U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., will offer the Tea Party Expresss response to President Barack Obamas State of the Union Address on Tuesday. Tea Party Express Executive Director Taylor Budowich made the announcement on Thursday. Clawson was in the news earlier in the month for voting for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., instead of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to lead the chamber.

At a media event in Miami on Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called for $100 million to shore up charter schools, an increase from $75 million last year.

Constitutional Rights PAC (CRPAC) continued to ramp up its opposition to former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., running for president in 2016.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the heavy favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, is more worried about former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., than former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., on the Republican side. The New York Daily News has a story on Thursday indicating that a top Clinton adviser thinks Bush has a better chance against the Democrat than Romney.

Conservative group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) unveiled its agenda on Thursday for the upcoming Florida legislative session. AFPs agenda calls for ending the corporate income tax and pulling the plug on special interest, business-specific tax subsidies and exemptions; reforming Medicaid, public pensions and Citizens Property Insurance; more school choice; less government regulation and more government transparency.

U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., offered a last-minute challenge to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, last week. After failing to dislodge Boehner, Webster offered his reflections on his attempt on Thursday.

Four members of the Florida congressional delegation -- Republican U.S. Reps. Jeff Miller, Tom Rooney and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrat U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy -- were named to the U.S. House Intelligence Committee this week.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., retained his chairmanship of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday. U.S. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., also placed Crenshaw back on the Defense and State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittees.

Gray Swoope is stepping down as Florida secretary of commerce and president and CEO of Enterprise Florida. Gray has created the jobs legacy and brand that EFI has today, Gov. Rick Scott said on Wednesday afternoon. Scott praised Swoope on Wednesday as he announced the departure.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., is handing off the chairmanship of his Allen West Guardian Fund PAC -- now with his name off of it -- over to U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. West left Florida to move to Texas to take over as CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis. "Congressman Loudermilk is the type of leader who can be entrusted with the future of our nation and inspire other servicemen and women to exercise their voices and talents on Capitol Hill," West said on Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., is staying as the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. South Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen remains the chairwoman of the subcommittee.

Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., came out against Congress raising the federal gas tax on Tuesday. Raising taxes is never a good solution to any problem, and raising the federal gas tax is no exception, Scott said on Tuesday. Increasing the federal gas tax will be a direct burden to every consumer and slow economic growth. Although the price of gas has come down recently, raising taxes now will still be a major cost to Florida families. Scott pointed toward his record in Tallahassee as proof that government can be run without raising taxes.

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., unveiled the Retired Pay Restoration Act on Tuesday. The bill would ensure veterans can claim both retirement pay and disability compensation.

The chairman of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Committee, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., unveiled a bill this week to ensure the VA secretary can take back bonuses from underpeforming employees. Miller noted VA medical center employees received bonuses despite problems at the hospitals, including altered wait lists.

A new book by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who has raised his profile in recent weeks as he considers making a presidential bid in 2016, was released nationally on Tuesday as he offered his take on policy. Rubios American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone," published by Sentinel Press, came out across the nation on Tuesday though there have been copies in bookstores across Florida earlier in the month. Back in 2011, Rubio penned American Son, an autobiography released after his upset win over then-Gov. Charlie Crist in the 2010 U.S. Senate race.