Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dedicated her public life to serving South Floridians and standing up for justice, equality, and opportunity wherever and whenever it is threatened. As Florida’s first Jewish Congresswoman, she has earned the respect of her colleagues for working tirelessly on behalf of seniors, children, and families for nearly three decades.
First sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate where she originally displayed her philosophy that there is “no task too small, and no goal too big.”
In South Florida, foreign policy is domestic policy. More than 1 in 3 residents in Florida’s 23rd district are first-generation immigrants, and additional residents have familial histories of immigration and family ties abroad. Many of these members of our community are deeply connected to the economic, political, and social conditions in other countries.
South Florida has the largest concentration of Venezuelans in the United States, some of whom came to the United States to flee violence and hardship at the hands of the Maduro regime. Members of my community have shared many first-hand stories of brutal repression and the humanitarian crisis taking place in the country. I have used legislative tools to express profound concern and urge immediate reform regarding the ongoing political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. I support legislation addressing human rights in Venezuela and U.S. efforts to support the restoration of legitimate democracy in the country.
Our nation’s foreign policy is an important tool to support human rights, civil liberties and free elections, and American strategic interests worldwide. I have continuously fought to protect the human rights and prosperity of our international neighbors and partners, and to promote peace and democracy worldwide.
I have supported legislation to advance global food security, end violence against children, support democratic growth and governance, extend nuclear prevention, and deliver humanitarian and economic aid.