Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson proudly represents Florida’s 24th Congressional District. It is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse districts in the nation and includes parts of northwest Miami-Dade and southern Broward counties.
Recognizing her record of service and productivity, in 2010 voters overwhelmingly elected her to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a former educator, elementary school principal, community leader, school board member, state legislator, and founder of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, Congresswoman Wilson earned a reputation as a “Voice for the Voiceless.” Her tenure in Congress, now in its fourth term, also has been marked by her signature spirit of unrelenting advocacy on behalf of the less fortunate.
We have just one planet, and it's up to us to protect it.
As a lifelong Floridian, I have a deep appreciation of our land's incredible beauty and bounty as well as its vulnerability. I have been and will continue to be a strong advocate for the restoration and protection of the Everglades. I moreover pledge to protect our shorelines from the dangers posed by offshore oil drilling and to protect the Endangered Species Act from politically-motivated attacks. Florida is blessed with more treasured beaches than any other state in the Union and has the third-highest number of endangered species in the nation. We must prioritize their protection.
I am also convinced that climate change poses a serious threat to our state and our nation. As President Obama said in his Second Inaugural Address, we can no longer ignore devastating fires, crippling drought, dangerous storms, and rising sea levels. I am committed to smart energy policies that fight climate change by cutting carbon emissions and boosting renewable fuel production. As the solar industry has demonstrated, by investing in new clean technologies, we can not only protect our planet but also create new high-wage jobs.
Growing up in Florida—with its tremendous cultural diversity—is excellent preparation for serving as an advocate for peace, justice, and human rights in Congress. I remain committed to fighting for the underserved and the persecuted globally.
My foreign policy priorities include the following:
Ending the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: Recent estimates suggest that the past decades wars have cost American taxpayers upwards of $4 trillion. This is to say nothing of the thousands of precious lives lost. At a time of widespread budget cuts to education and other vital services, we simply cannot continue these wars. I am advocating in Congress for a prompt end to our wars abroad.
Honoring our Troops: In Congress, I will continue to advocate that our troops have the best equipment, healthcare, and services available. The one percent of Americans who voluntarily raise their right hand and swear to protect the rest of us deserve nothing less. These individuals also deserve honest, forthright and clear answers whenever we choose to send them into harm's way. As a Member of Congress, I will make sure that we make smart, intelligent decisions regarding the use of military force.
Standing with Israel: Our bond with Israel is unbreakable. In Congress, I have fought to affirm this truth by sponsoring legislation to ensure robust assistance to Israel and apply strong and steady pressure on Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Peace in the Middle East depends on reason, understanding, and acceptance that all parties have the basic right to exist. I call on Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist as an essential step to ending a conflict that has lasted too long and taken far too many lives.
Strengthening Caribbean-American Relations: I am proud of my Caribbean-American heritage, and I am committed to fighting for human rights and economic progress in the region. In Congress, I am advocating to ensure that Cuba protects the human rights of all of its citizens, including the freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, and the right to vote in fair elections. I have pushed for proactive development and recovery assistance for the people of Haiti, championing causing including Temporary Protected Status for Haitians currently in the United States and stronger protections for Haitian women from gender-based violence.
America is still the strongest, wealthiest nation on earth. We must continue to do our part to reduce poverty, raise living standards, and strengthen cooperation globally.
Miami-Dade County—parts of which I am fortunate to represent in Congress—is home to the largest Haitian-American population in the United States, and I am proud to call Haitian-Americans my friends, my constituents, and, yes, my family.
This made the events of January 2010 particularly heart-wrenching for me. Approximately 293,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, leaving 1.5 million people in insecure living situations including camps with high levels of violence. Nearly 80 percent of the schools in Port-au-Prince were rendered unusable, leaving young people with limited opportunity and no place to spend their days. Almost 25 percent of civil servants in Port-au-Prince were killed, leaving the nation with a staggering need for government capacity including judicial officers and police.
Haiti is a top priority for me in Congress. I have been a tireless advocate to ensure the continuation of post-earthquake Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants until 2013. With support from more than a dozen Members of the US Congress, I developed a resolution calling on the US Government, the Government of Haiti, and others in the international community to take specific steps to reduce the incidence of gender-based violence in Haiti.
America has always been a nation of immigrants. People from other nations—who arrived here both with and without documentation—have enriched our society and made tremendous contributions to our economy. This is true now more than ever. As we seek to overcome the lasting effects of the Great Recession, immigrants are engines of job-creation and a vital source of economic strength.
Since my time in the Florida Legislature, I have been a proud voice for fairness in immigration. Our current system is broken. With backlogs lasting years, millions of people are kept from reuniting with their family members or contributing to our economy. In the immigration process, many more are deprived of the basic legal rights that our Constitution enshrines.
It's time to bring America's hardworking immigrants out of the shadows. President Obama acted showed true leadership by implementing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)policy, protection a million young immigrants from deportation. The next step should be passage of the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which I cosponsored in Congress to provide safety to countless new Americans and add upwards of $329 billion to the US economy. This year, I'm calling on Congress to do what America has demanded and pass a comprehensive immigration reform plan that creates a path for undocumented Americans to obtain citizenship.
I am fighting for an immigration system that respects families, protects human rights, and strengthens our economy.
