When I first ran for public office, I went door-to-door and told voters my number one priority was to make health care a right, not a privilege. That’s why my proudest moment in public service was the vote I cast for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which enabled tens of millions of Americans to get their health security.

And two years ago this Friday, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which vastly expanded on that victory by lowering prescription drug costs, expanding ACA access, and making coverage more affordable.

Thanks to the new law, over 200,000 people in my district alone will buy ACA marketplace policies this year, a 104% increase from 2020. Four million Floridians will use the ACA, with average enrollees saving hundreds in premiums.

But in another critical way, this legislation is game-changing. After generations of failed efforts, the Inflation Reduction Act finally empowered Medicare to negotiate lower costs for some of the priciest prescription medications, including those that treat diabetes, heart failure and autoimmune disorders. Out-of-pocket Medicare savings to seniors will reach $1.6 billion in 2026, and taxpayers will save $6 billion, administration officials announced Thursday.

That’s not all. The law also caps monthly Medicare insulin costs for seniors at $35, provides free recommended vaccines, like for shingles, and ensures drug companies face penalties if prices climb faster than inflation. Also, starting next year, seniors will see their annual out-of-pocket drug costs capped at $2,000, bringing more financial relief to millions.

For too long, Floridians faced impossible choices, between paying for medicine or groceries. Now, because of this administration’s leadership, our families can breathe a little easier when it comes to health care costs.

This progress didn’t come without a fight. Republicans relentlessly attempted to repeal the ACA, and they will not stop trying to take it all away.

President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Democrats in Congress like me took on Big Pharma and we won. Now, we must fiercely defend these gains and continue our progress.

These achievements face real threats, as clearly laid out in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint, the playbook for a dangerous second Trump presidency.

Project 2025 would dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act and take Floridians and millions of Americans back to when health care costs were skyrocketing and millions were denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

Republicans like Sen. Rick Scott voted against the Inflation Reduction Act and tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and he’s coming after Medicare as well.

If that Trump-Scott agenda wins this fall, here’s what it means to you: higher prescription drug prices, soaring premiums and a return to the days when health care was a privilege for only the few.

If Project 2025 becomes reality, 45 million Americans could lose their coverage. Nearly 20 million would see premiums rise. Seniors on Medicare would see an exponential rise in prescription drug costs, while Big Pharma and insurance companies make unseemly profits — and all so Republicans can give billionaires more tax breaks.

But there’s another way. Vice President Harris and my fellow Democrats will build on our progress and ensure everyone can access the care they need.

As your representative, I will not stand by as Republicans try to rip away the health care my fellow Floridians and millions of Americans rely on, and I’m asking you to join me in that fight.

Let’s make sure that come November, we stand united, protect our health care, and continue moving forward. We are not going back.

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz represents Florida’s 25th Congressional District. 

Campaign website: debbiewassermanschultz.com

Date, place of birth: September 27, 1966, Forest Hills, NY

Education: B.A., Political Science, University of Florida, 1988
M.A., Political Science, University of Florida, 1990
Occupation: Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Florida’s 25th Congressional District

Work history for the past 15 years, starting with the most recent. 
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2005-Present)
Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2011-2016)

Why are you running for this office, and what specifically makes you a better candidate than your opponent? 
I ran and continue to run for Congress because I believe that one person can make a difference. From fighting climate change, expanding quality affordable health care access, and preventing gun violence, to reducing income inequality, racial injustice, and providing greater economic opportunity for all Americans, we have a lot of work to do. And I intend to continue to advance these important goals with my voice and my vote. We also need to address the extremist Republican attacks on our democracy and women’s reproductive rights. Republican leaders have provided no solutions to America’s pressing problems. In fact, they have made them worse. The last thing we need is to adopt their plans to raise taxes and sunset Medicare and Social Security. I’ll continue to tackle every one of those threats and challenges in Washington, including pursuit of policies that protect and promote democracy, both at home and abroad. My work ethic, experience and colleagues’ respect allow me to leverage this Congressional seat into a position that gives my South Florida constituents the additional influence that comes with serving as the Ranking Member on the Appropriations’ Committee on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. This Congress, I have expanded my influence and impact as a member of the Democratic Leadership team, appointed by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, where I serve as a Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee. These roles have resulted in bringing home hundreds of millions in federal funds for vital local needs, from flooding prevention and police cameras to road construction, medical research and multimodal projects. I am campaigning on my strong record of making life better for folks back home, including helping deliver nearly $1.5 billion for Everglades restoration. This isn’t about my opponents. My candidacy is about doing the hard work in Congress and getting results for South Florida.

What are the three most important issues facing this congressional district?
The top issues facing our nation are preserving our democracy, lowering health care costs, and addressing threats to women’s reproductive rights.

Our democracy is at risk from internal and external forces. At the state level, led by Governor DeSantis, we see gerrymandered districts, voter and academic suppression that includes book and speech bans, unprecedented attacks on our LGBTQ+ community, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and a relentless assault on the free press. Federally, led by Trump loyalists, we now have an extreme, corrupted Supreme Court majority who prioritizes right-wing ideology over individual freedom, and too many elected officials who refuse to accept the results of a free and fair election. That political landscape, fed by fictitious propaganda, fans the flames of autocracy. Staying silent is not an option. I will continue to speak out and promote legislation to bolster our democracy.

Secondly, we must continue to build on the all-time highpoint of Americans covered by quality health care, which was delivered by the Affordable Care Act. I proudly helped pass this landmark legislation, and in that same spirit, voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires drug companies to negotiate with Medicare on drug prices, and bolsters the ACA. Countless seniors on fixed incomes will see vital monthly budget savings due to this law.

Another top policy priority is combating the extremist Republican assaults on women’s reproductive rights. Women should not be forced into pregnancy by the government. This is a decision between a woman, her doctor, and her family. The same extremist Republicans who confiscated these rights are now following through on threats to IVF, contraception and imposing a national abortion ban. I will continue to defend women’s freedoms and do all I can to pass Amendment 4 on Florida’s ballot to reclaim these rights that were once protected in our state Constitution.

What more should America be doing to protect our environment and critical ecosystems?
I proudly supported the largest climate policy and investment package ever, the Inflation Reduction Act, which has supercharged replacing damaging fossil fuels, created tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs and invested in critical air, water monitoring and pollution reduction efforts. We must overcome MAGA Republican resistance to confront climate threats and continue to build on this historic momentum. Rising sea levels and extreme heat and weather events impact South Florida already and will cost local taxpayers dearly if we fail to address these challenges right now. I have made this a key focus of my efforts to deliver federal dollars to our community, whether it’s through coastal reef research, local flooding prevention or helping secure historic funding for restoration of the Everglades, an environmental jewel and critical resource for South Florida’s drinking water needs.

What is your opinion of how Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza?
The near-impossible reality for Israel in responding to the unprovoked act of war Hamas committed against it is that the ensuing theater is underground. Instead of constructing needed civic infrastructure, for years, Hamas built hundreds of miles of tunnels where they imprison hostages and store weapons, make missiles, stage attacks and maintain oppressive control over Gaza’s people. This requires Israel to dismantle subterranean terrorist facilities under hospitals, schools and U.N. relief sites. Let’s not forget that Hamas, a terrorist enemy sworn to destroy Israel and Jews, nakedly states they martyr civilians and intentionally positions them in harm’s way because they believe it’s advantageous to their narrative. This sinister, atypical form of enemy engagement — by Hamas’ design — results in tragic civilian fatalities. Nonetheless, Israel is held to an unreasonable standard of wartime casualties that is unprecedented in modern defensive conflicts. As others have noted, the reality Israel faces is Hamas treats Gazan civilians as “human ammunition.” Regardless, I agree with the Biden Administration, who has encouraged Israel to allow necessary levels of humanitarian aid, and to deploy more targeted military offensives that build upon Israel’s ongoing efforts to minimize civilian casualties. I wish for nothing more than the liberation of the Gazan people from Hamas’ iron grip, the immediate return of hostages, the long-term security of the Israeli people, and to quickly end the needless death that has unfolded since Oct. 7th.

Do you support or oppose the Florida abortion rights measure known as Amendment 4, and why? 
Yes, since Donald Trump “proudly” overturned Roe v. Wade, more than 1 in 3 women now live under cruel abortion bans nationwide. Here in Florida, women now confront an abortion ban. But there are many ways we can protect or take back our stolen and threatened freedoms. One is to pass Amendment 4 in Florida. Passing it would undo Florida’s near-total abortion ban, which allows the government to interfere in decisions before many women even realize they are pregnant and doesn’t have real exceptions. And it shouldn’t stop there. While a majority of Florida’s Supreme Court voted to put Amendment 4 on the ballot, Justices Renatha Frances and Meredith Sasso both tried to block our vote on this issue. Both are up for retention Nov. 5th, and neither deserves to keep their seat.

