Debbie Wasserman Schultz

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Debbie Wasserman Schultz

United States Representative from Florida's 20th district
In office 2005-Present
Preceded by	Peter Deutsch
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	September 27, 1966 New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Steve Schultz
Religion	Jewish

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (born September 27, 1966) is a Florida Democrat elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004, serving in Florida's 20th District (map). The district includes portions of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. She was born in Queens, New York and grew up on Long Island. She currently lives in Weston, Florida, just outside Fort Lauderdale. She is a mother of three and is married to Steve Schultz.

1 Personal Background
2 U.S. Congress
3 Terri Shiavo Controversy
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Personal Background

She graduated from the University of Florida and received a B.A. (Political Science) in 1988 and a M.A. in 1990. Schultz was a program administrator and an instructor at a Florida college as well as a state legislative aide to Peter Deutsch, with whom she is considered closely aligned in ideology. Wasserman Schultz is pro-choice, pro-gun control and pro-gay rights.

Deutsch gave up his state house seat to make a successful run for the 20th District in 1992, and Schultz succeeded him, becoming the youngest female legislator in Florida's history. She was elected to the Florida Senate in 2000. During her tenure in both Florida's House and Senate, she was considered one of the most liberal representatives in Florida. She fought for legislation protecting women, seniors, and children, including legislation requiring gender price parity for dry cleaning and ensuring an equal number of men and women were appointed to state boards. She pushed through several bills including the Florida Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act and one creating a Children's Services Council for Broward County.

[edit] U.S. Congress

Wasserman Schultz, who is Jewish, is an active member of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Planned Parenthood and Hadassah. She received an award from the Save The Manatee Club for commitment to manatee protection as state senator.

In 2004, Deutsch gave up his Congressional seat to make an unsuccessful run for the Senate seat of fellow Democrat Bob Graham. He endorsed Schultz as his successor. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and was a nearly overwhelming favorite in November.

Wasserman Schultz's Republican opponent was Margaret Hostetter, a realtor and outspoken conservative. Her campaign site lampooned Wasserman Schultz for protesting an American flag photograph with a Christian cross on it that was on display in a government building. Hostetter wrote, "Elect Margaret Hostetter to Congress November 2 and send the clear message that Americans respect and support ... the foundational role Christianity has had in the formation of our great nation. Our rights come from God, not the state." Hostetter also suggested that Wasserman Schultz should not be elected because she would not have enough time to devote to Congress because of her three young children. These statements ended any realistic chance of defeating Schultz, although the 20th is so heavily Democratic that Hostetter faced very long odds in any case.

Schultz was victorious, taking 70.2% to Hosteller's 29.8%. When Wasserman Schultz was sworn in on January 4, 2005, she insisted on using the Tanakh. Because Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert only had a Christian Bible, a copy of the Tanakh was borrowed by Hastert's staff from Congressman Gary Ackerman for this purpose.^[1] She was unopposed in 2006, and it is not likely that she will face serious opposition in the near future.

Wasserman Schultz was appointed to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She is a member of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's 30 Something Working Group, which is comprised of congressional Democrats under age 40. The group concentrates on issues affecting young people, including Social Security. She also has joined the bipartisan Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus.

[edit] Terri Shiavo Controversy

During the Terri Schiavo controversy, she was one of the strongest opponents of congressional intervention. She publicly accused President Bush of hypocrisy for signing a 1999 bill as governor of Texas which allows health care workers to remove life support for terminally ill patients if the patient or family is unable to pay the medical bills. The Daily Show ran a clip of Wasserman Schultz citing the case of a six-month old Texas baby whose life support had been removed over the objections of his family while the Schiavo controversy was still ongoing. In an editorial, the Miami Herald wrote: "During three hours of debate ... the freshman Democrat distinguished herself by repeatedly challenging those who tried to misstate the facts surrounding Schiavo's health."

Political offices
Preceded by: Peter Deutsch	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 20th congressional district 2005-Present	Succeeded by: Incumbent