By Brandy Bailey, ElectWomen Magazine Contributor

Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s concern for children and working families is what first motivated her to run for office in 1992, where she made history as the youngest woman ever elected to the Florida state legislature at the age of 26. Throughout this first race she displayed a vision and enthusiasm for the people of South Florida that allowed her to win the seat with 53% of the vote in a six-way race despite the fact that she’d only been a resident of Broward County for three years. She served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1992-2000 then went on to serve in the State Senate from 2000-2004.  On January 4, 2005 Debbie Wasserman Schultz made history again when she was sworn in as the first Jewish Congresswoman ever elected from Florida. 

When she arrived in Washington she already had a reputation as a force to be reckoned with.  On the first day of the new 110^th Congress the House Committee on Appropriations recommended that she serve as a Cardinal, and chair the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.  Later, House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina selected and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appointed her to serve as a Chief Deputy Whip.  This role places her among an elite group of senior Members and Caucus opinion leaders that meet weekly to discuss long-range policy goals and key issues facing Congress.  In her first term, Representative Wasserman Schultz served as a Senior Whip, the only freshman chosen to serve on the Whip team.

In addition to the recognition she has received from her colleagues Rep. Wasserman Schultz has also received a great deal of attention from the media for her work.  Campaigns and Elections Magazine named her one of “Five Women to Watch in Congress.”  Congressional Quarterly called her “a rising star in House Democratic ranks.”  Roll Call newspaper identified her as one of six members of the House of Representatives worth watching.  Politico newspaper identified her as one of “Six Women in the House Worth Watching.”  Her work has also been featured nationally in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, among others. 

Most recently she made headlines when she introduced the EARLY Act (Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act) and made public her own battle against breast cancer.  The EARLY Act directs the Centers for Disease Control to develop and implement a national education campaign about the threat breast cancer poses to young women of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.  The goal of the campaign is to educate young women and to enable health care professionals to identify the specific threats and warning signs of breast cancer, which will  lead to early diagnoses and saved lives.

What is most remarkable and what makes this piece of legislation particularly special to Wasserman Schultz is that throughout last year’s presidential campaign where she stumped for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and managed her own reelection campaign she kept quiet the fact that she was fighting for her life against breast cancer.  During this time she underwent seven major surgeries that included the removal of her breast tissue and ovaries.

“I introduced the EARLY Act to help raise awareness of the threat breast cancer poses to all young women, and to highlight the heightened risks for certain ethnic, cultural, or racial groups,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz, sponsor of the EARLY Act.  “Breast cancer is often thought of as an older women’s disease. I hope the EARLY Act will help show women across the nation that breast cancer knows no boundaries.”

In 2008, the American Cancer Society projected 182,460 new cases of breast cancer in women – of those it was estimated 10,000 of these women would be under 40 years of age. While the incidence of young women with breast cancer is much lower than older women, young women’s breast cancers tend to be more aggressive and result in lower survival rates.  In addition, certain ethnic groups – including Ashkenazi Jews and African American women under the age of 40 – have an increased risk of breast cancer.

The EARLY Act was introduced to Congress on March 26^th with 299 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for review.  

For more information about the EARLY Act visit Representative Wasserman Schultz website at:  http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/earlyact.