Darren Soto was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 to represent Florida’s 9thCongressional District, which includes all of Osceola and parts of Orange and Polk Counties.
Born to a Puerto Rican father and Italian-American mother, Darren’s upbringing influenced his passion for public service and helping those in need. After learning the values of hard work from his parents, Darren graduated from Rutgers University and the George Washington University School of Law.
Upon graduation, Darren opened his own practice in Central Florida, where he practiced family law, civil litigation, and real estate law.
“I will always stand up for the right of women to make their own health and family planning decisions. I will fight for equal pay for equal work, paid family leave, and policies that support working women and families.”
Throughout his years in public service, Rep. Soto has been a strong advocate for women’s rights, believing women should be treated no less than equal in every regard. While leaps and bounds have been made since our country’s founding, we are still a long way from true equality. Women currently earn about 20% less than their male counterparts for the same work. This gap is one Rep. Soto is steadfastly committed to closing
“It's pretty simple: Everyone should get equal pay for equal work.”
Rep. Soto believes it is necessary to support women in business and the workforce. He is a proud supporter of the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act along with the Equal Pay Act and Paycheck Fairness Act. Rep. Soto has and will continue to sponsor legislation that addresses these issues.
“It's about more than basic fairness. When women do better, all working families do better. Paying working women what they deserve means more working families can afford to save for college and retirement.”
Aside from the pay gap, women face a number of unique challenges. Women are still fighting for access to paid family leave, affordable childcare, reproductive healthcare, and the right to make their own healthcare decisions.
“In Congress, I will always stand up for the right of women to make their own health and family planning decisions -- and I will fight tooth-and-nail any effort to defund Planned Parenthood and take away comprehensive women's health services.”
In 2015, Rep. Soto was rated 100% and endorsed by the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, and in 2016, he was rated 100% by Planned Parenthood Action Fund. As a Member of Congress, Rep. Soto attended the Women’s March of 2017 & 2018 in solidarity with the grassroots champions of this fight, and is a proud sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2017 as well as the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act of 2017.
“Women have a right to control their own bodies. Reproductive health care decisions should be between a woman and her doctor -- and nobody else.”
Women are also disproportionately impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment. Rep. Soto acknowledges the weight of this injustice and has been an active champion against it. In the Florida legislature, he was proud to lead the fight in successfully doubling the statute of limitations for criminals of rape and sexual violence. Now in Congress, Rep. Soto has co-sponsored numerous pieces of legislation that support victims and their families.