Political Positions
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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
Read more about this topic: Lincoln Diaz-Balart
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