Sen. Jay Collins (R-Tampa) said former Democratic Senate Leader turned Independent Jason Pizzo is welcome to the Republican Party if he decides to make the full turn.
"Yeah, absolutely I would. Jason is brilliant. Jason is hard-working. He knows what to say," Collins told The Floridian. "Frankly, I think on a lot of things he's been historically voting the same way we have been and views the world very much the same way."
Sen. Pizzo (I-Sunny Isles) bolted from his party last week by calling them "dead." Pizzo's exit was the third Democrat defection in Florida this year.
"You wonder why they are having problems. Look at the things as a national party they are talking about. They just can't get out of their way," Collins added.
Specifically, Sen. Collins criticized Democratic New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker for his recent sit-in on the Capitol steps. He called the moment "one of the weirdest things I've ever seen."
He also ripped national Democrats for their socialist messaging. The party has veered further left in some areas, headlined by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
"They just don't understand that Americans are done with that. They want a strong economy," Collins said. "They want to be able to go in their community and feel safe, and support our law enforcement. They want want an education system that doesn't indoctrinate and it doesn't suck."
In Florida, he specified a Senate bill as to why state Democrats were so out of touch with Americans. Collins said members of the party were more focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) than the bill's intended purpose.
"They wanted to take that into DEI. That bill was about disability. Making sure that people are visible and we are understanding physical and other disabilities," Collins said. "And we want to turn that into a DEI thing? Why do you think the American people are frustrated? Things like that turn their stomach."
With Democrats seemingly way out in left field, Collins turned his attention to more pressing matters, particularly when it comes to fixing Veterans Affairs (VA). Collins is a former Army Green Beret with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Showing his passion for the issue, Collins called the department's budget "big and bloated." To address the problem, he offered the following solutions.
"The only way to fix it is to strip it down to the studs. I think you block budget the money, much like they want to do with education, down to the states," Collins said. "You connect your state and federal assets together to create one state-level VA."
Collins added he loved the model because it gives veterans the right to choose. Moreover, he noted that more choice could have a big impact on the current VA system.
"These VA hospitals, they are going under faster and faster and faster. We can't keep up with the rate of inflation, the rate and cost of keeping substandard healthcare in many of them," Collins said. "You gotta go to more of a choice-based system."
While focused on revamping the system, Collins emphasized fixing another major problem affecting the department. Veterans Homelessness.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 32,882 veterans experienced homelessness in America.
"What I believe we should do is tackle veteran homelessness within those hospitals. Rebrand them. Reutilize them. Turn them specifically into a veteran wrap-around care, but not a government-owned solution," Collins said. "The VA would screw that up from the ground up. We know that."
Instead, Collins said the solution should be handled locally.
"There are non-profits and for-profits out there that are doing god's work. Saving veterans, making a difference," Collins said. "Let's let the government own the facility, work with non-profits and for-profits to solve the problem. The veterans are going to get so much better care and solve real problems."
