Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-20)

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Congresswoman Florida District 20

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Biography from House.gov

Biography of Debbie Wasserman Schultz

For more than eighteen years, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dedicated her public life to working on behalf of the people of South Florida. On January 4, 2005, she was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz represents Florida’s 20th Congressional district, which encompasses parts of Florida as far north as Fort Lauderdale, and as far south as Miami Beach. Before joining the U.S. Congress, she was first a Representative and later a Senator in the Florida State Legislature.

Her committee assignments include the House Committee on the Budget, the primary responsibility of which is to draft the annual budget for the United States. The committee sets the aggregate levels of spending and revenue that is expected to occur in a given fiscal year. She also serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary which has been called the guardian of the Constitution and among other responsibilities, provides oversight of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz also serves as a member of the Democratic House Leadership. She serves as a Vice Chair of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee where her primary responsibility is working to communicate Democratic priorities to Members of Congress and to the press. She also serves as a Chief Deputy Whip where she works to help advance legislation important to the Democratic caucus.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz is a person respected by her colleagues for her tenacity and her hard work on many important issues. In March 2009, after announcing her own battle with breast cancer, she introduced the Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or EARLY Act (H.R. 1740), a piece of legislation that directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement a national education campaign about the threat breast cancer poses to all young women, and the particular heightened risks of certain ethnic, cultural and racial groups. This bill became law as part of the Affordable Health Care Act in March, 2010.

A fighter for South Florida families, Rep. Wasserman Schultz has worked hard to protect children. Some of her accomplishments in the field include the passage of the PROTECT Our Children Act, which creates the largest law enforcement effort ever formed for the protection of children (H.R. 3845), and, the passage of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (H.R. 1721) to combat childhood drowning.

In 2011 she became the Democratic Vice Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, a bipartisan Members’ organization dedicated to promoting women’s economic, health, legal, and educational interests. The Caucus serves as both a legislative resource on women’s issues and an advocate on behalf of those issues.

The first Jewish Congresswoman ever elected from Florida, Rep. Wasserman Schultz, introduced a resolution, which passed the House of Representatives and called on the President to declare an annual Jewish American Heritage Month. The President subsequently did so, with the inaugural month in May, 2006. Since then, Presidents have proclaimed Jewish American Heritage Month annually.

All of this experience serves to enhance her commitment to lower health care costs, improve the quality of life for our children, protect Social Security and Medicare, and provide a sensible homeland security plan to protect our citizens from the ongoing threat of terror. She continues to fight to ensure that our first responders, our local police and firefighters, have the tools they need to do their jobs. And she continues to take up the fight to give our troops and veterans the equipment and compensation they deserve.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz was born in 1966 on Long Island, NY. She attended the University of Florida and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1988 and with a Master’s Degree in 1990. She has been married to Steve Schultz for 20 years and together they have three children. The Congresswoman is proud to call South Florida home where she resides with her family in Weston.

Biography from Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Congress

An active and outspoken leader within the Democratic Party’s political structure as well, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz was asked by President Obama to serve a four year term as a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She also serves as the National Chair of Member and Candidate Services at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

Biography from Democratic National Committee

For more than 18 years, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dedicated her public life to working on behalf of the people of South Florida. On November 2, 2004, she was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and on May 4, 2011, was elected chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz represents Florida’s 20th Congressional district, which encompasses parts of Florida as far north as Fort Lauderdale and as far south as Miami Beach. Before joining the U.S. Congress, she was first a representative and later a senator in the Florida state legislature.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Wasserman Schultz serves on the House Budget Committee. She also serves as a chief deputy whip, where she works to advance important legislation, placing her among the House leadership.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz has commanded the respect of her colleagues through her tenacity and hard work on many priority issues, including education, health care, children’s issues, and Social Security, to name a few.

She introduced and helped pass the PROTECT Our Children Act, which creates the largest law enforcement effort ever formed for the protection of children (H.R. 3845), and authored the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (H.R. 1721) which was passed to combat childhood drowning.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz, the first Jewish congresswoman ever elected from Florida, introduced a resolution that passed the House of Representatives and called on the President to declare a Jewish American Heritage Month. The President subsequently did so, with the inaugural month in May, 2006.

In March 2009, after she announced her own battle with breast cancer, Rep. Wasserman Schultz introduced the Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or EARLY Act (H.R. 1740), a piece of legislation that directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement a national education campaign about the threat breast cancer poses to all young women, and the particular heightened risks of certain ethnic, cultural and racial groups. This bill became law as part of the Affordable Health Care for America Act in March 2010.

On April 6, 2011, Rep. Wasserman Schultz was nominated by President Obama to serve as chair of the Democratic National Committee. As chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz works every day to advance President Obama’s agenda and ensure his re-election, to elect Democratic candidates across the country, and to promote Democratic values.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz was born in Long Island, New York, and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida. She and her husband Steve live in Weston, Florida, with their three children.

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