As a congressman, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., is paid $174,000 a year. For the third year in a row, Webster is accepting $169,300 -- a congressmans salary back in 2008 -- and sending the remaining $4,700 to pay down the national debt.

It seems like Florida is feeling the need for speed. On Thursday, a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth,hightailed it our of the Senate Transportation Committee. The bill was approved by a 5-1 vote.

A new poll shows David Jolly, the winner of Tuesdays Republican primary, with a slight lead over former state CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic candidate, in the special election for a Tampa Bay congressional seat. St. Pete Polls took a poll of likely voters for Saint PetersBlog which shows Jolly taking 47 percent, Sink at 43 percent, Libertarian Lucas Overby with 4 percent and 6 percent undecided.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., was one of three Florida congressmen to vote against the government funding bill on Wednesday. The bill passed despite the opposition of DeSantis, U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla. This bill fails to reform an unaccountable government, increases spending by tens of billions, and solely targets retired military personnel the one group of Americans who have given the most to our country for negative treatment, DeSantis said. We can do much better for American taxpayers and veterans.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., voted to support the 2014 government funding bill on Wedensday. Buchanan cited the flood insurance delay against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and $20 million being sent to fight citrus greening as reasons he backed it.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., the chairman of the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, voted to support the 2014 Omnibus Appropriations bill which passed the U.S. House on Wednesday. Crenshaw pointed toward the bills inclusion of funds to help three cruisers based in Mayport on the First Coast.

United for Care reached 1.1 million signatures in its petition to get medical marijuana on the ballot for November on Thursday night, according to the group's Facebook page. The post thanks the "thousands of donors" who contributed to the cause, including Orlando-based trial lawyer John Morgan, who recently poured $2.8 million into the effort.

Associated Industries of Florida will put its integrated-resort advocacy behind a new campaign, "Best for Florida," launched Wednesday. The campaign is part of a new multimedia effort to provide Floridians with facts about gaming in the Sunshine State, according to the AIF press statement, and "the tremendous benefits" establishing an integrated resort in the state would bring.

Despite being a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., does not think much of the report it issued on Wednesday on the Benghazi attacks which killed four Americans in 2012. Rubio took aim at former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama on the issue. Clinton, like Rubio, is a possible presidential candidate in 2016.

Blaise Ingoglia continues to gain the backing of Republican leaders as he runs for an open state House seat in Hernando County. On Wednesday, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi endorsed Ingoglia. She cited his service as vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) and his background in the private sector as reasons to support his bid.

Gov. Rick Scott sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Wednesday, asking for a meeting to discuss unfair insurance rate hikes placed on Florida families resulting from the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act. Scott has been a leading critic of Obama since he emerged on the political stage in 2009 to oppose the presidents federal health-care law. Scotts letters is as follows:

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus and Co-Chairman Sharon Day released the following statement Tuesday on Florida Gov. Rick Scotts choice of Carlos Lopez-Cantera to fill the vacant position of lieutenant governor: Carlos Lopez-Cantera will make an outstanding lieutenant governor, and I applaud Governor Rick Scott on his decision, said Chairman Priebus. Carlos Lopez-Cantera has exactly the kind of experience Florida needs; he is a proven leader and will be an important voice in our party.

David Jolly emerged victorious in the Tuesday GOP primary for Florida's 13th Congressional District, winning with 44.5 percent of the total vote. In a statement released shortly after he was declared the winner, Jolly said he would remain faithful to his constituents and would also work to repeal Barack Obama's signature health-care plan.

David Jolly won the Republican primary on Tuesday to face former state CFO Alex Sink in a special election in March for the congressional seat left open by the death of longtime U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla. Jolly, an attorney who worked as an aide to Young as a lobbyist, defeated retired Marines Gen. Mark Bircher and state Rep. Kathleen Peters, R-St. Petersburg, in the primary.

The Common Core State Standards have been causing controversy over the last few months, with many parents, teachers and members of the public calling for changes to the national education benchmarks. It appears the Florida Department of Education is listening, because the department is nowproposing making dozens of changes to the standards, including several changes in both math and English language arts standards.