Once and perhaps future Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Rick Perry of Texas will be speaking at Americans for Prosperitys (AFP) Defending the American Dream Summit in Orlando in August.

With President Barack Obama in Jacksonville on Thursday, most eyes on the First Coast are focused there, but U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., issued a statement late Wednesday insisting the region will be helped by the fiscal year 2014 House Defense Appropriations Bill. Crenshaw, who sits on the Defense Appropriations Committee, noted the bill will keep three cruisers based at Naval Station Mayport.

With President Barack Obama in Jacksonville to give a speech on the economy on Thursday, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) welcomed him to the First Coast with a full-page ad in the Florida Times-Union insisting Gov. Rick Scotts policies are responsible for the recent economic gains in the Sunshine State.

Gov. Rick Scott is joining a number of state and local officials who are voicing their opposition to legislation denying tax deductions for certain reinsurance premiums paid to foreign-based affiliates of domestic insurers. In a letter to Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., the governor warned that the legislation could have a "disastrous impact" on small businesses and homeowners in Florida.

President Obama will be stopping in Jacksonville Thursday morning to speak about the economy. Obama will be delivering remarks at the Jacksonville Port Authority as part of a larger campaign to emphasize the Obama administration's attempts to build the economy by boosting the middle class. Obama began the campaign in his home state of Illinois at Knox College.

Americans see less federal spending as good for the economy, according to a new poll released Wednesday by Rasmussen Reports. The poll found 62 percent of likely American voters think the government should cut spending to deal with the nation's economic problems. Voters still aren't hot on government spending -- only 23 percent believe the government should be spending more to respond to the struggling economy.

Add another Republican candidate to the crowded primary field looking to replace term-limited Rep. Bryan Nelson, R-Apopka, in the Florida House. Belita "B" Martin Grassel, who had been the president of the Lake County Education Association teachers' union, filed her paperwork on Monday to run for the House seat which represents parts of Lake and Orange County. Grassel did not seek re-election to her position as president of the teachers' union earlier this year.

With President Barack Obama traveling to Jacksonville to give a speech on the economy on Thursday, Republicans from across Florida continue to welcome him to the First Coast with stinging words. The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) continues to throw jabs at Obama on the economy, launching the lastest attack on Wednesday which insists Obama is looking for a mulligan on the economy.

With conservatives wary of him after his prominent role in passing immigration reform in the Senate, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., played up his opposition to President Barack Obamas federal health-care law on Tuesday. Rubio is a leading potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016. Rubio took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to call for defunding the law.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., went to bat for the First Coast on Tuesday when he wrote U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., urging him to include funds to clear the Mile Point cross currents in the St. Johns River in the reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Shuster is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The Mile Point currents impact schedules for when ships can enter the St. Johns and port in Jacksonville.

As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in on Tuesday to express his opposition to President Barack Obamas nomination of Samantha Power to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. Despite Rubio voting against her, Power easily cleared the committee and is expected to win a full Senate confirmation vote in the days to come.

A group affiliated with former Congressman Ron Paul is warning that House Republicans could be supporting legislation imposing a national ID card. John Tate, the president of the Campaign for Liberty which Paul chairs, sent out a message to supporters on Tuesday to sound the alarm.

After losing a Florida Senate primary battle to Aaron Bean last year, former Rep. Mike Weinstein, currently serving as the CEO of Volunteers in Medicine, turned his focus back to local politics. On Wednesday, Weinstein announced he was running for the Jacksonville City Council seat currently held by Stephen Joost who faces term limits in 2015.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has announced an initiative beginning this week to make Floridas beach waters and other recreational waters safer. In a written press statement the department said it has new laboratory tools and assessment methods to identify and reduce the sources of pathogens in recreational waters. It will develop new rules that refine water quality standards to take advantage of this new technology and the data.

The Florida Democratic Party is slamming Gov. Rick Scott over his alleged absence in the wake of the scandal over the deaths of five children with a history of interaction with child-abuse investigators from the Department of Children and Families.