Wasserman Schultz is the representative for Florida’s 23rd congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. She has served since Jan 3, 2013. Wasserman Schultz is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.
She was previously the representative for Florida’s 20th congressional district as a Democrat from 2005 to 2012.
![Photo of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL23]](/static/legislator-photos/400623-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Wasserman Schultz is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Wasserman Schultz has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 19, 2021. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Wasserman Schultz was the primary sponsor of 8 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 7609: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021
- H.R. 2745: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020
- H.R. 1846 (115th): PROTECT Our Children Act of 2017
- H.R. 5571 (114th): Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act
- H.R. 1998 (114th): HERO Act of 2015
- H.R. 5185 (113th): EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014
- H.R. 2276 (112th): To require the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to conduct a study on effective ways to provide confirming genetic diagnostic test activity where ...
Does 8 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Wasserman Schultz sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (25%) Crime and Law Enforcement (21%) International Affairs (14%) Immigration (11%) Housing and Community Development (11%) Armed Forces and National Security (11%) Environmental Protection (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of Wasserman Schultz’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.Res. 19: Condemning and censuring Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas.
- H.Res. 7: Authorizing the Speaker to administer the oath of office.
- H.R. 7732: How Awareness and Prevention Protect You Act
- H.R. 7609: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021
- H.R. 7284: Police Accountability and Community Engagement Act of 2020
- H.R. 6185: Save Our Springs Act of 2020
- H.R. 5658: Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2020
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2005 to Jan 2021, Wasserman Schultz missed 585 of 11,062 roll call votes, which is 5.3%. This is much worse than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