Do you support or oppose reinstating the federal assault weapons ban? What other changes would you support to reduce gun violence in the U.S.?
Yes, I support the reinstatement of the federal assault weapons ban. The proliferation of guns has resulted in an explosion of firearm deaths, including being the leading killer of our children. The extremist gun policies dictated by NRA-obedient Republican leaders defy the widespread public desire for reforms. The Safer Communities Act, which I proudly voted for, will save lives. But we shouldn’t stop there. We must also ban assault weapons, pass safe storage laws, and expand background checks. My Jaime’s Law legislation, for instance, is a commonsense bicameral proposal that would require instant background checks to fully enforce federal law barring criminals — from buying guns as well as ammunition.

Did Joe Biden legitimately win the 2020 presidential election? Why or why not?
Yes, he won. There is no evidence — zero — of any fraud or inaccurate results of any consequence to invalidate the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. The election was free and fair. The Republicans’ fallacious claims were thrown out for lack evidence in all 64 courts that they filed suit, many in front of Republican or Trump appointed judges. For those who continue to believe or promote the ‘Big Lie,” they are misinformed, delusional, or purposely lying to maintain political power at the expense of our democracy.

Win or lose, will you pledge to accept the results of your own campaign and the 2024 presidential election?
Yes, I will always honor the results of any free and fair Election, just as I did in 2020. A key precept of the democratic form of government we cherish and constantly strive to improve upon, is that its legitimacy and moral power is justified and lawful only if the people consent to it through free and fair elections. That was what we had in 2020. Yet for the first time in history, that compact was dishonored, and the peaceful transfer of executive power was flagrantly violated by former President Trump, who tried to illegally overturn the results of a free and fair election.

Do you support or oppose an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices? What other changes would you support to restore respect for the court?
I support various reforms to the Supreme Court, including a term limitation on service. I also favor expansion of the court. Nine is not a magic number, and the court has changed in size historically. The current figure is not in the Constitution. With our growth as a nation, we must expand the court to ensure it is representative of the diversity of the American tapestry. The current court has issued recent opinions on guns and women’s rights that are diametrically in conflict with the values most Americans. A diverse and expanded court would help eliminate opinions that are based on an out-of-touch, minority viewpoint.

Describe in detail any demographic, economic or social factor about your congressional district that sets it apart from others.  
Florida Congressional District 25 is unlike most districts in the country in that we are a microcosm of America’s broader diversity. We have a large and growing Hispanic population, comprised mainly of Cubans, Venezuelans, Puerto Ricans and Colombians. We also have a significant Black population comprised mostly of African Americans and citizens from Caribbean nations. Finally, we have a large and active Jewish population.

I believe the diverse nature of this district is a strength, not a weakness. When you travel this district like I do, you gain invaluable insights which leads to a far more intricate understanding and appreciation of your constituents’ points of view that you rarely can experience anywhere else in the country.

An unfortunate common experience of many residents is personal or familial flight from persecution, from Holocaust survivors and those fleeing persecution in Venezuela to those escaping political unrest in Haiti. I do all I can to highlight their stories, provide assistance and fight for their protection through my role as their voice in Congress.

This District is also situated entirely in Broward County. I am fortunate to represent the pristine but eroding beaches in the east to the unique and magnificent River of Grass in the west and some historic cities and towns and pristine areas in-between. I fight in Congress to preserve these natural treasures for the next generation, and because they are pivotal in terms of tourism, a main artery in our economic engine.

Our residents in CD-25 do not take our unique and diverse community for granted. We have challenges like all communities, but we work well together to improve our lives and the lives of our families, friends and neighbors. Our diversity is our strength, and it helps our children grow up with a unique perspective and empathy that is scarce in many communities across the country.

Have you ever been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime, received a withheld adjudication or had a matter sealed or expunged? If yes, please explain. 
No.

Have you been a plaintiff or defendant in a civil action, including bankruptcy or foreclosure or had a restraining order issued against you? If so, please explain.
No.

Now, exactly one year later, Republicans in the Legislature are on the brink of passing an even more extreme abortion ban as DeSantis cheers them on. This bill is a reproductive-rights nightmare for Florida. For starters, it bans abortion before many women even know that they are pregnant. In my last pregnancy, I didn’t even know it until the eighth week. This atrocious legislation also includes no exceptions for rape and incest victims after 15 weeks. Even before that, girls or women must officially document being a crime victim before seeking the care they need. So, for a girl or woman who suffers a cruel assault to get the care she needs, DeSantis would force her to face even more layers of mental, emotional and financial trauma.

DeSantis’ latest abortion ban would tie the hands of doctors in horrible ways. This ban prohibits women from obtaining medication abortion pills in the mail, a barrier that disproportionately impacts working class patients. And it also ends doctors’ ability to see patients via telehealth or virtual appointments — cruelly curbing this modern convenience just as Republicans shrink the time that patients can even legally receive the care they need.

With such outrageous restrictions, it’s no surprise that recent polling found 75% of Floridians opposed extreme abortion bans. Despite that overwhelming hostility, DeSantis is making anti-choice extremism a pillar of his shadow presidential campaign. DeSantis prides himself on ignoring public opinion on the issues he pursues, but there’s no dignity in defying a majority of people in Florida. As governor, DeSantis should pass legislation to ease high rents and property insurance costs, or improve access to affordable health care by expanding Medicaid, just as North Carolina Republicans agreed to do.

The reality is, DeSantis will force his anti-choice extremism on Florida’s women and girls just to enamor an extremist MAGA primary base. This legislative session isn’t about the life and health of women to DeSantis, it’s a cold, calculated play to pass radical, right-wing legislation to pad his resume for a 2024 Republican primary. The more DeSantis feeds his insatiable hunger for higher office, the more Floridians will suffer.

As DeSantis and his Republican allies continue to push their extreme MAGA agenda, millions of Floridians will continue our fight to protect reproductive rights. And moderate Americans across the country will reject extremists like DeSantis for trying to push his anti-choice zealotry to their states. Now it is up to all of us to not only help ensure that women can still get the care they need, but help guarantee DeSantis never takes his anti-choice extremism into the White House.

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, represents the 25th congressional district.

Date, place of birth: September 27, 1966, Forest Hills, NY

Family status: Married

Education: B.A., Political Science, University of Florida, 1988

M.A. Political Science, University of Florida, 1990

Occupation: Member of Congress Representing FL23 Congressional District

Work history past 15 years. List in reverse chronological order.

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2005-Present)

Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2011-2016)

Have you been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime, received a withheld adjudication or had a matter sealed or expunged? If yes, please explain. No

Have you been a plaintiff or defendant in a civil action, including bankruptcy or foreclosure or had a restraining order issued against you? If so, please explain. No

Why are you running for this office and what specifically makes you a better candidate than your opponent(s)? 

I ran and continue to run for Congress because I believe that one person can make a difference. From fighting climate change to expanding health care access, preventing gun violence to reducing income inequality, racial injustice, and providing greater economic opportunity for all Americans, we have a lot of work to do– and I intend to continue to advance these important goals with my voice and my vote. We also need to address the extremist Republican attacks on our democracy and women’s rights. Republicans have provided no solutions to America’s pressing problems. In fact, they have made them worse. The last thing we need is to adopt their plans to raise taxes and sunset Medicare and Social Security. I’ll continue to tackle every one of those threats and challenges in Washington, including pursuing policies that attack income and racial inequality and promoting greater participation in our democracy. My work ethic, experience and colleagues’ respect allowed me to leverage this Congressional seat into a position that gives my South Florida constituents the additional influence that comes with holding an Appropriations’ Committee chairmanship on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, as well as a Chief Deputy Whip position within House Leadership. I am campaigning on my strong record of making life better for folks back home, including delivering nearly $1.5 billion for Everglades restoration in the last year. This isn’t about my opponents; it’s about doing the hard work in Congress and getting results for South Florida.

What are the three most important issues facing this congressional district?

The top issues facing our nation are preserving our democracy, lowering health and energy costs, environmental sustainability, and addressing gun violence and threats to women’s reproductive rights.

Our democracy is at risk from internal and external forces. At the state level, led by our Governor, we see gerrymandered districts, voter and academic suppression including book bans, unprecedented attacks on our LGBTQ+ community, and an all-out assault on the free press. Federally, led by Trump, we have: a polarizing Supreme Court who prioritizes right-wing ideology over individual freedom, a large number of elected officials who refuse to accept the results of a free and fair election, and a propaganda network that fans the flames of autocracy. Staying silent is not an option. I will continue to speak out and promote legislation to bolster our democracy, such as HR 1 and HR 4 to counter these threats.

