Alan Grayson:
Alan Grayson serves in the US House of Representatives for Florida’s 9th congressional district, encompassing Orlando. He defeated Republican Todd Long in 2012 to win the seat. Between 2009 and 2011 he was the US Representative for Florida’s 8th congressional district. He was defeated by Republican Daniel Webster in his campaign for re-election in 2010.
Grayson is originally from the Bronx, NY and received his law degree from Harvard University. He became well known for an Iraq War contractor fraud case winning a $13 million verdict against the contractor Custer Battles.
Grayson is the co-founder and first president of IDT Corporation (International Discount Telecom) where he acquired his fortune.
He is an outspoken politician, who does not sugarcoat his remarks against conservative republicans as well as the GOP.
An example includes his use of a sign during a speech on the House Floor reading, “The Republican Health Care Plan: Die Quickly.”
Grayson does not take criticism lightly either.
In 2009 he wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking for a 5 year prison sentence for a critic of his who created the website “mycongressmanisnuts.com.”
On December 18, 2015, the Office of Congressional Ethics transmitted a 986 page investigative report to the House Ethics Committee that found at least 6 House Rules violations. Currently the House Ethics Committee (who has the power to sanction a House lawmaker) is conducting an initial review.
Some Grayson’s recently sponsored Legislation includes:
H.R. 5352: No One Can Take Away Your Right to Vote Act of 2016
H.R. 5151: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide an extension of the …
H.R. 5108: Zombie Property Relief Act of 2016
H.R. 5000: Employee Free Choice Act of 2016
H.R. 4727: To require the Secretary of the Department of Energy to issue a report …
H.R. 4519: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide a five-year extension of …
H.R. 4493: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide a one-year extension of …
On a side note, Grayson just married a candidate who is seeking his US House of Representatives seat, Dr. Dena Minning.
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Patrick Murphy:
Patrick Murphy currently represents Florida’s 18th Congressional district, which includes northern Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2012, narrowly defeating incumbent Allen West (0.8% margin) in one of the costliest House races in the nation.
Murphy, 33, is one of nine CPAs serving in the House of Reps. He grew up in South Florida, attending the University of Miami. While attending UM, he was arrested outside of a Miami Beach night club called Club Crobar for disorderly intoxication and possession of a fake ID. Both charges were dismissed. Murphy acknowledges the incident as one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
He became a VP for his family’s construction business after college. After the 2010 BP Oil Spill, he was given the opportunity to create a subsidiary of his father’s company called Coastal Environmental which acquired government contracts to clean up the spill.
There have been recent reports in Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald, and others stating that Murphy has embellished statements about his experience as a CPA and educational background.
The following are some of the legislation sponsored by Congressman Murphy:
H.R.230 : To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to authorize the Central Everglades Planning Project, Florida
H.R.231 : To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to deauthorize the Ten Mile Creek Water Preserve Area Critical Restoration Project.
H.R.456 : Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act of 2015
H.R.614 : SAVE Act
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The information on the table below is the cash summary report for the April quarterly 1/1/16 to 3/31/16. The figures were obtained from http://www.fec.gov/
Alan Grayson:
Beginning Cash on Hand: $211,525
Ending Cash on Hand: $430,393
Net Contributions: $819,436
Net Operating Expenditures: $596,568
Debts/Loans owed by: $2,560,993
Patrick Murphy:
Beginning Cash on Hand: $4,308,768
Ending Cash on Hand: $5,604,694
Net Contributions: $1,999,458
Net Operating Expenditures: $733,531
Debts/Loans owed by: $57,524