Carlos Curbelo is a former U.S. Congressman representing Florida’s 26th District. Carlos was born in Miami, Florida in 1980, to political refugees who fled tyranny and oppression Cuba. He was educated in the public school system and then at Belen Jesuit. From there he became a student at the University of Miami where he obtained a Bachelor’s in Business Administration while majoring in Political Science. He later returned to UM for a Masters in Public Administration.
In 2002, after earning his first college degree, Carlos founded a media and public relations firm which he managed successfully for over 10 years doing work for a wide array of local and international companies as well as political campaigns and policy initiatives. In 2009, Carlos took leave from the firm to become State Director for U.S. Senator George LeMieux and an advisor on Latin-American policy. He served in this role until late 2010, when he was elected to the Miami-Dade County School Board, overseeing the fourth largest school district in the country. Carlos was part of a board that reduced taxes and administrative expenses, increased teacher pay, and expanded school choice while winning national accolades for improved student performance.
In 2014, Carlos was elected to represent his community in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Education and Workforce Committee, the Small Business Committee, and the powerful Committee on Ways and Means where he co-authored the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 – comprehensive tax reform legislation that delivered historic tax relief, drove investment to challenged communities, and made American businesses more competitive.
While in Congress Curbelo also led on climate policy, immigration reform, and gun safety. He co-founded and co-chaired the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, served in a leadership role in the Problem Solvers Caucus, and led the Brazil Caucus to strengthen the bilateral relationship with Latin-America’s leading economy. In 2017, Curbelo was honored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation with the New Frontier Award for his work promoting bipartisan cooperation on environmental policy. In 2018 he filed the landmark Market Choice Act, ambitious legislation that would invest nearly a trillion dollars in American infrastructure while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by pricing carbon. Also in 2018, he led a discharge petition initiative that forced the U.S. House to debate and consider comprehensive immigration reform legislation – including a path to citizenship for Dreamers – for the first time in a decade. He was ranked the fourth most bipartisan Member of the House where he represented South Florida until returning to the private sector in 2019.