Secondly, with the threat of climate change and sea level rise, we must work on adaptability strategies for our coastal communities and invest significantly in clean, renewable sources of energy. We simply cannot leave this problem for the next generation to solve on their own.

Another top policy priority is combating the extremist Republican assaults on women’s reproductive rights. Women should not be forced into pregnancy by the government. This is a decision between a woman, her doctor, and her family. The same extremist Republicans who confiscated these rights are the same ones who put gun profits over public safety. The proliferation of guns has resulted in gun deaths being the leading killer of our children, and the extremist gun policies dictated by NRA-obedient Republican leaders defy the widespread public desire for reforms. The Safer Communities Act will save lives, but we must ban assault weapons, pass safe storage laws, and expand background checks.

Did Joe Biden legitimately win the 2020 presidential election? Elaborate.

YES. There is no evidence – zero — of any fraud or inaccurate results of any consequence to invalidate the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. The election was free and fair. The Republicans fallacious claims were thrown out for lack evidence in all 64 courts that they filed suits, many in front of Republican or Trump appointed judges. For those who continue to believe or promote the ‘Big Lie,” they are misinformed, delusional, or purposely lying to maintain political power at the expense of our democracy.

Should state legislatures be able to choose their own slates of electors, absent any evidence of fraud? Elaborate.

Absolutely not. They would be abandoning their responsibility as an elector representing the voters in each state. We now know Trump pressured his Vice President and state election officials to ignore the will of the people and overturn the 2020 Election. Modest to substantial reforms are needed to prevent this from occurring again. Ultimately, we must work to get rid of the entire antiquated process, including the elimination of the electoral college. Let a leader be selected by popular vote to raise participation rates and ensure every vote in America counts equally. In response to threats to our democracy since the 2020 Presidential election, Congress should pass bipartisan-supported reforms to the Electoral Count Act.

Do you support or oppose statehood for Washington, D.C., and why?

I support statehood for DC and Puerto Rico and am a co-sponsor of the legislation to hold a binding plebiscite in Puerta Rico. Both have sacrificed long enough by paying taxes and fighting for our nation in the armed services. Not having a voice in our representative democracy in the US Congress is discriminatory and must be rectified.

Do you support or oppose a national minimum wage of $15 an hour, and why?

I strongly support a $15 minimum wage and my voting record indicates that support. We must ensure hard working Americans can earn a living wage, especially when we have inflationary pressures from a war and rising transportation costs. The wealth gap is real and substantial. And the raising of the minimum wage is a tool we should use to help shrink it.

Do you support or oppose the Judiciary Act of 2021, which would expand the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13 members, and why?

I do support the expansion of the court. Nine is not a magic number, the court has changed in size historically, and the current figure is not in the Constitution. With our growth as a nation, we must expand the court to ensure it is representative of the diverse views of the American tapestry. The current court has issued recent opinions on guns and women’s rights that are diametrically in conflict with the values of the vast majority of Americans. A diverse and expanded court would help eliminate opinions that are based on an out-of-touch, minority viewpoint.

Do you support the limited steps President Obama took with respect to Cuba, in particular the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program? Do you think the long-term U.S. trade embargo has been effective with respect to the Cuban regime’s conduct?

A relationship with the United States and any relaxation of sanctions must be earned. The Cuban pro-democracy movement needs America’s unwavering support, and the Biden Administration’s recent reinstatement of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, while also opting to maintain the State Department’s Cuba Restricted List, will undoubtedly aid that fight for freedom. That’s why last November, I led the effort in Congress to successfully pass a resolution sending a clear message that the House stands in solidarity with the Cuban people, condemning the Cuban regime’s repressive acts, and calling for the swift release of its arbitrarily detained citizens. I also introduced legislation to resume the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, which allows eligible Cuban Americans to bring loved ones to the United States while they wait for their visas. However, I remain unconvinced that easing group travel restrictions – even with new post-trip audits – will truly weaken this regime’s oppressive policies. In fact, it may enrich the Díaz-Canel dictatorship at a time when its Kremlin paymaster faces economic ruin. Our focus must remain on supporting Cuban human rights, ending this regime’s grinding racial, labor and LGBTQ+ discrimination, and demanding the immediate release of its political prisoners. That includes the Biden Administration’s efforts to increase the island’s access to U.S. internet services and continuing to block the enrichment of the Cuban military and other human rights abusers through remittance payments. With Putin’s overreach in Ukraine, history has opened a door for freedom in Cuba. It is crucial that America feed that democracy movement so that it blooms in the widening cracks where an enfeebled Vladimir Putin can no longer prop up Cuba’s brutal despots. Whether it’s Caracas, Havana or Kyiv, America’s policies must defend democracy’s front lines, and I will work with and press the Biden Administration to do that.

Do you oppose or support the Biden Administration decision to extend temporary protected status for only some of the Venezuelan expatriates in the U.S.?

First, it must be acknowledged that President Trump refused to offer any temporary protected status designation to any Venezuelan in America. Thankfully, President Biden did not deny this layer of vital protection to our neighbors, co-workers, and friends. In fact, President Biden recently ensured that hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who fled the brutal Maduro regime can continue to receive a critical shield of political protection and personal peace of mind. Thanks to President Biden, Venezuelans will not be forced to return to an unstable and unsafe homeland. By extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans who arrived before March 8th of last year, we can ensure these Venezuelans do not suffer under the murderous, despotic Maduro narco-regime. While I’m pleased about this essential extension, I will continue to strongly urge the President to offer that same refuge to Venezuelans who arrived after that same date, because nothing has changed in Venezuela. In fact, it has only gotten worse. They too live with the same fear of being forced to return to Maduro’s brutal and repressive state, and their safety is just as vital as we all work to restore democracy and peace to Venezuela.

(Democratic candidates only) Should Joe Biden run for re-election in 2024, and why?

If Joe Biden decides to seek another term, I will be one of his staunchest advocates. His presidency has experienced many unprecedented challenges. From ending the pandemic by getting shots in arms, and battling the supply side shortages that it triggered, to rallying global support behind confronting a war in Europe led by an autocratic despot, his record is brave and bold. He subdued the pandemic and kept Main Street and City Hall operating while safely re-opening schools. President Biden has used the executive branch to confront climate change and protect women’s rights, not eliminate them as we have seen from a far-right Supreme Court. Ultimately, it will be his decision to make. But if he decides to seek another term, count me in.

As a candidate, have you completed a questionnaire for the National Rifle Association or any affiliated organizations? If so, what rating did they give to you?

NO, I have never filled out a questionnaire, but I am proud of the F-rating I have consistently received on their annual scorecards. I am also pleased to have the endorsement of gun safety advocacy groups such as the Brady Campaign and Giffords.

Describe in detail one demographic, economic or social factor about your congressional district that sets it apart from all others.

Diversity. District 25 represents a very diverse populace, a cultural cornucopia comprised of minorities fleeing from tyranny, young families trying to achieve the American dream, and a senior population who actively participates in the political process, in part, a continuation of prior activism and because their lives depend on it. We have multiple faiths and residents from Latin America, the Caribbean, and a large Jewish population. Our strength is our diversity. Unlike some leaders, we take pride in, celebrate, and admire our cultural differences — we don’t reject them.

Name: Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Age: 53

Family status: Married and mother of three children.

Please tell us about your education and the highest degree you attained:

B.A., political science, University of Florida

Please outline your work history for the past 15 years.

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2005-Present)

Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2011-2016)

Member of the Florida Senate (2000-2004)

Have you ever been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime? Or have you ever received a “withheld adjudication” or had a matter sealed or expunged? If yes, please explain. No

Have you ever been a plaintiff or a defendant in a civil action, including bankruptcy or foreclosure, or had a restraining order issued against you? If so, please explain. No.

Are you a member of any civic groups? If so, please name them.

I have had decades-long involvement with many civic organizations in our community. I regularly meet with, participate in and support the activities of numerous civic, non-profit and advocacy organizations including but not limited to the Urban League, the Broward Jewish Federation, Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Hispanic Unity, numerous chambers of commerce, VFW, Early Learning Coalition, Children’s Services Council, Area Agency on Aging Broward County, Jewish Community Services of South Florida, Meals on Wheels of Broward, Jewish War Veterans, ACLU, Florida Democratic LGBT Caucus and many others.

Have you ever run for office before? If so, where and when?

