Read the New Frontier Award® announcement
Background
Carlos Curbelo, 37, represents Florida’s 26th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he serves on the influential House Ways and Means Committee. He was elected to the House in 2014.
In a highly polarized political environment, Curbelo has earned a reputation for moderation and a willingness to work across party lines on difficult policy problems. Curbelo has been consistently ranked one of the most bipartisan Members of Congress. During his first term in Congress, Curbelo introduced 23 pieces of legislation, seven of which passed the House, and all 14 pieces of legislation Curbelo has introduced this year have a Democratic co-sponsor. Curbelo is part of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of lawmakers who have sought to forge bipartisan cooperation on key issues including healthcare, immigration reform, and tax reform.
In February 2016, Curbelo joined forces with fellow Florida Congressman Ted Deutch, a Democrat, to form the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus with the intent of finding common ground on policies that can address climate change. Now, the caucus has grown to 62 members – 31 Republicans and 31 Democrats – and was instrumental in blocking a proposal that would have suppressed a Defense Department report about the impact of climate change on military installations.
Born to Cuban exiles who fled Fidel Castro’s regime, Curbelo grew up in Miami, and earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Miami. Prior to his election to Congress, he was a small business owner and a member of the Miami-Dade County School Board.