Carlos Luis Curbelo (born March 1, 1980) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 26th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, he was narrowly defeated for re-election by Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. He is a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. Prior to his election to the U.S. House, he served on the Dade County School Board.

Early life and education

Curbelo was born in Miami, the son of

Cuban exile A Cuban exile is a person who emigrated from Cuba in the Cuban exodus. Exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they migrated during the exodus. Demographics Social class Cuban exiles would come from various ec ...

s in Florida. He attended

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, operated by the Society of J ...

. He attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment ( public governance), management of non-profit es ...

Career

Carlos Curbelo and Danny Lopez blog the debate (2100723430)

Curbelo previously served on the

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and, , the fourth la ...

board from 2010 to 2015.Mazzei, Patricia, Christina Veiga, and Daniel Chang
In GOP pickup, Miami Rep. Joe Garcia loses to Carlos Curbelo
''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Ana Rivas Logan. Curbelo represented the 7th district. He was succeeded by Lubby Navarro on the school board. Curbelo is the founder of Capitol Gains, a government and public relations firm. He is also a former state director for former U.S. senator

George LeMieux George Stephen LeMieux ( ; born May 21, 1969) is an American former politician who was a United States Senator from Florida from 2009 to 2011. He is chairman of the Florida-based law firm of Gunster Yoakley & Stewart and was chief of staff to Go ...

of Florida.

U.S. House of Representatives

Florida-representatives-take-oath-miami-federal-courthouse

Elections

2014

In the 2014 election, Curbelo defeated

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Joe Garcia José Antonio Garcia Jr. (born October 12, 1963), known as Joe Garcia, is an American attorney and politician. Garcia represented in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015. A Democrat, Garcia represented most of western Miami-Dade Co ...

of the Democratic Party by 52 to 48 percent.

2016

Curbelo ran for re-election in 2016. He was unopposed in the Republican primary. In the general election, Curbelo defeated Garcia in a rematch. Curbelo received 53% of the vote.

2018

Curbelo was challenged by Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in one of the most hotly contested House races in Florida. Curbelo was significantly outspent during the campaign, as national Democrats eyed a pick-up opportunity in a district that had been won by

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in the 2016 presidential election. The

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds, and organizes races in ...

spent more money (nearly $7.2 million) in the district than in any other race in 2018. House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, spent about $2.5 million in the race. In the November 2018 general election, Mucarsel-Powell defeated Curbelo with 50.9% of the vote to Curbelo's 49.1%. Reflecting on his election loss, Curbelo said the Republican Party "has to understand that if we're going to have a small government, free enterprise party in America, that Trumpism isn't the future for such a party."

Committee assignments

In the 115th Congress, Curbelo sat on the following committee and subcommittees: *

United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progra ...

** United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources ** United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight

Tenure

Curbelo has a reputation as a moderate Republican. According to ''

McClatchy The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...

'', "Curbelo has broken ranks with his party to take lonely stands on high-profile topics ranging from abortion and women’s health to climate change, the environment, immigration and government spending." Curbelo was ranked the fourth most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during first session of the

115th United States Congress The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...

by the Bipartisan Index, created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy to assess congressional bipartisanship. In November 2017, Curbelo made a bid to join the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which is made up of 30 Democratic members of Congress. After Curbelo made a presentation to the group, caucus membership took a vote and a majority refused to admit him to its membership. Members of the caucus cited Curbelo's vote in favor of repealing Obamacare as a reason to deny him membership, and that Curbelo had not yet signed on as a cosponsor of the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States a ...

, though he said he would vote in favor of any proposal to help undocumented youth who came to the U.S. as children.Miami Herald: "Hispanic caucus tells Cuban American he can’t join the club—he’s too Republican" By Alex Daugherty
November 16, 2017 In January 2018, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus announced that its political arm would support Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in her 2018 bid for Curbelo's seat. In an editorial, the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.115th United States Congress The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...

. Curbelo was a member of the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus, the Republican Main Street Partnership the

Climate Solutions Caucus The Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan caucus of U.S. legislators supported by the Citizens' Climate Lobby whose members work to achieve action addressing the risks from climate change. The House of Representatives and Senate each have a c ...

, and the U.S.-Japan Caucus. Along with

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (; born Ileana Carmen Ros y Adato, July 15, 1952) is a politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She w ...

, he was one of two Republican members of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus who served in the

Legislation sponsored

The following is an incomplete list of legislation that Curbelo sponsored: * Affordable College Textbook Act (H.R. 3840; 115th Congress) * Market Choice Act (; 115th Congress)

Political positions

Vote Smart issue positions

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States, "researched presidential and congressional candidates' public records to determine candidates' likely responses on certain key issues." According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, Curbelo generally supports

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

legislation, opposes an income tax increase, opposes mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders, supports lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth, opposes requiring states to adopt federal education standards, supports building the

Keystone Pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Albert ...