I was first elected to the Florida House at age 26, where I served for eight years. I subsequently served in the Florida Senate for four years, and have served in the U.S. Congress since 2005. I have won every election in which I have run.

Why are you running for this office?

I ran and continue to run for Congress because I believe that one person can make a difference. I firmly believe that as a mother of high school and college students, I bring an important perspective to Congress every day representing a generation of women that came of age as advancements for women were beginning to take shape. Moreover, I believe that my experience in Congress and the relationships I’ve made in South Florida and Washington give me the unique ability to advocate on behalf of South Floridians and make life better for all Americans. From fighting climate change to expanding health care access, preventing gun violence to reducing income inequality, racial injustice and protecting our democracy, we have a lot of work to do in this next Congress — and I intend to advance these important goals with my voice and my vote.

Why should voters vote for you?

I have adamantly and successfully fought for the issues that most affect my constituents, such as stronger access to affordable health care, tougher environmental laws, reducing climate change, gun safety protections and policies that attack income and racial inequality, as well as promoting greater participation in our democracy. My work ethic, experience and respect from my colleagues have allowed me to leverage this congressional seat into a position that gives constituents the additional influence that comes with holding a Chief Deputy Whip position within House Leadership, as well as an Appropriations Committee chairmanship on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. Currently, for the 117th Congress, I am running for Chairwoman of the full House Appropriations Committee. If successful, I would be the first Democrat from Florida to serve in this role, which would make a significant difference for Florida and District 23.

What grade would you give Congress for how it works, and why?

For Congress overall, a C+, and the House alone, an A. The Senate has abrogated its oversight authority over the Executive Branch, where fortunately, the House has provided robust accountability of this cruel, corrupt and inept White House. Together, both chambers have been able to address many of America’s COVID-19 response needs in the face of the Trump Administration’s apathy and inaction. Although the Senate’s current failure to take up additional relief and insistence on blocking aid for local governments will inflict unjustified pain on families, and front-line workers. The Senate has also been a roadblock to passing many House passed measures that would strengthen the health, economic security and well-being of families in Florida. Some examples include a bipartisan gun violence prevention bill to strengthen background checks, an increase to the federal minimum wage up to $15 an hour, a bill to dramatically lower the cost of prescription drugs, and a bill to curb the youth tobacco epidemic.

How would you assess the performance of President Trump?

In both substance and style, Donald Trump is the worst president of my lifetime. His deportment does not reflect that of someone who holds the highest office in our nation. His utter failure to pro-actively contain the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed untold pain, hardship and death on families and health care workers. Thousands of lives have been lost needlessly. The resulting impacts on our economy exacted a brutal toll on those least able to afford or withstand it. His cruel, exploitative response to the death of George Floyd and his reaction to the protests demanding police reforms and racial justice will go down as a failure of historic proportions.

He has repeatedly attempted to take health care away from millions of Americans and eliminate protections for those of us with pre-existing conditions. He has tried to defund Planned Parenthood and appointed Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. By rescinding DACA, he has opened Dreamers to the threat of mass deportation. He irreparably harmed the mental health of thousands of migrant children by tearing them away from their parents, turning away refugees, many literally fleeing for their lives. He failed our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico — and then denied the death toll. He has refused to even acknowledge the realities of climate change, appointed leaders of the EPA who roll back the progress the Obama Administration made in protecting our clean air and water. He has exploded the deficit by giving a massive handout to the ultra-wealthy, while proposing a budget that makes significant cuts to the EPA, SNAP, Medicaid, Head Start, housing assistance and Social Security. He’s failed to protect us from foreign election meddling, repeatedly attacked the Justice Department and the Judiciary, created a culture of corruption in his cabinet, and repeatedly called the free press the ‘enemy of the people.’

In your view, what are the top three issues facing our nation?

The top issues facing our nation are the health and safety of the American people, environmental sustainability, and economic and racial inequality. The President and Republicans have relentlessly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions. We need to protect the ACA and make updates and improvements to expand access to quality, affordable health care. The health and safety of the American people is also threatened by the refusal of those in power to take action to prevent gun violence — and this must be a top priority for the next Congress.

Secondly, with the threat of climate change and sea-level rise, we must work on adaptability strategies for our coastal communities and invest significantly in clean, renewable sources of energy. We simply cannot leave this problem for the next generation to solve on their own.

Finally, staggering levels of economic and racial inequality have put the American Dream out of reach for far too many families, especially communities of color. We have to ensure that everyone has a fair shot at success. This starts with investing in our children from their youngest years through early childhood education and ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality public education — no matter their zip code. We must also make major investments in our nation’s infrastructure, raise the minimum wage, and ensure that every worker can bargain for better pay and working conditions. Underlying all of these basic economic limitations, the federal government must address the corrosive impacts of racial inequality, whether that means transforming policing in minority communities, or diverting substantially more resources to housing, education, healthcare and other basic resources to historically underserved communities.

Impeachment: What is your take on the outcome of President Trump’s impeachment trial?

This President was guilty of abusing his power. He withheld vital federal funding while pressuring a foreign ally to investigate his political rivals to try to tilt the 2020 Election in his favor. Once caught, he also obstructed Congress to hide it. The House managers convincingly proved their case, despite a sham trial concocted by Senate Leader McConnell and complicit Republicans who, appallingly, refused to even allow witnesses.

Senate Republicans again picked their party and cult of personality over protecting our elections, upholding their oaths of office and the rule of law. As I warned at the time, Trump will be more emboldened to operate outside the law, just as any monarch would.

The Republican Senate voted for an imperial presidency that empowers future commanders in chief of any party, to abuse their office for political or financial gain, regardless of the impact on our democracy. Our nation serves as a global beacon for hope, and a model for due process and the rule of law. Handling it the way they did in the Senate, America lost some of that moral authority. It is now up to voters to hold this President accountable because the Senate is and remains incapable of doing so.

Does more need to be done to ensure fair, free and safe elections in these turbulent times? If so, what?

Absolutely, more must be done. The Administration has failed to consistently assign a point person to handle overall election security issues, and the President himself fails to get comprehensive briefings on the various election security threats America faces. I pressed for these basic due diligence measures in Appropriations Committee hearings, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and by working directly with House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson.

In addition, I joined Democrats in demanding election assistance grants be made available to states in the CARES Act – which Gov. DeSantis has since slow walked any attempt to utilize or lay out a plan for – and I did the same in the recently House-passed Heroes Act. This latest legislation, which the Senate refuses to take up, would provide $3.6 billion to state and local governments to prepare for the challenges posed by COVID-19 and other ongoing foreign threats. It would provide Florida $184 million for election protection for this fall.

If you support the Affordable Care Act, what do you believe could be done to improve it? If you don’t support the Affordable Care Act, what do you propose? Do you favor letting people import drugs from countries like Canada?

I have vocally fought for, voted to enact, and defended the ACA. All Americans deserve access to quality, affordable health care. I helped defeat Republican-led attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and defund Planned Parenthood. I will continue to find creative ways to protect and expand Americans’ access to health care.

We can and should celebrate the successes of the Affordable Care Act – such as reducing the uninsured rate to the lowest number on record – and also make updates and improvements to the law in order to stabilize marketplaces and cut costs for the American people.

Our goal must be to expand access to quality, affordable health care, not restrict it. We need to protect funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and boost funding for the National Institutes of Health. Congress has a major role to play in supporting research to improve prevention, treatment, and cures to life-threatening illnesses and diseases. Additionally, I have been a longtime supporter of a public option in the ACA marketplaces and am a cosponsor of bills to allow Americans to buy into Medicare starting at age 50 and to allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs.

I was a co-sponsor of and proudly voted for The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, that was passed by the House. The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to directly negotiate with drug manufacturers to establish a fair price, so that Americans aren’t paying so much more for the same drugs that are available at lower prices in other countries. The legislation establishes an upper limit for the price reached in any negotiation, taking into consideration the average of the price of a drug in six countries, including Canada. The negotiated prices would apply both to Medicare and to private insurance. Too often, Americans – especially our seniors – must choose between life-saving prescription drugs and groceries. We must ensure that never happens.

Did you support President Trump’s reversal of President Obama’s Cuba policy? What should happen there?

I have always been clear that a relationship with the United States should be earned. I would have preferred the Obama administration secure human rights concessions, progress towards free and fair elections, or ensure more economic freedoms prior to moving forward with reopening relations. During both the Obama and Trump administrations, the Cuban regime has been engaging in malevolent activity in their own nation as well as exporting their anti-human rights practices all over Latin America like Venezuela. I’m glad the Trump administration has taken tough actions to crack down on the authoritarian Cuban regime, but that is not enough. If they were really serious about lifting up the Cuban people, they would not recommend slashing funding for democracy building and human rights efforts in Cuba. Congress appropriated $20 million for democracy and human rights in Cuba in FY20. But the recommended figure from the Trump administration in FY20 was $6 million and they have recommended allocating $10 million for FY21.

