A Treasure Coast congressman is among those who on Friday urged the Department of Veterans Affairs not to remove their offices from VA facilities.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Palm City Republican, opened the first-ever congressional office inside a VA facility in 2017, renting space for constituent services in the West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Joining Mast in a news conference at the U.S.Capitol Friday were two other members of Florida's congressional delegation: U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, a Kissimmee Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Winter Park Democrat, who began sharing an office at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lake Nona in August 2018.

The VA wants all three out by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie sent a letter to Mast supporting the evictions, saying hospital space should be used only for delivering medical care to veterans.

Mast called that "a red herring" and invited Wilkie to visit the hospitals with congressional offices to "talk to veterans about it. ... I literally haven't heard one veteran say, 'I wish you guys would get out of here.' "

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The tiny offices aren't taking up valuable space, Murphy said. "We're not taking away from the VA's mission."

Other state and federal agencies have offices at the hospitals, she added. "It seems they're targeting just members of Congress."

Nothing in federal law prevents members of Congress from having offices in VA hospitals, Murphy said. "It's a policy matter," with the decision to evict made at Washington, not at local hospitals.

Soto said his office has seen "hundreds and hundreds of veterans" and helps them deal with issues including long waits for services and complicated paperwork.

The government's eviction notice "came out of the blue," Soto said. "I was dumbfounded."

Earlier this year, Mast and Soto introduced legislation called the Improving Veterans Access to Congressional Services Act, calling for the VA to provide this space to members of Congress to assist veterans when and where they need the help.

Mast, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is an Army veteran who lost both legs and a finger while serving in Afghanistan.