WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill Friday, calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow them to keep the field offices they currently run in veterans hospitals across the state.

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Six lawmakers, including Reps. Darren Soto (D-9th District), Stephanie Murphy (D-7th District), Brian Mast (R-18th District), Ted Deutch (D-22nd District), Lois Frankel (D-21st District) and Alcee Hastings (D-20th District), all received eviction notices last week.

Since then, they’ve been in constant communication with the agency and are evaluating their legal and legislative options.

“It’s not the biggest office in the VA. Probably no larger than a glorified broom closet,” Soto said.

The office that Soto shares with Murphy measures about 9-by-11 feet. That's where their staff assists dozens of veterans every week.

“It’s easy, it’s convenient for them. They don’t have to go to my district offices,” Murphy explained.

Mast, an U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs and a finger while serving in Afghanistan, knows firsthand how beneficial these offices are to constituents. Mast was the first lawmaker to open a congressional office inside a VA medical center back in 2017.

“The most frequent time that I’ve had veterans reach out to me and say they are in a moment of crisis, it’s because of something that happened inside of a VA hospital,” Mast explained.

Now the group is fighting to keep their doors open after Veterans Affairs informed them that they must vacate the designated area by the end of the year.

“I’ll tell you what the impact is: By the year's end, Florida veterans will no longer have an advocate inside these facilities,” Murphy said.

Soto sat down with acting VA secretary Robert Wilkie this week. While he did not receive any assurances about the offices, he did secure a commitment from the secretary that he would visit.

“He’ll see the good work there," Soto said. "We are collaborators, we are not there to disrupt services."

The delegation isn’t taking any chances, though. They have introduced a bill which would allow others to open congressional field offices in VA hospitals.

The legislation, called the "Improving Veterans Access to Congressional Services Act," is intended to make it easier for more offices to be created. 

“I don’t think there’s any government agency out there that wants 435 members of Congress constantly putting them under the microscope,” Mast said.

"As painful as that might be, they should be begging for it if that means making it a better agency, especially one that serves our nation’s veterans,” he added.

The bill has now been referred to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.