Before the coronavirus, the federal deficit was expected to top a trillion dollars this year. How would you have us think about our nation’s mounting debt?

Since President Trump took office, the national deficit has skyrocketed. Trump entered office with a deficit of $585 billion and a growing economy, a good basis with which to shrink the deficit.

Trump and Congressional Republicans expressed little concern with increasing our deficit when they passed the 2017 tax reform bill which lowered taxes for the ultra-wealthy and multinational corporations, while significantly increasing our yearly spending. As such, the deficit was expected to pass $1 trillion this year. However, that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The short-sighted decisions by the Republicans must not prevent us from addressing the current crisis. Unemployment numbers have reached the highest levels since the Great Depression. Millions of people are out of work and at risk of a deadly virus. It is our responsibility to protect Americans and prevent this health crisis from getting even worse.

Even Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, a long advocate for deficit reduction has said “additional fiscal support could be costly but worth it if it helps avoid long-term economic damage and leaves us with a stronger recovery.”

Once this pandemic and recession are behind us, we should go back to focusing on shrinking the national deficit as President Obama and Congressional Democrats were able to do following the Great Recession.

What should be done, if anything, to address climate change?

Climate change is real, is caused by human activity, and Congress should do everything in its power to reduce carbon emissions globally, which starts with reducing carbon emissions locally. We must also act to make South Florida more resilient in combating those impacts, and that requires greater federal funding of adaptation efforts. As our nation continues to experience changing weather patterns with increased floods and droughts, we have seen how this interaction can damage infrastructure, tourism, crops, and ecosystems.

Sea levels have risen nine inches in South Florida since the 1920s, and that will only accelerate in the coming decades. Miami Beach and Hollywood already experience “high tide” flooding, and the rest of our community faces future sewer failures, drinking water contamination from saltwater intrusion, and threats from the seagrass in the ocean to the sawgrass of the Everglades. I will continue fighting to ensure Congress properly funds federal efforts to gather the science on our changing climate, to curb carbon emissions, and to help communities become more resilient to weather impacts.

As an Appropriator, I have fought against Republican riders to federal funding bills designed to defund climate research and to defund climate resiliency planning. I have also sponsored amendments to restore full funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy delivery and reliability programs. We must make these investments now or continue to spend untold billions to recover from more intense weather disasters.

Have we had enough of campaign finance reform or should something should be done about the influence of money in politics? If so, what?

Our campaign-finance system is broken. Campaign finance reform is an issue Congress must address to help restore the confidence of the American people in our elections and in our elected officials. And House Democrats did just that with passage of the HR 1, the For The People Act, the first bill passed by the new House majority last year. This measure would:

Strengthen foreign money bans by prohibiting foreign nationals from participating in decision-making about expenditures by corporations, and unmask dark money by requiring super PACs, 501(c)4 groups and other organizations spending money to disclose donors of more than $10,000.

Require digital platforms to maintain a public database of ad purchase requests of more than $500 and directs online media outlets to prevent ads being directly or indirectly purchased by foreign nationals.

It would repeal Trump’s prohibition on Executive rules to require that government contractors to disclose all their political spending, and restructure the FEC to have five commissioners to break gridlock and lock in its civil penalty authority.

Finally, I a firm believer that the President should nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn Citizens United and recognize that common-sense measures to protect our democracy from the corrosive influence of big money are wholly consistent with the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech for all Americans.

People are losing faith in institutions — government, politics, corporations, the media, organized religion, organized labor, banks, businesses. Do you worry about the future of our democracy?

Yes, I do worry about the future of our democracy, and that is why we must elect Joe Biden in November. Since being elected, Donald Trump has made it his mission to undermine faith in democratic institutions and create discord whenever it works to his political advantage.

Nowhere is this starker than his vilification of the media.  At all times, but especially during times of crisis, Americans rely on the ‘Fourth Estate’ to provide accurate information to guide their everyday decisions.  When President Trump derides information as “fake news” or calls the press the “enemy of the people,” it drives people away from expert guidance and towards rumors and other fringe sources of information.

He has run this same playbook to undermine many other democratic institutions that dare to deviate from his preconceived views. The intelligence and scientific communities are good examples of other institutions that have faced attacks for merely doing their jobs. These politically motivated attacks have consequences. They create confusion, threaten our safety, and weaken our democracy.

The long arc of the history of our country is so much greater than one President or than one moment in time. But to start repairing faith in these institutions, we must make sure Donald Trump is a one-term President.

When President Trump was elected, there was bipartisan agreement to do something about our nation’s infrastructure needs. What happened?

Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have been trying to negotiate with the President on the broad outlines of a large infrastructure bill.  But Trump has proven to be an unwilling partner.

Trump has said that he wants an infrastructure bill, but he doesn’t want to pay for it.  He and his Republican allies in Congress had no trouble paying for a corporate tax cut, but they don’t want to pay for airports or bridges.  Republican refusal to properly invest in our nation’s infrastructure is why we don’t have a 21st-century transcontinental rail system, why many rural parts of the country still don’t have broadband, and why many American airports are in shameful states of disrepair

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released an ambitious proposal in January which includes a combination of highway, transit, water, and broadband legislation – as well as efforts to combat climate change. The Committee is expected to markup a modified version of legislation later this month. I hope Republicans decide to come to the table. Democrats are ready.

Does more work need to be done on ethics reform in Congress? If so, what?

Yes, Congress must do everything in its power to foster public trust. Congress took a significant step towards rooting out public corruption in 2012 when we passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge or STOCK Act.  However, it’s become clear in recent months that there is still work to be done to ensure Members of Congress are not abusing their position for personal gain. Congress should consider reforms that clearly define the types of assets public officials are allowed to own and trade while they hold public office. I also firmly believe that sunlight can be the best disinfectant. To that end, we should consider strengthening the disclosure requirements of the STOCK Act.

In addition, in the wake of the ‘#MeToo movement,’ I’m glad Congress took action to update outdated rules in order to protect staffers and address sexual harassment and assault in our workplace, including ending the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for Member’s harassment or retaliation settlements and court judgments. We need to remain vigilant in this effort and Congress should lead by example in creating a safe and inclusive office environment, one that is free of discrimination in all forms.

Do you believe reforms are needed around the issue of abortion?

Access to safe, legal abortion is under attack all across the nation. I believe all women should have the right to choose, and that begins by repealing the Hyde Amendment, which has disproportionately affected poor women, young women, and women of color. I am a proud co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would protect women’s reproductive rights by prohibiting state and federal governments from enacting a) clinic shut down laws that impose medically burdensome regulations, b) bans on abortion prior to viability as established under Roe v. Wade, and c) unnecessarily burdensome laws that require unwanted medical procedures for the purpose of shaming women for their personal decisions.

What is your assessment of the changes and proposals made by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos?

Time and again, DeVos has prioritized her personal objectives and political beliefs over the education and wellbeing of students in this country. It is indefensible that in this unprecedented moment of crisis she has enacted new regulations that jeopardize the civil rights of all students.

Secretary DeVos recently finalized the egregious Title IX rule. This new rule relies on and reinforces the false and toxic stereotype that survivors, particularly women and girls, tend to lie about sexual assault. It flies in the face of common decency to require survivors to endure live hearings with live cross-examination by the perpetrator’s advisor of choice. And it gives colleges a free pass if sexual misconduct occurs outside of a school program or activity, such as off-campus sexual violence and online harassment. Not only will this new rule stifle victims from coming forward and receiving much-needed assistance to stay in school, but it will also unduly hinder many schools from responding effectively to many incidents of sexual violence. I sent a letter along with 105 of my colleagues to Secretary Devos demanding she rescind this rule.

DeVos’ audacity to finalize the Title IX rule amidst a global pandemic is even more shocking alongside her slow disbursement of emergency funds. Students have been waiting for over two months for this assistance, and yet, even more new limitations on the funds are coming to light. Instead of prioritizing students, DeVos continues to disregard their vital needs contrary to Congressional intent. This is unacceptable.

I am also appalled at DeVos’ decision to overturn the Borrower Defense Rule that has, for two decades, offered relief from federal loans based on fraudulent, misleading, or illegal actions by institutes of higher education. Organizations representing millions of students, borrowers, veterans, survivors and servicemembers have rejected this DeVos decision.

