Two Florida congressmen -- Republican U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross and Democrat U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy -- joined forces on Thursday to introduce the Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act of 2014 which, they insist, will allow more role for the private market on flood insurance by reducing the federal role and giving states more flexibility.

With reports that there have been preventable deaths at VA facilities across the nation, including 40 veterans dying as they waited to get into a VA facility in Phoenix, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to work with state attorneys general as to whether criminal charges are needed.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., took a step up the Democratic ladder on Thursday when U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., named her as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees (DCCC) Red to Blue program as they look to defeat Republican members of Congress. Israel, who is the chairman of the DCCC, also named U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., as chairwoman of the Red to Blue program for the second election cycle in a row, while U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash., was named a vice chairman.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., endorsed North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis as he seeks the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C.

A bill to give parents a chance to object to textbooks being used in schools made its way through the Florida Senate on Thursday, where it passed by a vote of 31-4. SB 864, sponsored by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, would require school districts to hold public hearings if parents object to the textbooks being used by students.

This week, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), was front-and-center in Washington marking Holocaust Remembrance Days (Yom HaShoah in Hebrew).

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took to the national airwaves on Wednesday night to slam President Barack Obamas economic policies and his handling of Russia. Appearing on Greta Van Susterens show on Fox News, Rubio hit Obama for using the same rhetoric of class warfare which Obama and his allies always rely on.

Count U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., among the supporters of U.S. Sen. David Vitters, R-Fla., attempts to ensure congressmen and senators dont get subsidies from President Barack Obamas federal health-care law. DeSantis is the House sponsor of Vitters bill which the Louisiana senator crafted as an amendment to an energy efficiency bill pending in the Senate.

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., who sits on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, backed the 2015 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MILCON) Appropriations Bill which he says will help defense projects on the First Coast. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate.

This week, U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., introduced an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which ensures military commissaries will remain open even as the Defense Department looks to make cuts. The bill, with the amendment, passed the House. Ross took to the House floor to make his case.

With the Tampa Bay Times reporting that the Democratic leadership chased Manuel Sykes out of the race to challenge newly elected U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., the National Republican Congressional Committee (DCCC) signaled on Thursday they expect the Democrats to try to clear the decks for businessman Joel Cantor to run.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be strong in Florida if she runs for president in 2016 according to a poll from Quinnipiac University released on Thursday morning. Clinton dominates the Democratic field, getting 64 percent. Vice President Joe Biden stands in distant second with 11 percent followed by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with 6 percent. None of the other candidates break 1 percent.

If he runs for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, former Gov. Jeb Bush is well-poised to be the favorite son of the Sunshine State, something that cant be said of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry will announce that he's stepping down from his position in the party on Thursday. Curry is expected to announce that he will be running for mayor of Jacksonville. According to reports, Curry will serve as chair until the end of May. He will send a letter to Republican Party officials on Thursday announcing his resignation.

A proposed state constitutional amendment allowing medical marijuana use in Florida is in solid shape to pass in November, a new poll finds. A poll from Gravis Marketing, unveiled on Wednesday and commissioned by conservative magazine Human Events, finds 60 percent of those surveyed support the proposed amendment while 32 percent oppose it and 8 percent remain unsure. A Gravis poll from February found 57 percent supported the proposed amendment and 31 percent opposed it while 11 percent were unsure.