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United States Congressman

curt clawson

Congressman Curt Clawson has been coming to Southwest Florida since his family settled in Bonita Springs in 1993. After a successful career as a business leader and former college basketball player, Clawson moved to Southwest Florida in 2011. He soon became involved in local water issues.  

Urged by local leaders and motivated by his family’s generations of service to their country, Clawson decided in 2014 to run in a special election to fill the vacated seat in Florida’s 19th Congressional District.  Clawson won the election on messages of constitutional conservatism, growing the economy and unifying the Republican Party of Southwest Florida.  

Clawson was sworn into office by House Speaker John Boehner on June 25, 2014, one day after winning the special election by nearly forty percentage points. 

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Clawson attended Batesville High School in Batesville, Indiana – a hotbed of Indiana high school basketball. As a senior in high school, Clawson led the state of Indiana in scoring and was recruited by Purdue Head Basketball Coach Gene Keady, where he later helped his team win the 1984 Big Ten Championship. As a senior captain on that 1984 Team, Clawson is known for making the first 3-point basket in Purdue history and making two clutch free throws to clinch the Big Ten Championship.

After graduating from Purdue, Clawson served a year-long Ambassadorial Scholarship for Rotary International, enrolled in graduate MBA studies in Monterrey, Mexico, and took some time to play for the local university basketball team. Clawson began his working career in manufacturing in 1986, as a supervisor on a muffler production line in Columbus, Indiana for Arvin Industries – the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive exhaust systems.

In 1990, Clawson graduated from Harvard Business School with a Masters of Business Administration degree, sponsored by Arvin. He returned to Arvin and held a variety of senior management level positions. 

In 1995, Clawson joined AlliedSignal (now Honeywell) as President of the Filters and Spark Plugs Group, which manufactured Autolite® spark plugs and FRAM® filters.  In 1999, he became President and Chief Operating Officer of American National Can – the world's largest manufacturer of beverage cans.

In 2001, Clawson joined Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc., a global leader in wheel rim manufacturing.  He served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company from September 2001 until his retirement in February 2012.  During his time at Hayes, Clawson successfully led the company out of the financial distress he inherited – without taking one penny of taxpayer money – saving thousands of jobs.

While at Hayes, Clawson established, and still principally funds, a shelter for homeless teen mothers on the east side of Detroit. He also stays active advising and mentoring young athletes in Southwest Florida. 

Clawson’s parents, Jack and Cherie, are residents of Bonita Springs.  When not in Washington, Curt enjoys spending time with them during the autumn of their lives. Together, they enjoy walking the beach, swimming in the Gulf, and watching beautiful sunsets.    Read More

Meet Curt

Press Releases

Clawson, Diaz-Balart Send Letter Urging Immediate Senate Action on Zika

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Washington, August 5, 2016 | comments

Senate Should Pursue All Options to Get House Funding Bill To President’s Desk During August Recess

WASHINGTON – Congressman Curt Clawson (FL-19) and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) today sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to pursue all actions at their fingertips to get a funding bill to the President’s desk to combat the spread of the Zika virus.  Many legislative options are with the Senate at present and were sent to the chamber by the House before the August recess period began. 

Clawson stated:  “The fight against Zika cannot wait for the Senate to reconvene in September.  Florida needs funding on the front lines now.  Even if the Senate passes a smaller dollar amount to get us through September, it would be a step in the right direction and would give the entire Congress the ability to pass a more comprehensive package.”

 

The text of Clawson’s letter is below:


 Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Reid,


The threat of Zika to our national way of life can no longer accommodate the calendar of the United States Senate.  With the State of Florida’s recent announcement that 15 individuals have contracted the dangerous Zika virus through local transmission, Florida now has become the first state in the nation to report non-travel related cases of the virus.  On Monday, August 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a travel warning for Wynwood, a neighborhood located in Miami, FL where most of these cases have been identified.

Zika virus is a dangerous disease linked to birth defects, certain neurological disorders, and Guillain-Barré syndrome.  The disease is most commonly transmitted through a bite from the Aedes species of mosquito, but can also be spread through sexual transmission.  Prior to Florida’s announcement, the CDC had reported 4,729 locally acquired cases in U.S. territories, with the majority being recorded in Puerto Rico.

Despite the acknowledged threat to the United States, the House and Senate have thus far been unable to agree on meaningful prevention, containment, and treatment measures.  Further disagreement and inaction is unacceptable, and we implore the Senate to explore all options to make urgently-needed funding available immediately.

The House has referred multiple Zika-related measures to the Senate for final passage.  In May, the House passed H.R. 5243, the Zika Response Appropriations Act.  Passage of this bill is the quickest way for the Senate to get a clean bill to the President that responds to the threat posed by Zika.  It would appropriate over $600 million in funding to combat the spread of the virus through the remainder of this fiscal year, allowing Congress additional time to pass long-term, comprehensive legislation during the appropriations negotiations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017.  Additionally, the Senate could agree to the conference report to H.R. 2577, which includes language that would direct $1.1 billion through FY2017 to fight the spread of Zika.

Regardless of which bill receives final passage, it is unacceptable to wait until after the August recess to act.  We again urge the Senate to aggressively pursue any options that would start the flow of needed resources to the front line to secure the nation from this biological threat. 


Sincerely,


Curt Clawson                                                                          Mario Diaz-Balart

Member of Congress                                                               Member of Congress


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