A great many of the 300,000 Venezuelans who live in this country live in South Florida. What more can or should be done to address the chaos in Venezuela?

We must take swift action for the tens of thousands of Venezuelans residing here, especially in the community I represent, which has the highest concentration of any other congressional district in the country.

The most immediate action that should be taken is granting of TPS, temporary protected status to Venezuelans, which would protect those who have fled Venezuela from deportations, and open access to work those residing in the U.S. Anyone who is forced to return to Venezuela will face a political, economic and health catastrophe. The President’s irresponsible refusal to provide these basic peace-of-mind protections is unconscionable.

In 2019, the U.S. House passed three bills sponsored by my South Florida colleagues. My legislation require a coherent U.S. strategy to combat Russia’s military presence in Venezuela as well as measures by Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, and Donna Shalala, to expand U.S. humanitarian assistance to Venezuela, and to prohibit U.S. exports of crime control materials that Maduro could use against pro-democracy protestors and his own people. These bills became law late last year.

The state commission investigating the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is critical of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA.) It’s been used to prevent law enforcement officers from sharing vital information about such serious events as a serial rapist on a campus, academic favoritism to athletes, biased admission policies and accidental injuries and deaths. It’s also allowed Broward’s school district to withhold what its personnel knew about Nikolas Cruz. Do you see a need for change and if so, how would you make it happen?

It is clear that while FERPA and other privacy laws are important, we need to reexamine how FERPA is interpreted and implemented in the context of schools and student safety.  It’s our responsibility to protect the privacy of our students. In our new digital age, we do not want this data to be misused.

While it is unacceptable that concerns about Nikolas Cruz were not brought to light, it is also of paramount importance that by focusing on FERPA, we do not neglect the root causes of school violence and, in the case of MSD, mass shootings in schools. Strong legislative action must be taken to ensure students and community members have access to robust and timely mental health services. Also, to ensure school safety, we must have strong, desperately needed action to limit access to guns.  

Like other metro areas, homelessness remains a big issue in South Florida. What should be the federal government’s role in addressing this problem?

The federal government must provide more affordable housing. This is a critical tool in our efforts to build a stronger, more vibrant, inclusive future for South Florida. The cost of living is too high in our cities and gentrification has exacerbated the rental housing crisis in some communities.

The Trump administration has not proposed any new solutions to address homelessness and in FY21 has sought to strip funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by 15%. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, more than 10 million low-income households spend more than 50 percent of their earnings on rent. These households are also twice as likely to fall behind on their rent and be threatened with eviction. Especially during COVID-19, Americans are struggling more than ever to afford housing.

To address this crisis, I recently held a housing Q&A with local experts and advocates on what still needs to be done to provide greater access to housing. While I am that glad DeSantis extended the eviction moratorium to July 1st, this crisis will not be over, and the federal government must do more.

This Administration is not addressing this issue with the seriousness it deserves. For many, homelessness and mental health concerns are inextricably linked. If more job training, access to health care or food were provided, our homelessness problem would diminish. Therefore, we must invest more substantially in social services to address the root causes of homelessness today.

As the MilCon VA subcommittee chair, our FY20 funding bill allocated over $1.8 billion for homeless prevention and care. The CARES Act provides healthcare, outreach, exams, treatment, referrals, and case management to homeless veterans. HEROES would do more such as allowing VA to provide transportation and purchase food, shelter, phones, clothing, blankets, and toiletry items for homeless veterans.

The House has passed significant gun control measures. One mandates background checks on all gun sales, including firearm purchases made privately, whether it be online or at gun shows. The other lengthens the review period for a background check from three to 10 days. Do you support these measures? If so, is there anything that could get the Senate to move?

I support and was an original co-sponsor each of these measures. I have also authored legislation to enforce existing background checks on ammunition. The same prohibitions for gun sales exist for ammunition, they are just not enforced. My bill, Jaimie’s Law, is named after the daughter of Fred Guttenberg, who was slain in the Marjory Stoneman Douglass mass school shooting.

Sadly, Republicans are so indebted to the NRA. It is nearly impossible to move this or any sensible gun safety bill without a Democratic majority in that body or a supportive President in the White House. Winning one or both of these GOP-controlled arms of government would allow for a larger space for compromise and consensus to pass basic reforms.

It’s been a little over two years since the nation’s worst high school shooting happened in Parkland. How would you assess the progress in making schools safe, and what more should be done?

One month after the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the STOP School Violence Act of 2018. This legislation authorized significant funding towards evidence-based prevention programs and activities for school safety and mental health services within the Department of Justice. These funds have been used to help states and localities implement evidence-based programs that can help students and teachers identify and prevent school violence.

In fact, in my role on the Appropriations Committee, I’ve been a vocal proponent for increased funding for the STOP School Violence Program.

While I am proud to say we have made progress and have more resources dedicated to school safety, we still have significant work to do. We need to get at the root of the problem which requires creating safe and supportive school climates. Improving school climate can be used as a preventative approach to reduce disruptive behavior and improve attendance, achievement, and student and parent satisfaction with schools. Most importantly, it leads to better mental health of students, less bullying, and enhanced physical safety overall.

A study by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education found that nearly three-quarters of school shooters had been bullied or harassed at school.

I am currently working on legislation to address school safety and school climate, the first of its kind on the federal level. My legislation will require states to form a Multi-Disciplinary Education Team of individuals including mental health professionals, school board members, principals, advocates, among others, who will develop a comprehensive and robust school safety and climate plan. The plan will require Teams to include specific evidence-based and culturally aware practices on school safety and climate. States will be awarded funding to implement their school safety plan within schools through a new grant program.

What do you make of the Army Corps designating the southern reservoir as a “new start,” which will cause delay?

The Administration has very recently determined that, since EAA (the Everglades Agricultural Area) was specifically authorized as part of CERP (comprehensive Everglades restoration plan) in WRDA (Water Resources Development Act) 2018, it will require a new start designation.  This means that the project cannot move forward to the construction phase until it wins a new start from the Army Corps and the Office of Management and Budget, for which it now must compete against other eligible Army Corps projects. 

Because of this decision, red tape will slow down this project that is so integral to efforts to restore South Florida’s historic, natural hydrologic cycle.  It is my view that Congress was clear in its legislative intent in WRDA 2018: moving the EAA timeline was a modification of an already existing project, not a new start project created where nothing existed previously.

The EAA Reservoir is a critical project that will help store more freshwater, filter it of excess nutrients, and send it down south to the Everglades, which so desperately needs the water.  Unchecked development in the twentieth century as well as improper flood control projects have led to the draining of our beloved River of Grass, which is now less than half of its historic size.  Climate change and drought are also major contributing factors to the degradation of this one-of-a-kind ecosystem and biodiversity haven, which is suffering from hypersalinity, nutrient excess, and impaired sheetflow.  

My office has raised all of these issues with the Army Corps, and I have registered my opposition to this decision.  Because I sit on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, I help fund the Corps and therefore possess significant influence over its activities.  I will continue to work with my colleagues on the subcommittee, the Army Corps, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and my colleagues on the authorizing committee to find a solution to this red tape problem.  Last year, I pushed the Appropriations Committee to include language to authorize CEPP (Central Everglades Planning Project) without a new start.  I also successfully pushed the Committee to increase the number of new starts that Congress makes available to the Corps. 

I will continue to work with the Appropriations Committee on a possible fix to the Everglades new start issue. I am also working with Rep. Mucarsel-Powell on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to try to get a solution into the next WRDA bill. 

When CERP was initially approved, it was estimated that it would take 30 years and $10 billion.  It is now projected that CERP will take 50 years and $13.5 billion.  If we are to save the Everglades and Florida Bay, we need to move forward post-haste. 

I have and will continue to do my part to provide federal funding for South Florida Ecosystem Restoration.  For FY 20, I led the charge to secure a historic $235 million in federal funding for the Everglades using my position on the Energy and Water Subcommittee.  I will continue to push for more funding and the elimination of unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles.  Despite unforeseen roadblocks, I am confident that the EAA project, which has bipartisan support, will still find a way forward.  I will make sure of it.

To an extent unseen before, even during the Nixon Administration, President Trump has claimed to be exempt, at least while in office, from laws that apply to others. What would you propose and/or support in response to this?

President Trump has repeatedly flouted laws and norms during his time in office. He refused to turn over his tax returns despite a demand from the Ways and Means Committee. During the Mueller investigation, he issued a blanket refusal to comply with Congressional subpoenas. He boldly and falsely claimed, “the president can’t have a conflict of interest” and continues to host foreign dignitaries at Trump-owned properties. He’s circumvented Congress to use money appropriated for other purposes to fund his border wall vanity project.

