[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 130 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S3913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO REBECA SOSA

 Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize 
the work of a wonderful Floridian, Miami-Dade County Commissioner 
Rebeca Sosa.
  Born in Camaguey, Cuba, Commissioner Sosa and her family escaped the 
island following the Communist Revolution and fled to Puerto Rico, 
where she grew up. She received her bachelor's degree in secondary 
education from the University of Puerto Rico, before earning another 
degree in elementary education from Saint Thomas University in Miami 
Gardens. She has been an educator for more than 30 years and is 
currently a teacher-trainer for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
  Since 2001, Commissioner Sosa has also served on the Miami-Dade 
County Commission as the District Six commissioner. In 2012, she was 
elected by her colleagues as chairwoman of the county commission, where 
she served a 2-year term. Before her time on the county commission, she 
spent 7 years serving as the mayor of the city of West Miami.
  Commissioner Sosa has spent her career working to improve the lives 
of Floridians living in the city of Miami, Coral Gables, West Miami, 
Hialeah, and Miami Springs. Having fled Cuba, she understands the value 
of freedom and has sought to create a community in Miami-Dade County 
that promotes opportunity and prosperity.
  In her decades of public service, Commissioner Sosa has done immense 
good for the residents of Miami-Dade County.
  As mayor of West Miami, she helped the city recover from a 52 percent 
budget deficit and secured more than $5 million in grants for capital 
improvement projects and improvements to the city's drainage and park 
systems.
  As a county commissioner, she supported transportation projects as 
she championed Port Miami, signed a sister port agreement with the 
Puerto Rico Ports Authority, and worked to increase the number of 
international flights out of Miami International Airport. Commissioner 
Sosa has also used her position to help improve care for Florida's 
seniors by creating the Elder Affairs Advisory Board and sponsoring 
legislation to form what would become the Elder Abuse Task Force. 
Additionally, her work to protect Florida's environment has been 
recognized by many, and her successful efforts to secure funding for 
community projects and parks has improved the lives of Floridians 
throughout Miami-Dade County.
  What is more, as a member of the Cuban diaspora, Commissioner Sosa 
has used her position to fight for democracy and human rights in Cuba 
and to stand against the abuses of the illegitimate communist Cuban 
regime. Last year, she led the county commission to unanimously declare 
July 11, 2021, to be ``Patria y Vida/SOS Cuba Day'' in Miami-Dade 
County.
  And all along the way, she has sought to improve the economic 
conditions of Miami, and to support small businesses owners and create 
jobs for Florida families.
  I want to recognize Commissioner Sosa for all of her work to support 
Floridians living in Miami-Dade County and thank her for friendship and 
decades of public service. Miami-Dade County and the State of Florida 
are better off because of her service to the community and to the 
State, and Floridians wish her the best of luck as she leaves the 
county commission.

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