, supports government funding for the development of renewable energy, supports the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, supports repealing the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

, opposes requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship, supports same-sex marriage, supports increased American intervention in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

beyond air support, and supports allowing individuals to divert a portion of their

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

taxes into personal retirement accounts.

Environment

In February 2016, Curbelo and Democratic representative

Ted Deutch Theodore Eliot Deutch ( ; born May 7, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative from Florida's 22nd congressional district from 2010 to 2022. His district, numbered as the 19th district from 2010 to 2013 a ...

created the bipartisan

in the House to "explore policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate." In 2016, Curbelo had the second highest rating of House Republicans on the annual scorecard of the

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...

. The ''

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale ...

." Curbelo described

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

as a "local issue" that is causing flooding in his congressional district. Speaking about his efforts to convince his fellow Republicans about the threats posed by

, Curbelo told the ''New York Times'' "I know we have the truth on our side. So I'm confident that we'll win—eventually." In December 2017, Curbelo and eleven other House Republicans signed a letter to

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McCon ...

urging the U.S. Senate "to pass a tax bill without oil-drilling concessions in the

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildli ...

." Curbelo voted in favor of the final bill, which "includes a provision, introduced by Sen.

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...

(R-Alaska), that would require Interior Secretary

Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith Zinke (; born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. Zinke, a member of the Republican Party, served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional d ...

to approve at least two lease sales for drilling—each covering no less than 400,000 acres—in the refuge's coastal plain area." In April 2018, Curbelo called for the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, saying Pruitt's "corruption scandals are an embarrassment" and that Pruitt's "conduct is grossly disrespectful to American taxpayers." In July 2018, Curbelo became the first Republican in nearly a decade to propose legislation on enacting a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...

to address the climate change (; 115th Congress). As part of the proposal, existing taxes on gasoline and diesel fuels would be repealed, and taxes would be introduced on carbon dioxide emissions that starts at $24/ton of CO2e in 2020. According to the Columbia University SIPA Center for Global Energy Policy, Curbelo's legislation would reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 27–32 percent reductions by 2025 and 30–40 percent reductions by 2030 (compared to 2005 levels). The legislation was also estimated to increase annual federal government revenues by $57 billion–$72 billion in 2020 and $63 billion–$106 billion in 2030. National macroeconomic outcomes were estimated to decline modestly, with losses between 0.1 and 0.2 percent of GDP in the 2020s. Other Republicans disavowed the legislation, with the Republican-led House passing a nonbinding measure in July 2018 describing the legislation as "detrimental". For his efforts Curbelo in December 2018 was called "ridiculous. That guy is a pretend environmentalist" by

Tom Steyer Thomas Fahr Steyer (born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the co-founder and co-chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, founder and ...

Healthcare

Speaking about the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), Curbelo said: "I clearly do not support the law and think it is bad policy. ... However I prefer to use the word 'replace' or 'substitute' Obamacare because to just say 'repeal' implies that there is no need for health care reform. But yes, if we replace or substitute Obamacare, that means it would no longer exist." On May 3, 2017, Curbelo

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that "I just reiterated to @HouseGOP leaders that #AHCA in its current form fails to sufficiently protect Americans with pre-existing conditions." On May 4, 2017, he voted to repeal the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

and pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Explaining his vote, Curbelo said the AHCA was "not perfect, but that it was important for him to be a part of negotiations" and that the vote "is just a step in the legislative process for this bill—not the end of it."

Donald Trump

In March 2016, Curbelo said he would not vote for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in the 2016 presidential election, calling it "a moral decision" rather than a political decision. He did not attend the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken L ...

. In October 2016, speaking about the upcoming presidential election, he said: "I'm not supporting any of the two major candidates. I'm as disappointed with this election as most Americans are." In February 2017, while serving on the Ways and Means Committee, he voted against a measure that would have led to a request of the Treasury Department for Trump's tax returns. He then voted against a resolution that would have directed the House to request 10 years of Trump's tax returns, which would then have been reviewed by the

House Ways and Means Committee The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progra ...

in a closed session. ''

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...

'' included Curbelo on a list of Republicans opposing Trump's 2017

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. of people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Curbelo said at the time: "I expect that these executive orders are in fact temporary and that once the Administration strengthens the vetting process, we can continue our tradition of welcoming those who are persecuted, in an orderly manner and without any kind of religious test." He said the executive orders "were hastily issued & need a lot of work." In May 2017, President

was accused of having pressured fired FBI director

James Comey James Brien Comey Jr. (; born December 14, 1960) is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until his dismissal in May 2017. Comey was a registered Republican for most of his adul ...

with the intent to end an FBI investigation into former

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of ...

. Flynn had resigned after 24 days in his post when information surfaced that he had misled the FBI and Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

about the nature and content of his communications with

Russian Ambassador This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

to the U.S.

