President-elect Donald Trump has picked a former Wall Street executive to be the chief overseer of our financial system as the next U.S. Treasury Secretary. Mnuchin has made it clear that he wants to weaken tough, new Dodd-Frank regulations, and roll back hard won consumer protections that have strengthened our financial system. Given that background and viewpoint, Steven Mnuchin seems to be preparing to reverse our progress in reining in Wall Street excesses, or forcefully protecting consumers from the shady lending practices that devastated communities throughout Florida. Read more »
President-elect Donald Trump has picked a former Wall Street executive to be the chief overseer of our financial system as the next U.S. Treasury Secretary. Mnuchin has made it clear that he wants to weaken tough, new Dodd-Frank regulations, and roll back hard won consumer protections that have strengthened our financial system. Given that background and viewpoint, Steven Mnuchin seems to be preparing to reverse our progress in reining in Wall Street excesses, or forcefully protecting consumers from the shady lending practices that devastated communities throughout Florida. Read more »
With what we have recently learned about his apparent conflicts of interest – including filing legislation to benefit a medical device company in which he recently bought stock – it's clear that he's also another swimmer in President-Elect Donald Trump's "Swamp." No Member of Congress or Cabinet Secretary - or President for that matter, should be creating the appearance of lining their own pockets on the taxpayers' dime. Unfortunately, President-Elect Trump, whose own record is rife with conflicts of interest, has tapped a number of Cabinet appointees that fit this alarming pattern. Congressman Price's appalling record on health care policy should be reason enough to reject his nomination but it should be withdrawn if these allegations prove to be accurate. Read more »
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Education Secretary has displayed one consistent value: an open hostility toward public schools and teachers. Betsy DeVos champions ïreforms' that basically defund, undercut and privatize public education, with a goal of turning it over to loosely-regulated, for-profit charter schools. Read more »
Today we honor and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and all the progress he ushered in for our nation. He helped expand the right to vote - our sacred franchise - and demanded equality in our public accommodations. An organizer, activist and preacher, he knew well the importance of forging bonds between people, to secure progress and improve our world. He knew that achievements like the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act did not magically appear on President Lyndon Johnson's desk – they only arrived there by uniting people from all over the country. Read more »
Sunrise, FL – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) issued the following statement today in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
“As Americans come together to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we are surrounded by far too many reminders of the progress that we have not yet made. Those with hate in their hearts have stormed college campuses… Read more »
Unfortunately, Senator Sessions has a steep mountain to climb during his confirmation hearing. He has a long and disturbing track record of barring the schoolhouse door on voting rights, including Sessions' decision to prosecute a close advisor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The NAACP has strongly opposed his nomination, saying that he has "callously ignored the reality of voter suppression but zealously prosecuted innocent civil rights leaders on trumped-up charges of voter fraud. As an opponent of the vote, he can't be trusted to be the chief law enforcement officer for voting rights. Read more »
It was six years ago today that a disturbed gunman killed six people at a supermarket in Tucson Arizona, including wounding my close friend and former colleague, Gabrielle Giffords. Sadly since that horrifying day, America has witnessed a stunning number of mass shootings that are disturbingly all too similar to that one. This summer, we saw the largest mass shooting in American history in Orlando, where 49 people died and 53 others were injured. And on Friday, we added another mass murder, darkening further an already traumatic anniversary, when five more innocent people were brutally killed in cold blood after a gunman opened fire at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport in my own Congressional district. Six more were injured and countless travelers were traumatized. Read more »
I am devastated and saddened by the tragic news coming from the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in my congressional district, and I have been actively in touch with federal and local law enforcement to stay on top of the details in real time. For now, we need to allow law enforcement and emergency personnel to do their job and keep people safe. Passengers are sheltering in place throughout the airport and law enforcement is in the process of meticulously securing the terminals. My thoughts are with the victims as well as the wounded and their families right now, and the countless others who were traumatized by this senseless violence. Until we know more, it's not prudent to speculate on what motivated this horrifying incident. But sadly, I fear we have witnessed yet another disturbing moment in our nation's ceaseless struggle with gun violence. Read more »
I voted for and cosponsored tonight's resolution to reaffirm our unbreakable commitment to Israel, our most true and dependable Middle East ally. This resolution rightly acknowledges the United States' longstanding policy that direct, bilateral negotiations are the only viable method for achieving peace, and that our country must reject any attempt to internationalize the peace process. We cannot allow Israel's enemies to use international organizations like the UN to undermine and attack it. Instead, we must continue to support Israel by building on the historic Memorandum of Understanding regarding security assistance and standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel as we undertake the difficult task of obtaining a long and lasting peace. Read more »
