Last year, the U.S. House passed U.S. Rep. John Rutherford’s, R-Fla., “Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act” and now the congressman has directed some of the funds to help the First Coast. 

With U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., as the main cosponsor, Rutherford got his bill through the House on a 407-10 vote last year. 

President Donald Trump’s decision to pull American forces out of Syria drew fire this week from members of the Florida congressional delegation on both sides of the aisle. 

After Trump spoke with Turkish President Recept Stay Grogan, the White House made the announcement Sunday. 

"Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation,” the White House announced. 

Trump took to Twitter Monday to explain the decision. 

On Monday, congressmen from the First Coast showcased a proposal preserving historical landmarks in the region as part of a National Heritage Area (NHA). 

The “Nation’s Oldest Port National Heritage Area Act” would cover parts of  Duval, St. Johns and Flagler Counties as NHAs. 

The bill was introduced by U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., at the end of last month. U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, D-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., are cosponsoring it. 

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is calling out the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the aftermath of a Tweet about China. 

At the end of last week,  Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, one of the most popular NBA teams in China thanks to the franchise drafting Yao Ming with the first pick of the 2002 draft, posted on Twitter, praising the protesters in Hong Kong who are opposed to the Chinese regime.  Under fire from China, Morey deleted the Tweet.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., is championing U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., proposal to ensure more small businesses are consulted when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) come up with new regulations. 

Steube announced on Friday that he would introduce Rubio’s “Hearing Small Businesses Act” which the senator brought out back in February. 

A Republican congressman from the Sunshine State is pairing up with a Democrat from New Jersey to crack down on human trafficking. 

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-NJ, to showcase two bills focusing on reducing human trafficking. 

A prominent Florida Republican will be headed to Mount Everest later this month in an attempt to set a world record. 

Patriot Defense announced on Wednesday that businessman, former CIA agent and veteran Todd Wilcox, who founded the group and is its executive chairman, will take part in a Military Free Fall (MFF) expedition to Mount Everest. Wilcox will be part of the Complete Parachute Solutions (CPS) team as they try to set a world record for highest-elevation tactical military freefall parachute landing.

A Southwest Florida congressman is behind a proposal to ensure federal dollars won’t be used to bailout insolvent states, territories and local governments.

At the end of last week, U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla, introduced the “Government Bailout Prevention Act” which he showcased on Tuesday. 

Now in his second term on Capitol Hill, a congressman from the First Coast is taking over as a co-chairman of the Congressional Deaf Caucus. 

This week, U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla, stepped up to serve as co-chairman of the caucus, replacing former U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kansas, who was defeated last year. Rutherford joins U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., in leading the caucus which was launched back in 2013.