Jared Moskowitz
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 23rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byTed Deutch
Member of the
Broward County Commission
from the 8th district
In office
January 12, 2022 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byBarbara Sharief
Succeeded byRobert McKinzie
Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management
In office
January 15, 2019 – April 30, 2021
GovernorRon DeSantis
Preceded byWes Maul
Succeeded byKevin Guthrie
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 97th district
In office
November 6, 2012 – January 11, 2019
Preceded byMartin David Kiar
Succeeded byDan Daley
Personal details
Born
Jared Evan Moskowitz

(1980-12-18) December 18, 1980
Coral Springs, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLeah Rifkin
EducationGeorge Washington University (BS)
Nova Southeastern University (JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Jared Evan Moskowitz (/ˈmɒskəwɪts/ MOSS-kə-wits; born December 18, 1980) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 23rd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Moskowitz served on the Broward County Commission from 2021 to 2022 and as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management from 2019 to 2021. Before his appointment, he served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the Coral Springs area in northern Broward County from 2012 to 2019.

Early life

Moskowitz was born in Coral Springs in 1980. His father, Michael Moskowitz, was an attorney, philanthropist and prominent Democratic fundraiser.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from George Washington University[2] and a Juris Doctor from the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University.[3] Moskowitz is Jewish.

Early political career

Moskowitz worked as an intern for Vice President Al Gore, served as an assistant on Joe Lieberman's 2004 presidential campaign, and was a Florida delegate pledged to Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. While attending law school, he was elected to the Parkland City Commission in 2006 and reelected in 2010, serving until he resigned to run for the legislature in 2012. While serving as a city commissioner, Moskowitz supported efforts to make the city more eco-friendly by providing subsidies to households that purchase low-flow toilets and showerheads, energy-efficient air conditioners, and hybrid cars.[4] After graduating, he worked for AshBritt Environmental as director of government relations and general counsel.

Florida House of Representatives

When the state legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Moskowitz opted to run in the newly drawn 97th district, which consisted of northern Broward County. He won the Democratic primary unopposed, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Republican nominee James Gleason, a business owner who was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Coral Springs. The Sun-Sentinel praised both candidates as "good choices for an open seat" but endorsed Moskowitz, declaring that his "good grasp of statewide and local issues" made him the better candidate.[5] He defeated Gleason with 69% of the vote.[6]

During his first term in the legislature, Moskowitz sponsored a memorial for Robert Levinson, who has been held as a hostage in Iran since 2007, calling on "Congress, the Obama administration and the Secretary of State's office to work to get Levinson home." Moskowitz's proposed memorial passed both houses of the legislature and was signed by Governor Rick Scott.[7]

In 2014 and 2016, Moskowitz was reelected to the legislature without opposition.

In 2018, after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Moskowitz helped draft the bipartisan Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act, the first comprehensive mental health, school safety, and gun control bill of its kind in over 20 years. This bill increased the age to purchase a firearm to 21, created a three-day waiting period to purchase firearms, increased security requirements for public schools, funded centralized school safety surveillance programs, and improved mental health services for students.[8]

Division of Emergency Management

On December 6, 2018, Governor-Elect Ron DeSantis announced he would appoint Moskowitz as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.[9] Moskowitz resigned from the House of Representatives and took office as DEM director on January 15, 2019.[10]

Moskowitz took over Florida's Division of Emergency Management during the recovery of Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm that made landfall in Florida in October 2018. Recovery efforts were notably slow during early recovery, and Moskowitz is credited with speeding up the recovery process and securing historic 90% reimbursement from the federal government for all disaster assistance efforts.[11]

In early April 2020, Moskowitz made headlines when he complained that foreign countries were paying the American company 3M to reroute millions of N95 masks destined for Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, "For the last several weeks, we have had a boiler room chasing down 3M authorized distributors [and] brokers representing that they sell the N95 masks, only get to warehouses that are completely empty." He then said the 3M-authorized U.S. distributors later told him the masks Florida contracted for never showed up because the company instead prioritized orders that came in later, for higher prices, from foreign countries, including Germany, Russia, and France. As a result, Moskowitz highlighted the issue on Twitter, saying he decided to "troll" 3M.[12][13][14]

Moskowitz led the department during the early distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, creating an administrative network for all 67 Florida counties. He is credited with working with community organizations, including Black and Hispanic churches, HUD housing, and senior assisted living facilities, to efficiently vaccinate at-risk populations.[15]

Moskowitz was called the "Master of Disaster" by several news publications for his handling of the pandemic.[16]

On February 15, 2021, Moskowitz announced his resignation from the Division of Emergency Management, citing his desire to spend time with his father, who was battling pancreatic cancer. He officially left the Division in May 2021.

