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Florida Democrats Eye Climate Change, Gun Legislation With New House Majority

Wilfredo Lee
/
Associated Press via The Miami Herald
Florida Democrats Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala won congressional seats in South Florida and are part of the new incoming House majority in Washington.

Florida Democrats in Washington could only watch when the Republican Congress decided against new gun legislation after a shooter killed 17 students and staff at a Parkland high school last year. Nor could they force action to combat rising sea levels off Florida’s coastlines. 

That will change come January. 

After gaining 38 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including two in Florida, Democrats will control the lower chamber for the first time since 2011. 

Leaders have already signaled they will use the majority to advance legislation stymied by the GOP stronghold of Washington in the past two years, like getting dark money out of elections, and to force conversations on healthcare costs.

Read more at our news partner, The Miami Herald.

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