| Lincoln Díaz-Balart | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 21st district |
|
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | None (District created after the 1990 census) |
| Succeeded by | Mario Diaz-Balart |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 13, 1954 Havana, Cuba |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Cristina Fernandez |
| Children | Lincoln Díaz-Balart Daniel Díaz-Balart |
| Residence | Miami, Florida |
| Alma mater | New College of Florida, Case Western Reserve University |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart (born Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart Caballero on August 13, 1954) was the U.S. Representative for Florida's 21st congressional district from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. He retired from Congress in 2011, and his younger brother, Mario Diaz-Balart, succeeded him.
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Diaz-Balart was born in Havana, Cuba to the late Cuban politician Rafael Diaz-Balart and Hilda Caballero Brunet. His aunt, Mirta Diaz-Balart, was the first wife of Fidel Castro. Her son, and his cousin, is Fidel Ángel "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart. His uncle is the Cuban-Spanish painter, Waldo Díaz-Balart.
He was educated at American School of Madrid, Madrid, Spain; New College of Florida; and Case Western Reserve University, from which he earned a law degree. He was involved in a Miami private practice for several years before holding elective office.
In 1982, he ran for a Florida House of Representatives seat for District 113 as a Democrat and lost to the Republican, Humberto Cortina.[1]
Díaz-Balart as well as his immediate family were all members of the Democratic Party. Díaz-Balart was the former president of the Dade County Young Democrats and the Florida Young Democrats, as well as a member of the executive committee of the Dade County Democratic Party.[2] On April 24, 1985, Diaz-Balart along with his wife and brother Mario switched their registration to Republican.[3]
Díaz-Balart served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1986 to 1989 and served in the Florida Senate from 1989 to 1992.
In general, Diaz-Balart's voting record has been moderate by Republican standards. Over the past two years, he has received scores of 60 from the American Conservative Union (ACU). His lifetime rating from the ACU is 73.[4]
In 2006, he voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and in 2007 voted for the Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded the federal hate crime law to include sexual orientation and disability.[5] In December 2010, Diaz-Balart was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly gay service members.[6][7]
He was a sponsor of the Homeland Security Act. He is a sponsor of The American DREAM Act which seeks to facilitate access for illegal immigrant students to post-secondary education by allowing states to have power to determine requirements for in-state tuition.[8] He is also a steadfast proponent of comprehensive immigration reform. He has been a key figure in south Florida bringing millions of dollars to the community most notably one hundred million dollars to the US Southern Command, which is housed in district 21.
He has achieved passage into law of historic pieces of legislation – such as the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), and the codification of the U.S. embargo on Cuba (requiring that all political prisoners be freed and multi-party elections scheduled in Cuba before U.S. sanctions can be lifted). Diaz-Balart took to the floor of the House for passage, the legislation that created the Department of Homeland Security, and the extension (for 25 years) of the Voting Rights Act.
Diaz-Balart is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[9]
Diaz-Balart plays a prominent role in the Cuban-American lobby, and was active in the attempt by relatives of Elian Gonzalez to gain custody of the six year old from his Cuban father.[10]
During his career Diaz-Balart has advocated a naval blockade to be deployed against Cuba,[11] also calling for the United States to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro.[12] Diaz-Balart has defended Velentin Hernández, convicted of murdering Luciano Nieves, a fellow Cuban exile who supported negotiations with the Cuban government,[13] and lobbied extensively for the release and pardon of Cuban exile Orlando Bosch, who has been accused of involvement in the 1976 bombing of Cubana Flight 455, helping organize an "Orlando Bosch day" to gain support for his release.[14] He also attempted to block Jimmy Carter's visit to the island in 2002.[15]
Congressman Diaz-Balart is a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus
Diaz-Balart has also been an advocate of the improved treatment of Haitian immigrants.[16] He was a strong supporter HRIFA, legislation that provided for the legalization of many Haitian immigrants. More recently, Diaz-Balart has called for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to include Haitian nationals. TPS provides immediate and temporary relief from deportation.
Diaz-Balart publicly called the passage of the health care bill in Congress on Mar. 22, 2010, “a decisive step in the weakening of the United States.”
On September 29, 2008, Diaz-Balart voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008[17]
In 1992, Diaz-Balart defeated fellow State Senator Javier Souto in the Republican primary for the newly created 21st District. No other party put up a candidate, assuring Diaz-Balart's election. He was unopposed for reelection in 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2002 and defeated an underfunded Democrat, Patrick Cusack, with 75 percent in 1998.
In both 2004 and 2006, Lincoln Diaz-Balart was unsuccessfully challenged by Frank J. Gonzalez [1], a Libertarian Party candidate in 2004 and Democrat in 2006. In 2004 Diaz-Balart won with 73% of the vote. In 2006, Diaz-Balart won with 59% of the vote.
In 2004, Gonzalez ran for U.S. House as the Libertarian Party candidate and spent around $12,000 and earned 54,736 votes or 27% of the total.
In 2006, Gonzalez managed to earn 45,522 votes or 41% according to the Florida Department of State's Division of Elections website.
Diaz-Balart's Democratic opponent in 2008 was former Hialeah Mayor Raul L. Martinez. It was initially thought that Diaz-Balart would face his toughest race to date. Although the 21st District is considered the most Republican district in the Miami area, Martinez was thought to be very popular in the area. Nevertheless, Diaz-Balart won re-election with 58% of the vote.
In February 2010, Diaz-Balart announced his intention to not to seek re-election.[18] His brother, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, ran to replace him[19] and won.
Díaz-Balart is married to Cristina Fernandez, and has two children: Lincoln and Daniel. His brother, Mario Díaz-Balart, previously represented the 25th district of Florida but now represents the 21st district. He has two other brothers, Jose Diaz-Balart, a journalist, and Rafael Díaz-Balart, a banker.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by District Created |
U.S. Representative Florida's 21st congressional district 1993–2011 |
Succeeded by Mario Diaz-Balart |