Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) issued the following statement after the US House of Representatives passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014:

“Since arriving in Congress, I have been a strong defender of Social Security, Medicare, education funding, and effective public investments that create jobs and opportunity. This bill is a step in the right direction because it ends many of the savage and ill-conceived cuts under sequestration. The bill increases education funding—including fully-funding Head Start and $250 million in grants to expand preschool programs—and will result in new job-creating investments in research and infrastructure. The bill also includes language to delay certain flood insurance premium increases that would impact Florida homeowners. As a lifelong educator and a sponsor of legislation to end sequestration, invest in job-creation, and address the flood insurance crisis, I was very pleased to see the inclusion of these provisions in the bill.

But the bill is not perfect. It fails to extend emergency unemployment insurance and uphold Congress’s moral obligation to millions who have been locked out of the job market. This is unconscionable at a time when there are more than three unemployed people for every job opening in America. Congress must also go much further if it is to save all Florida homeowners from serious flood insurance increases—this is why I sponsored the Homeowners Defense Act and recently wrote to Speaker Boehner to demand a more expansive fix to the flood insurance crisis.

While I am pleased to see Congress moving beyond the foolish gridlock that resulted in last year’s shutdown, I am committed to winning relief for America’s unemployed and returning Congress to a serious job-creation agenda.”

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Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson is a second-term Congresswoman from Florida representing parts of Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward counties. A former state legislator and school principal, she is the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school. Along with Congressman Bill Posey, Congresswoman Corrine Brown, and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, Congresswoman Wilson serves as founding Co-Chair of the Florida Ports Caucus, a bipartisan taskforce that coordinates federal action in support of Florida’s harbors and waterways.