October 28, 2010

Debbie Wassserman Schultz named in Jewish Daily Forward’s "The Forward 50"

Jewish Daily Forward

THE FORWARD 50

POLITICS

DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

U.S. Representative Debbie Wassserman Schultz is named in Forward 50 — the annual list of the 50 men and women who have made a significant impact on the Jewish story in the past year.

The first Jewish woman elected to Congress from the Sunshine State, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has risen quickly through Democratic Party ranks. As vice chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the South Florida congresswoman has been a driving force behind the party’s 2010 election season strategy and its fundraising efforts. She is thought to be a leading contender to become chairwoman of the DCCC. Wasserman Schultz also serves as the House Democratic chief deputy whip and as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

Her meteoric rise since her election to Congress in 2005 is even more impressive because it coincided with her breast cancer diagnosis. She has undergone seven major surgeries, including a double mastectomy. She has tested positive for the BRCA2 genetic mutation — a mutation most commonly found in Ashkenazi Jews that greatly increases the risk for breast and ovarian cancers. This year, she led the successful effort to designate the last week of September as National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week.

Wasserman Schultz, 44, whose efforts, back in 2006, helped bring about the presidential proclamation that established Jewish American Heritage Month, this year introduced a House resolution that would expand the social services offered to Holocaust survivors — with a special focus on those whose incomes are less than 200% of the federal poverty line.