Today, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) called on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) to hold hearings examining the recent wave of state legislative efforts aimed at impeding and disenfranchising voters - including the radical overhaul of voting rights in Florida recently signed into law by Republican Governor Rick Scott. A recent New York Times article reports that many of these laws are the result of politically motivated efforts in Republican-dominated state legislatures to reduce vo... Read more

Congressman Ted Deutch has signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 1028, the Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2011. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) ensures that employees, their spouses, and dependent children can get their employer-sponsored health coverage after a "qualifying event," including when the employee leaves or loses a job. However, there is no requirement that COBRA benefits be made available to an employee’s same-sex partner or spouse, or even the children of that p... Read more

Deutch Authors Letter to Department of Justice (Boca Raton, FL) Today, the Democratic congressional delegation of Florida united to express their serious concerns over H.B. 1355, the radical and far-reaching overhaul of Floridians’ voting rights currently awaiting Governor Rick Scott’s signature. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Representatives Ted Deutch (FL-19), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-23), Corrine Brown (FL-3), Kathy Castor (FL-11), Frederica Wilson (FL-17), Wasserman Schultz... Read more

Congressman Ted Deutch has signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 965, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2011. The Translational Genomics Research Institute conclusively linked the routine use of antibiotics in food-animal production to deadly, antibiotic-resistant MRSA that can infect humans. The study demonstrated that the deadly strain of MRSA originated from a weaker bacteria strain that could be cured with antibiotics. Once in animals, the bacteria became resistant to a... Read more

Rep. Ted Deutch spoke in opposition to H.R. 3, legislation advanced by the Republican leadership that radically infringes on women's reproductive rights and even levies taxes on women and businesses whose private health insurance plans offer coverage for abortion services. Read more

Today, Congressman Ted Deutch joined over 30 of his House colleagues on a letter urging Attorney General Eric Holder to do more to protect victims of improper foreclosures. The Members urged the attorneys general to consider concerns raised by a broad coalition of consumer, labor, civil rights, and other organizations about the ongoing settlement talks between state attorneys general and mortgage servicers involved in improper and unlawful activities connected to the foreclosure crisis. “In the ... Read more

Congressman Ted Deutch has signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 1002, the Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011. As the FCC explained in the National Broadband Plan, “wireless broadband is poised to become a key platform for innovation in the United States over the next decade.” Expanding investment and access to advanced wireless networks will be a major driver of economic growth and opportunity. This is especially true for minority and low-income Americans, who typically use wireless devices to access... Read more

Congressman Ted Deutch has signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 1116, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Enacted in 1996, DOMA singles out lawfully married same-sex couples for unequal treatment under federal law. This law discriminates in two important ways: It allows states to refuse to recognize valid civil marriages of same-sex couples, and the law carves all same-sex couples, regardless of their marital status, out of all federal statutes, reg... Read more

Congressman Deutch has cosponsored legislation with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) that would create one or more Medicare-administered prescription drug plans to compete with the expensive, privately administered prescription drug plans currently offered under Medicare Part D. The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices. The legislation would help protect seniors and individuals with disabilities by providing an alterna... Read more

Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) has joined more than 50 Members of Congress on a letter to Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA), calling for Fannie and Freddie to take a leadership role in stemming the current foreclosure crisis. In part, the lawmakers write that FHFA has failed to use its influence to effect crucial changes that would slow the continuing decline of the housing market and maximize return to the taxpayer. "Through no fault of their own, tho... Read more