As a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet of United Jewish Communities, Deutch organized over 2,500 people to march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to pressure Congress on a slate of issues affecting children and the elderly. At the end of his tenure in the state senate, Deutch served as vice chair of the Committee on Regulated Industries and the Policy and Steering Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee.[7]
After Florida underwent redistricting in 2012, Deutch's district was renumbered as the 21st district.[10] Deutch won the November 6 general election with no major-party opposition.[11]
In December 2015, Florida underwent redistricting due to a Supreme Court ruling. Most of Deutch's territory became the 22nd district, and was pushed further into Broward County. In the process, it absorbed the portion of Broward County that had previously been in the neighboring 22nd district represented by Lois Frankel, which had been renumbered as the 21st. This came after the state supreme court suggested it was better to have only one district splitting the two counties. After the new lines were announced, Deutch announced he would run in the new 22nd. Although the new lines put his home near Boca Raton just inside the borders of the 21st, members of Congress are required only to live in the state they wish to represent. In a statement, Deutch stressed his longstanding ties to Broward County, which accounted for 80% of the reconfigured district. He had represented much of the Broward County portion of the district for a decade at the federal and state levels. The Sun Sentinel also noted that staying in a Broward-based district would increase Deutch's statewide and national profile by allowing him to advertise on Miami/Fort Lauderdale television.[13]
In the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Deutch spoke out in favor of expanded gun control legislation. Stoneman Douglas is in his district. He spoke at a CNN town hall meeting and urged action. "A lot of people have told this community—people from all around the world—that it's too soon," he said. "It's too soon to get together to have this kind of forum. It's too soon to talk about preventing another tragedy like the one that struck our community from happening anywhere again. It's too soon to talk about getting weapons of war out of our communities. It is not too soon. It is too late for the 17 lives that were lost."[15]
Legislative record
Shortly after his election, Deutch introduced the Preserving our Promise to Seniors Act, which aims to keep Social Security benefits in line with retirees' costs and gradually raises the cap on FICA taxes over a period of seven years.[16]
During the 2011 debate on the debt ceiling, Deutch assembled and brought to the House floor an elaborate, game-show-style wheel to illustrate which government services he claimed would be endangered by a default on the national debt.[17]
On November 19, 2011, Deutch introduced a resolution[18] proposing "an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to expressly exclude for-profit corporations from the rights given to natural persons by the Constitution of the United States, prohibit corporate spending in all elections, and affirm the authority of Congress and the states to regulate corporations and to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures". Deutch's amendment is a blend of "ideas from "Move to Amend, Free Speech for People, Public Citizen, People For the American Way, Common Cause, and the Center for Media and Democracy".[19]
In November 2018, Deutch and other members of congress introduced legislation to enact a carbon tax and Dividend in the United States.[20]
On December 18, 2019, Deutch voted to impeach President Donald Trump.[21]
Deutch voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[25]
Gun policy
Deutch believes that limitations can be placed on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, saying, "the majority of people in this country now understand that there are limitations on the Second Amendment. You cannot own an automatic weapon. You cannot own a bazooka. And so there is no reason to continue to sell to people a weapon of war like this," referencing semi-automatic rifles.[26]
Deutch has an F rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund, indicating that it does not believe he adequately supports gun rights.[29][30]
After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Deutch endorsed several gun control measures. He cosponsored H. R. 5087, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2018, saying, "Americans don't own tanks or missiles; so why should our streets be flooded with weapons of war made for the sole purpose of killing people?"[31]
Deutch also announced his support for H. R. 4909, the STOP School Violence Act of 2018. The STOP School Violence Act would allow grants to train school staff how to identify troubled students and intervene before crises. The grants could also be used for developing an anonymous reporting system for students to submit concerns, as well as improving the physical infrastructure of schools against attacks.[32]
Deutch supported President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying: "The president's decision today is a recognition of existing U.S. law that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and that the U.S. embassy should ultimately be located in the capital."[34]
On November 28, 2018, Deutch introduced a carbon fee and dividend bill, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018, saying, "this aggressive carbon pricing scheme introduced by members from both parties marks an important opportunity to begin to seriously address the immediate threat of climate change."[37] After the bill died at the end of the 115th Congress, he reintroduced it as the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019, saying, "climate change is an urgent threat that demands urgent bipartisan action. With this legislation, we are making clear to our colleagues that bipartisanship is possible—even necessary—to address climate change in this Congress."[38]
Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance
In 2013, Deutch and Representative Gus Bilirakis created a bipartisan group of Greek-American and Jewish-American members of Congress called the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance. It was announced at a special congressional event.[39][40][41][42]
Retirement from Congress
On February 28, 2022, Deutch announced he would not seek reelection in 2022,[1] instead taking a job as chief executive officer of the New York City-based nonprofit American Jewish Committee.[2]
On September 30, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives was notified that Deutch was resigning at the end of the day.[43]
Personal life
Deutch is married and has three children.[44] He is a vegan.[44]
^"Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
^"Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