Sadly, there are so many more examples that are too voluminous to name.

Congress must do more to assert its authority as a co-equal branch of government. We should do this by pursuing our interests through the court system, as we’ve done already. We should also consider reviving Congress’s inherent contempt powers to compel compliance with requests for documents and testimony. We also need the Senate to join the House in asserting its authority as a co-equal branch of government. Their acquiescence to the Trump Administration’s overreach weakes

By dismissals, demotions and transfers, President Trump has extinguished the independence of the inspectors general and the ability of other agencies to perform their duties without fear of presidential reprisal. What, if anything, will you do to protect the independence and integrity of our civil servants?

In my role on the House Oversight Committee, and as an Appropriations subcommittee chairwoman, I’ve interacted directly with several Inspectors General. I understand their critical importance as stewards of taxpayer dollars and investigators of mismanagement, fraud, and abuse.  Especially, now when Congress is appropriating trillions of dollars in response to the COVID-19 crisis, we need independent IGs to make sure those funds are allocated efficiently and effectively.

The Trump Administration’s unprecedented purge of IGs demonstrates the fear they have for independent oversight.

I’m proud to cosponsor Congresswoman Maloney’s legislation that would limit the president’s power to remove IGs and require “good cause” conditions are met before these essential government watchdogs can be fired. The language from this bill was also included in the HEROES Act, and I will urge leadership to ensure it remains in any future relief package that is negotiated with the Senate.

How much money have you raised so far? Please include today’s date.

As of the last FEC campaign report March 30th, 2020, my re-election campaign has raised $1,159,580.05.

How much money has been raised by groups independently supporting your campaign?  Should any of them make false charges against an opponent, would you repudiate them?

I have no knowledge of third-party involvement in this race nor do I expect any.

Have you received any other endorsements? If so, which ones?

It is very early in the cycle so many organizations have not endorsed yet. Among those who have so far: Save Action PAC, Moms Demand Action, The Sierra Club, Courage to Fight Gun Violence, National Organization of Women PAC, The Florida LGBTQ Democratic Caucus, The National Education Association, The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence, Democratic Majority for Israel.

Every Congress I take an oath to protect our Constitution and the Rule of Law, to safeguard the basic framework of our democracy so we can all build a better nation together.

President Trump took this same oath. Yet indisputable evidence shows that he violated it. Only a blind partisan could ignore that this president grossly abused the power of his office, or deny that he poses an ongoing threat to our national security and election integrity.

Put simply, President Trump is corrupt and unfit for his office. Therefore, I will vote to impeach this president, both for abusing his power, and his flagrant obstruction of Congress.

President Trump used government resources for personal gain and put himself above the law – and no person or president is above the law.

This is not a conclusion I reached in haste. It is a difficult vote, but one that a mound of unrefuted evidence allows me to confidently cast.

No serious observer disputes the facts leading us here. Trump pressured a foreign government to investigate a domestic political rival. In order to secure this personal campaign assistance, the administration withheld bipartisan military aid and a vital White House meeting.

His actions undeniably weakened our national security. The foreign ally Trump shook down, Ukraine, is actively fighting a war against our adversary Russia.

Trump’s actions also invited foreign interference into our elections, and not for the first time: in 2016, candidate Trump invited Russia to meddle in our elections. A disturbing pattern emerges, which must be stopped to protect the sanctity of our electoral process.

A whistleblower sounded the alarm about Trump’s dangerous conduct. Several public servants, under oath, confirmed those warnings. A call readout between Trump and Ukraine’s president corroborated those claims.

The president and his chief of staff confess to much of this on camera. Other White House officials and documents could further confirm his corrupt conduct, yet Trump ordered them withheld from Congress. Rather than transparently prove his innocence, the president has engaged in an unprecedented stonewalling of Congressional oversight into his actions. Not a single White House document has been produced in response to duly authorized subpoenas issued by a co-equal branch of government that directly responds to these grave concerns.

These transgressions erode the Separation of Powers that bind our democracy’s vital system of checks and balances. For these reasons alone, Trump’s conduct is impeachable.

Yet my time in Congress as a House Appropriations Committee Member equips me to see his most glaring abuse of power.

The White House Office of Management and Budget’s hold on Ukrainian military assistance was an explicit abuse of its apportionment authority. It amounted to an illegal delay of aid. The Trump administration was aware of these legal issues yet bottled up the funding anyway.

This apportionment authority is meant to ensure an effective expenditure of Congressionally appropriated funds, to protect taxpayers and recipients. It is not a tool used to extort presidential favors from foreign nations.

If Trump can abuse this power beyond our borders with no consequence, what prevents him from withholding disaster aid from states that didn’t support him? Where does it stop?

Critics can cite other administration actions that inflicted great hardship on Americans or those who aspire to be, yet these policy decisions arguably speak only to Trump’s moral character. They may flout Constitutional safeguards, but are generally regarded as falling within his legal executive powers; most do not deem them as impeachable.

But with his conduct around Ukraine, President Trump corruptly abused his power for his own interests, at direct odds with our national welfare and Constitution.

President Trump put his interests before those of this nation. Left unchecked, he’d do it again – and has said so. With history watching, I must fulfill my Constitutional duty and vote to impeach this president. His corrupt conduct and assault on our Constitution leave no other choice.

Throughout this process, I listened as a member of the House Oversight Committee to career diplomats testify in depositions and found myself contemplating the gravity of this decision. One of my daughters asked then how I’d make my decision about impeachment. I told her that when her future children learn about President Trump’s impeachment, they may ask, “Mommy, what did Grandma do?” I told her I want my daughter to be able to tell her children, ‘Grandma did the right thing, because in America, no one is above the law.'”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for Florida’s 23rd congressional district.

Wealthy party donors like the Koch brothers reportedly spent $20 million to pass this GOP tax scam, and were rewarded with $1 billion in estimated annual tax savings.

Late last month, a Koch brother-backed group, absurdly named Americans for Prosperity, announced a new advertising campaign to attack my colleagues and me for supporting a spending bill that makes vital investments in our seniors, our children, and everyone in between. These advertisements are only a small chunk of the $400 million the group says it will spend influencing the 2018 elections.

That’s a frightening statistic. However, though you won’t hear me say this often, I’d actually like to thank the Koch brothers for informing South Floridians where I stand on this spending bill. It certainly was not a perfect bill. Yet, with the help of my fellow Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, we secured investments that will make America a stronger, safer, and healthier nation.

Our efforts resulted in a badly needed boost for essential governmental functions — defense, education, infrastructure, housing, veterans, and much more — that have been woefully underfunded since the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011. Republicans and Democrats agreed that the situation was unacceptable. This year, we are finally beginning to reinvest in these vital national priorities.

For example, our legislation increased funding for Head Start and Pell Grants — helping our nation’s students get ahead and stay ahead. We included additional protections for our clean air, clean water, and national parks. We also enacted increases in elderly and disabled housing, and made $2 billion in infrastructure improvements to VA facilities and medical and mental health services for those who have served our nation with pride.

In short, this spending bill was a complete rejection of the cruel budget that President Trump asked Congress to support. His proposal would have stripped health care away from millions of Americans and wasted tens of billions of taxpayer dollars on an irrational and ineffective border wall.

Notably, the bill we passed also makes vital investments benefiting all Floridians, including financing for Everglades restoration, as well as funds for shore and crop protections and hurricane restoration efforts. Moreover, the Florida delegation fought to give NOAA — the agency that tracks hurricanes — a $234 million budget increase, despite Trump’s proposal to cut it.

I’m also proud that, as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I was able to secure funding for many of the legislative issues I’ve fought for throughout my time in Congress. We protected programs that give young women the information they need to fight breast cancer, doubled the assistance given to help Holocaust survivors live with dignity, and made it possible to hire more law enforcement to combat online child exploitation across the nation.

So, why are the Koch brothers furious about these important investments? Well, according to their ad, “America can’t afford it.” That’s rich. (Pun intended.)

Remember, it was these same Koch brothers and their wealthy Republican friends who helped push through Trump’s tax giveaway that will add about $2 trillion to our nation’s debt over the next 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That’s more than 14 times the amount that this spending bill boosts investments over last year.

What America actually can’t afford is massive handouts for Wall Street and giant corporations. This tax scam was written by wealthy Republican donors, for wealthy Republican donors.

Now the Koch brothers are using part of those same tax handouts to attack workers bargaining for better wages and working conditions, and to block rules designed to make polluters pay for their toxic waste.

As we get closer to the midterm elections, we can expect to hear even more from right-wing billionaires furiously protecting their own profits. Instead of shying away from those fights, we must expose their misleading, self-serving attacks and speak out for our middle class values that will help everyone get ahead.

