Biography

For the past five years, Mario Diaz-Balart has been honored to serve the residents of Florida's 25th District in Congress.  As a husband, father and resident of the 25th District, he is particularly concerned about the issues affecting this unique and dynamic area. 

Mario has persistently helped lower taxes on families and small businesses, and has fought back attempts to raise taxes on hard-working Americans. In addition, Mario has successfully delivered millions of dollars in funding for key local projects including I-75 widening, all of Miami's transit corridors and Everglades restoration. 

In times of need, Mario has been an effective advocate for the 25th District. After the 2005 hurricanes, federal lawmakers were going to ignore Florida's needs, but Mario made sure that Florida was not forgotten.  He effectively worked with his colleagues to provide federal relief for the towns, cities and growers trying to recover.  Mario also successfully pushed FEMA to reimburse gated communities for debris removal. He brought federal officials from Washington, DC to see the hurricanes' destruction, and he diligently worked to ensure affected Floridians were included in hurricane tax relief legislation.

Mario Diaz-Balart, a member of the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus, has made it his priority to help parents protect their children.  Mario launched a Protecting Families Online initiative to help parents protect their families against online predators and ID theft.  He also cosponsored legislation that strengthened the National AMBER alert network by improving law enforcement's ability to prevent, investigate and prosecute violent criminals that target children.

Prior to serving in Congress, Mario served in the Florida state legislature for 14 years where he became the youngest person ever elected to the Florida Senate in 1992 and was named "Most Effective Legislator" by the Miami Herald in 1996. 

Whether it has been aggressively bringing federal money home or fighting for lower taxes, or supporting legislation to protect our children and families, Mario recognizes needs in our communities and aggressively works to deliver solutions to those needs.

Awards

Multiple Winner:

  •        •  Children's Champion, ARISE Foundation
    •        •  Friend of Farm Bureau, Miami Dade Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau
  •        •  Taxpayer Hero, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
  •        •  Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence, National Association of Manufacturers
  •        •  Guardian of Small Business, NFIB
  •        •  Spirit of Enterprise Award, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  •        •  Hero of the Taxpayer Award, Americans for Tax Reform
  •        •  Friend of the Shareholder Award, American Shareholders Association
  •        •  Small Business Advocate Award, Small Business Survival Committee
  •        •  Thomas Jefferson Award, National Food Distributor Association
  •        •  National Write Your Congressman Constituent Communication Award
  •        •  Super Friend of Seniors, 60 Plus Association
  •        •  Champion of Free Trade, Florida Chamber of Commerce
  •        •  2005 The Spirit of the Community Award, Orange Bowl Committee
  •        •  Honor Roll of Legislative Achievement in Economic Development, Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC)
  •        •  Top Forty Award, Florida Chamber of Commerce
  •        •  Protector of Property Rights, Property Rights Alliance.