On August 5, 2021, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava appointed Moskowitz to advise Miami-Dade's COVID-19 response.[17]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

After incumbent congressman Ted Deutch announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022, Moskowitz declared his candidacy for the district, which had been renumbered from the 22nd to 23rd in redistricting.[18] Moskowitz won the election against Republican nominee Joe Budd.[19]

Tenure

Moskowitz assumed office on January 3, 2023, succeeding Democrat Ted Deutch.

COVID-19 policy

On February 1, 2023, Moskowitz was one of 11 Democrats to vote for a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.[20][21]

Israel

On November 2, 2023, Moskowitz was one of 12 House Democrats to vote for a $14.3 billion aid package to Israel that was funded by cutting the IRS' budget.[22]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[23]

Caucus memberships

References

    1. ↑ "Prominent Democratic fundraiser dies from pancreatic cancer". AP News. 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
    2. ↑ "Ten GW Alumni Elected to Congress | GW Today | The George Washington University". GW Today. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
    3. ↑ Sentinel, Sun (2022-10-19). "Questionnaire: Jared Moskowitz, candidate for U.S. House District 23". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
    4. ↑ Skoloff, Brian (December 27, 2007). "Cities enticing residents to go green". USA Today. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
    5. ↑ "State House Districts 97 and 98: Chose Moskowitz and Edwards". Sun-Sentinel. October 15, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
    6. ↑ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 097 Race - Nov 06, 2012". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved Jun 4, 2021.
    7. ↑ Huriash, Lisa J. (December 13, 2013). "Government needs to 'step up,' Levinson family says". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
    8. ↑ Sweeney, Dan (March 6, 2018). "Florida House readies school safety bill for vote". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
    9. ↑ Huriash, Lisa (2018-12-06). "DeSantis chooses South Florida Democrat as state's emergency management leader". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
    10. ↑ "Representatives Of The Florida House". Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
    11. ↑ "Feds boost money for Hurricane Michael recovery". Fox 13 Tampa Bay. January 24, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
    12. ↑ Halon, Yael (3 April 2020). "Florida emergency management official says 3M selling masks to foreign countries: 'We're chasing ghosts'". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
    13. ↑ "Interview With Jared Moskowitz, Director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management". WFOR-TV. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
    14. ↑ Man, Anthony (5 April 2020). "Florida emergency management chief says state will have enough ICU beds and ventilators". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
    15. ↑ Saunders, Forrest (January 29, 2021). "Florida's partnership with churches vaccinates more than 10,000 to date". WPTV West Palm Beach. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
    16. ↑ "From coronavirus to hurricanes, 2020 is forcing Broward County's Jared Moskowitz to become the 'master of disaster'". Sun Sentinel. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
    17. ↑ Bureau, Jeffrey Schweers, Capital. "Jared Moskowitz — Florida's 'Master of Disaster' — to advise Miami-Dade's COVID response". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2021-08-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    18. ↑ "50 elected officials say Jared Moskowitz is the one to succeed Ted Deutch". Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government. 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
    19. ↑ Dwork, David (November 8, 2022). "Jared Moskowitz wins race for Florida's 23rd Congressional District, replacing Ted Deutch". WPLG. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
    20. ↑ "House passes resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency". February 2023.
    21. ↑ "On Passage - H.J.RES.7: Relating to a national emergency declared by". 12 August 2015.
    22. ↑ Oshin, Olafimihan (October 10, 2023). "Florida Democrat says he'll vote for Israel aid bill despite IRS cuts: 'I am not going to take the bait'". The Hill. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
    23. ↑ "Jared Moskowitz". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
    24. ↑ "Endorsed Candidates". NewDem Action Fund. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
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