South Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz will chair the U.S. House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee. She becomes the first woman to hold that position.
“The MilCon/Va Appropriations Subcommittee is the only one in the Congress that makes policy and provides funding for the entire life cycle of an individual’s service, from their time in the military and after they leave the service and join the ranks of veterans,” the South Florida Democrat’s office noted when she announced her new assignment.
“I’m truly honored to be the first woman ever to take this gavel,” Wasserman Schultz said. “After this historic election cycle when a record number of women were elected to Congress, serving in this role will allow me to bring a unique perspective to quality of life issues for our military and veterans.
“I’m also fiercely determined to work diligently, and across the aisle, to ensure that our nation’s veterans and the men and women who serve, get the resources and support they need,” Wasserman Schultz said in the statement.
Wasserman Schultz was first elected to Congress in 2004. She took to the national stage in 2011 when she became chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and led the party in 2012 as then President Barack Obama won a second term. She stepped down from the DNC post in July 2016 after controversy about her support for Hillary Clinton over competing presidential candidate Bernie Saunders.
She went on to beat Republican Joe Kaufman 57 percent to 41 percent in the general election, increasing her margin to 59 per cent in 2018.