Unemployment is our real deficit. Unemployment is not only the moral crisis of our time — leaving families homeless and dreams destroyed — but also an underlying cause of our federal government's increased levels of borrowing. Massive job losses following the 2008 financial crisis left us with fewer tax receipts and more people requiring benefits.
There's ultimately only one responsible way to reduce the federal deficit: Get everyone trained, working, and contributing to the tax base.
This is why I sponsored the Jobs Now Act, a 21st Century update to President Nixon's Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program, to provide funding directly to local governments to train and hire millions of Americans to do crucial work in our communities.
This is why President Obama has proposed the comprehensive American Jobs Act to repair our nation's aging roads, bridges, and electrical systems while retraining millions to succeed in the global marketplace.
This is why economists, activists, and everyday citizens have called out for targeted spending to proactively protect our cities from the impacts of natural disasters, to educate our young children to one day compete in the global economy, and to undertake research to maintain our edge in medical and communications technologies.
I am serving in Congress first and foremost to address the issue on each and every American's mind: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.
I oppose Republican efforts to change Medicare from an entitlement to a voucher program for individuals aged 54 and under. It is simply unfair to balance the budget and make cuts to this vital entitlement program without even considering all options to balance the budget. This voucher program does not keep pace with medical costs, shifting thousands of dollars of costs onto individuals. For those currently on Medicare, it also raises costs for seniors and individuals with disabilities enrolled in Medicare, reduces their benefits, and puts private insurance companies in charge of the program. For current beneficiaries, important benefits – such as closing the hole in Medicare's drug coverage – would be immediately eliminated.
I am proud to serve as a member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and as the Ranking Democratic Member of the Subcommittee on Technology. In these roles, I am working to ensure our nation maintains its competitive edge in technology, advocating to increase diversity in fields including scientific research and engineering, and fighting to bring high-paying aerospace and technology jobs to Florida.
Our nation's sophisticated science and technology programs have provided the foundation of our economic strength. But we cannot take this for granted. Over the last decade, the U.S. lost nearly 6 million manufacturing jobsand closed down at least 40,000 industrial facilities.
This has terrible consequences for our living standards. We need to keep up investments in programs to advance our understanding of medicine, alternative energy, ecosystems, and engineering. I'm proud to work with our partners in the education sector—including Miami-Dade College and Florida International University—to ensure that Florida is leading the way on scientific research. The only way our nation can overcome restore its economic promise is through learning and innovation. As a lifelong educator, I am committed to ensuring we are successful in these pursuits.
Every American deserves economic security in retirement or disability. Since the 1930s, this has been a national promise. Social Security has, since that time, kept tens of millions of people out of poverty and saved countless lives.
As a Member of Congress, I am deeply committed to protecting Social Security. This means I will vote against any measure to privatize the program, cut benefits, or increase the eligibility age. As a core commitment, I believe Social Security recipients should be entitled to maintain their purchasing power. This is why I strongly believe we must maintain the current system of adjusting to account for changes in the cost of living.
While many politicians have argued that we must overhaul or even eliminate Social Security to cope with the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement, I reject this argument. Without any cost-savings, leading economists estimate Social Security will be fully solvent for at least the next 25 years. I pledge to find new ways to strengthen Social Security and extend its solvency without placing an undue burden on the backs of deserving recipients.
Again and again, the men and women of our Armed Services demonstrate extraordinary courage and selflessness. The sacrifices they and their families routinely make are difficult to fathom. In Congress, I am committed to honoring our service members not only with words but with deeds. I strongly support President Obama's efforts to increase funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that all veterans have access to top quality healthcare and employment services. I am particularly committed to ensuring that our men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have the support they need to find meaningful work, a good income, and the social support they need upon arriving home. For this reason, I am also a strong supporter of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which provides educational benefits to veterans. Caring for returning warriors is one of society's most sacred obligations. It's an obligation I promise to uphold.
Quality housing is an essential part of the American Dream. But—with high unemployment, a continuing foreclosure crisis, and the declining availability of public housing options—it's increasingly difficult to find a suitable and affordable place to live.
In Congress, I have championed the cause of stopping home evictions in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. I sponsored the Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Act to bring banks and homeowners together to find alternatives to eviction. I have also been a strong supporter of
I have also engaged the community directly, facilitating a successful Foreclosure Prevention Workshop in Miami Gardens in 2012. I will continue working to create incentives for banks to come to the table and find workable solutions for struggling homeowners.
I have also been proud to stand up for public housing options. It's a travesty that no federal funds have gone toward new public housing in recent decades. It's time to reverse this trend. I support new funding for public housing, including full funding for the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which would boost the supply of quality housing for the lowest-income Americans.
The U.S. labor force is a pillar of our nation’s strength. Congresswoman Wilson believes that we must protect and advance the rights, protections, and benefits our labor force needs to work with dignity and create better lives for themselves and their families.
As Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, she has been an outspoken advocate for expanded labor rights and worker protections.
Click here for more information on her work as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
My personal experiences in Florida in recent elections testify to a simple fact: Voter suppression remains a serious threat to civil rights in 21st Century America. Marathon voting lines for low-income and minority groups, reduced early voting hours, voters purges, and voter registration restrictions, remain endemic. While our nation has made progress since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, voter discrimination remains a reality.
As a result of voters in Florida having to contend with long lines and long wait times to cast their vote on Election Day 2012, I formally requested a review by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).