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Republican (1854-present)

John Rutherford

John Rutherford (FL-04) is serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He sits on the House Ethics Committee and the House Appropriations Committee where he serves on three subcommittees: Homeland Security, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. 

John has lived in Jacksonville, Florida since 1958, and attended Florida Junior College and Florida State University where he studied Criminology.  He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, 171st Session and the National Executive Institute. He began his career in law enforcement in 1974 as a patrolman in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, working his way up through the JSO where he eventually served as Director. 

Military and Veterans

Northeast Florida is proudly home to thousands of veterans, active duty servicemembers, and their families. Our critical military installations such as Naval Station Mayport, NAS Jacksonville, USMC Blount Island Command, and the 125th Fighter Wing are key to America’s national security. In Congress, one of my top priorities is to continue rebuilding our military and ensuring our veteran community has the resources they need to successfully transition into civilian life. You may be interested to know some of the following legislative actions I’ve taken in this regard: 

  • Introduced and passed the Veterans Armed for Success Act, which would create a grant program for outside organizations that provide transition assistance and wraparound services to newly separated veterans.
  • Introduced and passed legislation to name the St. Augustine VA clinic after Leo Chase, Jr., the first person in St. Johns County to die in the Vietnam War.
  • Worked to improve transition assistance for women veterans as they return to civilian life.
  • Introduced H.R. 3103, the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act, which creates a grant program through the VA to pair servicemembers suffering from PTSD with service dogs.
  • Increased oversight for VA’s community care program to ensure that veterans have adequate choice in their health care.
  • Introduced H.R. 4446, the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum Act, with Rep. Al Lawson to establish the Cecil Field project as the “national” museum.
  • Supported legislation to extend service connection eligibility for Vietnam veterans impacted by Agent Orange.
  • Cosponsored H.R. 663, the Burn Pits Accountability Act, which would require the Department of Defense to evaluate and track the exposure of U.S. servicemembers and veterans to open burn pits and toxic airborne chemicals.
  • Successfully advocated to bring the F-35 program to the 125th Fighter Wing in Jacksonville.
  • Worked to increase the number of ships homeported at Naval Station Mayport.
  • Fought to protect the workforce at the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville.
  • Worked with the Navy and private industry to improve ship repair planning