I want to thank the Koch brothers for helping me let my constituents know about my support for our community priorities.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for Florida’s 23rd congressional district.

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My daughter, a Broward County high school student, told me about the Stoneman Douglas shooting before my staff had the chance. She shared with me photographs and videos that no one of any age should ever have to see. Now they’ve become memories that students across Broward County will never forget.

We lost 17 souls that day. Students with giant aspirations, and teachers determined to get them there.

At funerals, vigils, and during all kinds of spontaneous acts of compassion, we have grieved for parents, siblings, spouses, friends, and loved ones. We have grieved with Parkland.

The loss is unimaginable. And yet, many in our community and across the country have felt this gut-wrenching heartbreak before.

In the United States of America, it is simply unacceptable that we tolerate students running for their lives with their backpacks on and allow parents to fear for the worst while they anxiously await a call or text back from their kids.

The sad truth is that my generation has failed to protect our children while they learn in school.

Identifying the problem isn’t good enough; we must do something about it. And over the past few weeks, I’ve been inspired by a group of individuals who feel the same way.

You’ve probably seen their faces on television or their posts on social media. The wisdom and courage of the high school students from Stoneman Douglas and across our community is breathtaking. They have cried, they have marched, and they have rallied.

When I recently met with a group of student government leaders from various Broward County high schools, I was struck by their intense commitment to this cause. They skipped out on basketball games and plans with friends to work together and make a difference.

First, they suggested ways to honor the friends and fellow students they had lost. Then they demanded solutions, and came up with a few on their own.

As a parent, these students make me feel proud. As a member of Congress, I want them to know I’ll support them with my voice and my vote.

At the federal level, we must get weapons of war off our streets. We also have an obligation to immediately close the massive loopholes in our background check system.

Those deemed by family members and law enforcement to pose a risk to themselves or the community should not be allowed to possess firearms. And we must finally allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study gun violence as a public health epidemic.

Here in Florida, it’s past time we reverse the stranglehold the corporate gun lobby exerts over state lawmakers. Florida law prohibits local elected officials from taking action to prevent gun violence by threatening them with fines and even removal from office. This policy is absurd, which is why I’m grateful that my hometown of Weston is standing up to the NRA to overturn it in court.

Unfortunately, those who argue that no single law can ever prevent all of these tragedies are absolutely right. That’s why it will take a sustained, collaborative effort to reduce gun violence.

For many years, an epidemic of youth drownings scourged our public pools. In response, Congress enacted legislation I proposed to make pools safer. Around the same time, online predators were targeting children at alarming levels, so Congress passed a bill I wrote to put barriers in the way of these vile criminals.

The gun debate should not be any different. Let’s close the gap between how South Florida is feeling and what Washington is doing. No generation should endure a lifetime of mass gun tragedies and violence.

It is our responsibility to keep our children safe. Florida’s courageous young people will lead the way — and I hope you will join me in standing beside them.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for Florida’s 23rd congressional district.

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At the time, FDR’s efforts were vital, urgent and offered the country hope. By contrast, cruel legislative intentions, a deep erosion of trust, and few accomplishments have marked Donald Trump’s first 100 days.

Trump’s extremist, xenophobic tea party agenda and policies have left him deeply unpopular outside of his base, and here in South Florida, it’s hard to find any groups he hasn’t threatened, offended or attacked.

Trump’s malicious agenda has targeted seniors, women, religious, racial and ethnic minorities, the sick, the poor and working Americans. Based on his initial actions, and many of the people he’s surrounded himself with, this has easily been the darkest first 100 Days in modern presidential history.

Yet like millions of Americans, I refuse to allow a reality TV star preoccupied by ratings, golf and social media taunts to inflict lasting damage on a country I love. In fact, it’s been inspiring to see so many people respond to Trump’s politics of fear and darkness with such a fierce patriotic resistance.

It started the day after the inauguration, when millions of us joined the Women’s March to say that we will not go back on all the progress we’ve made. Soon after, thousands more converged on airports to protest Trump’s Muslim ban.

When he tried to erase Jews from the history of the Holocaust, people of all faiths reminded Trump that the Holocaust was the systematic and state-sponsored murder of six million Jews by the Nazis, who believed Jews were “racially inferior.”

When the president backed a House Republican plan that would cause 24 million more people to be left uninsured, Americans soundly rejected the vicious Trumpcare proposal.

Sadly, it didn’t need to be this way. Trump campaigned on funding badly-needed infrastructure projects, and putting millions of people to work. Initially he even pledged to cover “everybody” with more affordable, better-quality insurance.

Democrats have long sought similar goals. Seriously pursuing them would have undoubtedly united us and made America stronger. Yet just like his campaign promise to release his tax returns, these were hollow pledges. Instead he’s pursued an agenda driven by fear and willful ignorance.

Entire immigrant communities now live in terror of reporting a crime or showing up to a hospital, because they risk deportation despite years of hard work in the United States.

As a breast cancer survivor, I know all too well that Trump’s latest plan to kill the Affordable Care Act means people with pre-existing conditions now must worry about losing health coverage or paying astronomical costs if the president gets his way.

The LGBT community’s recent dramatic civil rights victories appear less secure. And efforts to bring police and African-American communities closer together and improve frayed relationships are under threat as well. Women — over half the population — face greater threats to securing health care and control over their own bodies.

The grave threats don’t end there. He ignores climate science, wants to cut medical research, and would hamstring communities’ ability to pay for Meals on Wheels and after-school programs. Yet Trump wants U.S. taxpayers — not Mexico, as promised — to pay billions for a useless border wall.

His conflicts of interest are jaw dropping; and we have no idea how Trump’s public actions may benefit his own fortunes. His lack of transparency adds to the disturbing ties his political team has to Russia, with the looming cloud of an investigation into collusion to influence our presidential campaign.

Historians and pollsters already rate Trump’s presidential coming-out as one of the worst ever. Evidence indicates they are right.

The consequences America faces from Trump’s policies will be devastating for generations. We must use our collective voices and take action to fight back.

Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston represents Florida District 23.

Zika disproportionately affects pregnant women, women considering becoming mothers, and babies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the Zika virus during pregnancy can lead to microcephaly, which can have a disastrous impact on a newborn baby. Babies with microcephaly often have smaller brains that might not have developed properly, and can have a range of other problems, including seizures, developmental delay, intellectual disability, problems with movement and balance, feeding problems such as difficulty swallowing, hearing loss and vision problems.

Despite these medical issues affecting babies and unborn children, far too many of my Republican colleagues have opted to recklessly and shamefully delay emergency funding for Zika that President Obama and our public health officials requested eight months ago.

In clear contrast, my House Democratic colleagues and I have offered a number of bills and amendments to provide this funding, but House Republicans have voted down our measures repeatedly and offered a laughable variety of excuses for their inaction.

While my Republican colleagues have wasted away months – and been able to travel home to Congressional districts untouched by Zika – people in my South Florida Congressional district and throughout the state have suffered.

South Floridians like Angel Small, who joined me at a local press conference and shared her story about how the Zika virus has changed her daily life. Every day before she leaves the house, she sprays herself with bug spray. Like Angel, women all across our region live with the fear of not knowing whether one mosquito bite will dramatically alter their unborn child’s life – and as a mother of three kids, I know how truly difficult that must be for them.

South Florida business owners like Adrian Gonzalez, the owner of David’s Café and Market Place in Miami Beach, have suffered too. I stood with Adrian in his family’s café, just days after local transmission of the Zika virus was confirmed in Miami Beach, and listened as he described how his business would be affected by this crisis.

Angel and Adrian are the real people living under the threat of the Zika virus – not unfazed House Republicans who continue to sit on their hands and play politics with this crisis. Unfortunately, they are the ones holding back our government’s response, by refusing to drop a poison pill rider that would prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving any supplemental federal funding for combating the Zika virus.

That’s right – my Republican colleagues have decided the most appropriate response to a virus that overwhelmingly affects pregnant women is to place a politically-motivated ban on the providers who can provide contraceptive care.

I’ve done many things to raise awareness and sound the alarm bells on this issue and will continue to until Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans stop playing with fire. This crisis has already hit South Florida hard, and until Republicans take the threat of the virus’ spread seriously, I fear that it won’t be long before it hits their Congressional districts too.

It’s clear that mosquitoes don’t know geographical boundaries – I just hope that my colleagues in the United States Congress don’t either. While this might seem like Florida’s problem today, we are all Americans, and whether we live in South Florida or South Dakota, we deserve better from our Representatives.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, represents Florida’s 23rd district