Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersOctober 8, 2018

A new television commercial launched Monday by the re-election campaign of Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy features a woman praising the congresswoman for helping her mother get the veterans’ survivors’ health care benefits he earned and she needed. The 30-second spot, “Sarah,” is launching on Orlando television seeking to position Murphy as someone who fights […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 5, 2018

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat facing a tough battle for re-election, filed a bill Wednesday that could help him with a key demographic: veterans seeking relief through medical cannabis. Federal law bars VA doctors from prescribing medical marijuana to veterans. That’s not right. I just filed a bill to let these doctors prescribe medical marijuana […]

Scott PowersMarch 29, 2018

Florida’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson charged in Orlando Thursday that the latest shakeup at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has to do with President Donald Trump‘s desire to privatize health services for veterans and he vowed to block it. Nelson was joined Thursday by fellow Democratic U.S. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island […]

Staff ReportsJune 26, 2017

President Donald Trump signed a bill into law aimed at reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs by allowing the secretary to dismiss bad employees. The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, gives the VA secretary the authority to fire and demote employees. It also adds protections for whistleblowers, by prohibiting the secretary from using […]

Scott PowersAugust 17, 2016

Assailing Donald Trump as someone who’s offended veterans time and again, a union veterans council executive predicted he will not get the support of a majority of veterans this year. “Donald J. Trump, the GOP candidate for the president of the United States, will be the first Republican candidate … in modern political history to not […]

Guest AuthorJune 24, 2016

The Department of Veterans Affairs was created, in Lincoln’s moving prose, to care “for those who shall have borne the battle.” Yet in a departure from well-established VA policy and medical protocol, the agency recently announced its intention to remove physician anesthesiologists from surgery and replace them with nurses lowering the standard of care for […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 28, 2016

Of late, the Twitter account of Rep. Lake Ray. a Republican candidate in Florida’s 4th Congressional District, has been laden with veterans-friendly messages. Yet one since-deleted and revised Tweet from Saturday morning (which also shows up on his Facebook page) seems to have run afoul of a clearly-defined rule set forth by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration. […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 24, 2016

On Tuesday, the Carlos Lopez-Cantera Republican campaign for Senate slammed primary opponent David Jolly for “refusing to hold the VA (Veterans Administration) accountable.” At issue, claims Lopez-Cantera’s press secretary Courtney Alexander, is Jolly’s vote “against an amendment to H.R. 2029 which would have prevented taxpayers from paying union workers for time spent conducting union business instead of doing official work for the VA.” In […]

Associated PressDecember 22, 2015

A congressman says the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is changing its procedures to avoid wrongly declaring veterans deceased and cutting off their benefits. U.S. Rep. David Jolly told The Associated Press on Tuesday that in response to a letter he sent in November, the VA said it erroneously stopped benefits to 115 people between […]

Ryan RayNovember 9, 2015

The 2016 Senate campaign of U.S. Rep. David Jolly rolled out a new petition Monday in support of Jolly’s so-called “Freedom Card” Veterans Affairs reform plan. The Clearwater Republican unveiled a new website, VeteransforJolly.com, where voters can register their support for Jolly’s proposal to issue new ID cards to vets which would allow them to access care outside […]

Tag: VA
Image via AP.

Stephanie Murphy ad touts assistance for veterans in CD 7 race

Bill Nelson files bill to get veterans access to medical cannabis

Bill Nelson pledges VA will not be privatized

Donald Trump signs VA reform bill backed by Marco Rubio

Union veterans in Orlando bash Donald Trump, Marco Rubio

Dr. Steven Gayer: VA proposal will endanger our nation’s veterans

Memorial Day mistake: Did Lake Ray violate Department of Veterans Affairs’ rules?

Carlos Lopez-Cantera slams David Jolly on not holding the VA accountable

Official: VA changes policy on declaring veterans dead

David Jolly campaign unveils “Freedom Card” petition