Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney weighed in on Thursday regarding the House passing the DREAM Act. Rooney voted againstthe measure which is now heading to the Senate.

Immigration reform must start with securing our borders, upholding the law, and rewarding those who follow the rules, said Rooney. The DREAM Act would provide an incentive for individuals to come here illegally, undermine the rule of law, and move rule-breakers to the front of the line.

With the House sending the DREAM Act to the Senate on Wednesday, Republicans who voted against the measure continued to take aim at it after it was passed.

Some fiscal conservatives are bemoaning U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., being named chairman of the House Appropriations Committee -- but Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, a member of the committee, pledged to work with the new chair while still fighting for small government.

The DREAM Act passed the U.S. House with a close vote on Wednesday night: 216in favor and 198 against.

One of the votes against came from Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, who weighed in after the vote.

At the Capitol on Wednesday, Florida TaxWatch released 125 recommendations to cut around $4 billion from the state budget -- days after the expected budget shortfall of $3-to-$3.5 billion was announced for the next fiscal year.

Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, presented the report containing the recommendations to incoming Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll who accept it on behalf of incoming Gov. Rick Scott. More than 40 Floridians from the private sector, higher education and government worked six months on the report.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller was chosen on Wednesday to chair the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was selected on Wednesday to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The move was widely expected as Ros-Lehtinen served as the ranking Republican.

The most senior woman in the Republican congressional ranks and the first Hispanic woman ever elected to Congress, Ros-Lehtinen was born in Cuba and earned her doctorate in education at the University of Miami. First elected to Congress in 1988, she represents parts of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, including most of Miami and all of the Keys.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Bill McCollum said that the states Lemon Law Arbitration Program, which has been on the books for 22 years, garnered more than $400 million in refunds to almost 15,000 customers.

"For 22 years, Florida's Lemon Law program has been a model among consumer protection efforts," said McCollum. "Floridians have somewhere to get help if their new car turns out to be a lemon, and $400 million in relief certainly shows many Florida residents have relied on this service."

On Wednesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis launched his latest salvo at ACORN when he announced that he had sent a letter last week to W. Craig Fugate of FEMA demanding to know why the group was sending money to ACORN through a grant program.

Bilirakis pointed to a report from the Department of Homeland Security office of inspector general that showed ACORN was awarded more than $450,000 through a fire prevention and safety grant by FEMA back in FY 2007. Bilirakis maintained that ACORN had no such expertise.

On Wednesday morning, Gov. Charlie Crist has a ceremonial signing for the creation of the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Alvin Williams, D-Tallahassee, sponsored the bill earlier in the year. A portion of the Capitol will be set aside to honor the inductees.