At an event in Jacksonville on Wednesday, former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate election, addressed veterans' issues.

“In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln called upon our nation: ‘… to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.’ This is the essence of what all Americans owe our veterans and their families,” said Rubio.

“Washington, D.C., is as polarized today as it has ever been,” continued Rubio. “But there is one issue which unites both parties: a commitment to ensuring that every veteran returns home to the hero’s welcome he or she deserves. This commitment must be backed up by real actions.”

Rubio proposed to keep the VA as a Cabinet department, preserving defense and VA spending, better care for wounded soldiers, simplifying the GI Bill process for education benefits, increasing the number of mobile clinics serving veterans and expanding coverage for veterans suffering from Agent Orange exposure.