got his chance in 2006, when Harris ran for the Senate. His party connections and personal wealth made him the front-runner. In the primary, he stressed his conservative credentials and challenged his chief rival. former Sarasota Republican Party Chairman T ramm Hudson, for his positions on abortion rights and immigration. In the House, Buchanan softened his ideological positions. He was one of 19 Republicans who supported most of the Democrats' early legislative agenda when they took control of the House in 2007. He voted for raising the minimum wage, cutting subsidies to industries, and allowing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. He took stances further to the right on such issues as immigration and terrorism, calling for an English official-language law and using military tribunals instead of civilian courts to try terrorist suspects. Buchanan worked with Democrats on a bill to clean up the Gulf ofMexico, and on other environmental and consumer issues. After the BP oil spill disaster in 2010, he pushed for a moratorium on all deepwater drilling permits for new and existing oil rigs in the Gulf. The former car dealer voted against the bailout of Detroit automakers in 2008 because, he said, the companies "failed to develop viable restructuring proposals." The industry problems led him to sell several of his dealerships . • • Bill Shuster (R-9th /PA) Elected: May 2001, 5th fUll term. Born: Jan. IO, 1961 , McKeesport. Home: Hollidaysburg. Education: Dickinson Col., B.A. 1983; American U., M.B.A. 1987. Religion: Lutheran. Family: Married (Rebecca); 2 children. Professional Career: Mgr., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 1983-87; District mgr., Bandag Inc., 1987-90; Owner & gen. mgr., Shuster Chrysler, 1990-2001. The congressman from the 9th District is Bill Shuster, a Republican who won a May 2001 special election to succeed his father, Bud Shuster, the powerfUl chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the 1990s. The younger Shuster has become an important GOP figure on transportation issues in his own right. Bill Shuster grew up in the Pittsburgh area, where his father started a successfUl business. After graduating from Dickinson College and American University's business school, he moved to Blair County, where he took over the family's car dealership, Shuster Chrysler in East Freedom, near Altoona. He sold • the business in 2002. In the House, Bill Shuster has a solidly conservative voting record. Naturally, he ended up on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and in 201 I took the gavel of the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee. His loyalty t~ the House GOP agenda has eam~d him a spot on its whip team and Republican leaders occasionally have called on him for behind-the-scenes jobs, such as reportedly leading an unsuccessful effort to persuade Pennsylvania Democrat Christopher Carney to switch parties in 2009. Shuster does occasionally reach across the aisle, joining with Vermont D~mocrat Peter Welch in 20II in an effort to expedite limits on credit-card swipe fees. He said Sheetz Corp. executives told him that such fees were the company's second-largest expense behind labor. In his father's tradition, Shuster has been an avid practitioner of earmarked spending for his district, a practice that in recent years has been attacked by budget conservatives as wastefUl. In 2010, he claimed more than $23 million in earmarks-a figure only slightly below that of his home-state colleague Chaka Fattah, a Democratic member of the Appropriations Committee. Shuster had an unusually strong challenge in the 2004 primary from Michael DelGrosso, a management consultant whose family owns a Blair County tomato sauce company. He said that the district needed a new economic approach. DelGrosso carried Blair. County and three nearby counties in the northern part of the district, but Shuster ran strongly elsewhere and squeezed by with a SI%-49% win. He has not been • seriously challenged in recent elections . • Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-IIth/NJ) Elected: I 994, 9th term. Born: April29, I946 , New Y ark City. Home: Harding.