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

Press Releases

Clawson Introduces New Bill to Get Federal Funding to Fight Zika

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Washington, September 9, 2016 | comments

WASHINGTON -- Congressman Curt Clawson (FL-19) yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation that would appropriate $1.1 billion in funding to combat the spread of the dangerous Zika virus through FY2017. The Clawson bill mirrors an amendment passed by the Senate in May. Representatives Frederica Wilson (FL-24), David Jolly (FL-13), and Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-1) joined Clawson as original cosponsors of the legislation.

Following the introduction of the bill, Clawson issued the following statement:

“The Zika virus is a present and growing threat, not just to the State of Florida, but to the country as a whole. The spread of Zika will not wait for the partisan bickering in Congress to end. Unfortunately, both chambers of Congress have allowed political gamesmanship to prevent meaningful legislation from reaching the President’s desk. We can no longer wait to act. I commend Representatives Wilson, Jolly, and Kirkpatrick for joining me in introducing this much-needed bill.”

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the State of Florida had become the first state in the nation to report cases of local transmission of the Zika virus. Since that announcement, Florida has reported 49 non-travel related cases of Zika within the state.

The problems that can result from this disease are irreversible, and the unborn are at the greatest risk of suffering the potentially debilitating effects of the virus. Some children can suffer from intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, and frequent seizures, if they contract the virus in the womb.

Clawson’s bill uses the language from the Senate amendment to H.R. 2577, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act to fight the disease domestically and globally.

Last month, Congressman Clawson and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) urged Senate leadership to pursue all available actions to pass a funding bill for the President’s signature to combat the spread of the Zika virus.

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