Sergey Kislyak Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak ( rus, Серге́й Ива́нович Кисля́к, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ kʲɪˈslʲak; born 7 September 1950) is a Russian senior diplomat and politician. Since September 2017, he has represented Mo ...

. Curbelo publicly stated that the allegations, if proven true, merited impeachment, as did Michigan Republican congressman

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (an ...

. On December 1, 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty in federal court to a single felony count of "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI. Curbelo supported President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He stated: "Jerusalem is without question the capital of Israel and I commend the President's decision to recognize it as such." In September 2018,

FiveThirtyEight ''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...

found that Curbelo had voted in line with President Trump 82% of the time, and was the sixth-most partisan Trump supporter in the House when compared to his district's voting patterns.Tracking Congress in the Age of Trump
accessed September 25, 2018

Guns

The Brady Campaign, a gun control advocacy group, labeled Curbelo an "NRA lap dog" for his support of the

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

.Rosen, James; Carlos Curbelo isn’t your typical Republican congressman from Miami; McClatchy; October 7, 2016

/ref> In 2017, Curbelo introduced a bill to ban bump stocks in the wake of the

2017 Las Vegas shooting On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in . From his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel, he fired m ...

. Appearing on ABC's "This Week" on February 18, 2018, Curbelo called on Republican congressional leaders to introduce gun-control measures.

Tax reform

Curbelo voted in favor of the

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs A ...

. The ''

Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami-Dade County, Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquir ...

'' projected that Curbelo's wife, who owns a pass-through

LLC A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

, would financially benefit from the TCJA's pass-through deduction enabling such companies to deduct a portion of their profits on taxes. He says the bill will "make American families more prosperous."

Cannabis

Curbelo has a "B" rating from

NORML The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both medical and non-medical use. Acc ...

for his voting history regarding

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

-related causes. Curbelo supports veteran access to medical marijuana if recommended by their

Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a nationa ...

doctor and if it is legal for medicinal purposes in their state of residence.

LGBT rights

Curbelo supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. Upon the landmark Supreme Court ruling '' Obergefell v. Hodges'', Curbelo stated "I applaud the Supreme Court's ruling, and send my sincerest congratulations to all those who will finally enjoy the same legal rights as their peers."

Immigration

Curbelo is "an outspoken proponent of immigration reform." On July 23, 2015, he voted against legislation penalizing sanctuary cities. In November 2017, he said he would oppose any appropriations bill to fund the government past December 31 unless Congress passed permanent protections for recipients of

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...

(DACA), which currently impacts nearly 700,000 people and which President Trump rescinded in September 2017. Curbelo has pushed for a permanent version of DACA and is a co-sponsor of a bill on the topic developed with the bipartisan

Problem Solvers Caucus The Problem Solvers Caucus is a bipartisan group in the United States House of Representatives that includes members equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, who seek to foster bipartisan cooperation on key policy issues. The group was c ...

. In December 2017, Curbelo, who was leading talks with Democrats on immigration overhaul, criticized leaders of the Problem Solvers Caucus for withholding details of a potential bipartisan compromise on immigration policy. He introduced "a slightly more conservative version of the

" but said that he would vote for the DREAM Act or more liberal proposals if they ever came up for a vote. He filed the Recognizing America's Children Act (RAC) and said he would "support any bill that has a chance of putting DACA protections into law." In April 2018, he became a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act. On July 6, 2018, Curbelo was denied entry by the Department of Health and Human Services into a government facility housing immigrant minors separated from their parents at the Mexican border. He had made arrangements with HHS two weeks earlier for the visit, but the night before the planned visit was told he would not be permitted to enter the facility.

Abortion

Curbelo voted against defunding

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. He also voted against repealing a District of Columbia law that protects employees from employer retaliation when they have abortions, use birth control, or make other reproductive choices.

Keystone pipeline

Curbelo voted for the Keystone pipeline.

Charter schools

He has voted to increase private school vouchers.

Iran deal

Curbelo voted against the Iran nuclear deal.

Electoral history

Personal life

Curbelo married Cecilia Lowell, sister of former Marlins third baseman

Mike Lowell Michael Averett Lowell (born February 24, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 13-year career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees (1998), Florida Marlins (1999–2005), and the Boston Red Sox (2006&nda ...

, in 2006 and resides in

Kendall, Florida Kendall is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida. At the 2020 census, the area had a population of 80,241. While the US Census Bureau has set definite boundaries for Kendall as a CDP, the community has a highly ambiguous local ...

. He was diagnosed with

whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or t ...

in August 2015. He was vaccinated as a child but did not receive the recommended booster shots as an adult. At the time of his diagnosis he said: "I want to use this opportunity to remind parents to vaccinate their children against this dangerous infection. Adults should be aware that booster shots are necessary in order to maintain the vaccine's effectiveness."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curbelo, Carlos 1980 births 21st-century American politicians American politicians of Cuban descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress Living people People from Kendall, Florida Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida School board members in Florida University of Miami alumni