[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 7, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H1304-H1306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THE LIFETIME CONTRIBUTIONS OF RAFAEL JOSE 
                              DIAZ-BALART

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 131) recognizing and honoring the 
lifetime contributions of Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart on the dedication of 
the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall at the Florida International University 
College of Law.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 131

       Whereas a native of Santiago de Cuba, Rafael Jose Diaz-
     Balart completed his studies at the University of Havana with 
     a law degree in 1919;
       Whereas soon after joining the Bar, he became a municipal 
     judge in the city of Palma Soriano, where he served with 
     distinction for four years until, by civil service 
     examination, he obtained the post of civil law notary in the 
     town of Banes in eastern Cuba;
       Whereas, while maintaining his law practice, Rafael Jose 
     Diaz-Balart was elected City Council President and Mayor of 
     Banes;
       Whereas he was later elected Congressman and transferred 
     his law practice to the city of Holguin and subsequently to 
     Havana, where he founded the law firm of Diaz-Balart, Diaz-
     Balart and Amador, with his son, Rafael Lincoln, and Rolando 
     Amador;
       Whereas, years later, also by examination, Rafael Jose 
     Diaz-Balart assumed the post of Land Registrar, a prominent 
     achievement for lawyers in many civil law countries, 
     including Cuba;
       Whereas Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart lived in exile after 1959, 
     and became a proud citizen of the United States;
       Whereas along with his son, Rafael Lincoln Diaz-Balart, 
     Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart commenced law school at the 
     University of Madrid, Spain, and in 1965, at age 66, earned a 
     second Law Degree;
       Whereas Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart died in Miami, Florida in 
     1985;
       Whereas Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart instilled not only in his 
     son, but in his four grandsons a sense honor and service, 
     which led them to become prominent members of American 
     society;
       Whereas his son, Rafael Lincoln, was a prominent member of 
     the Cuban House of Representatives, and his grandsons, 
     Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart were elected to the 
     United States House of Representatives in 1992 and 2002, 
     respectively, Jose Diaz Balart became a prominent journalist 
     as the Washington bureau chief for Telemundo Network and was 
     the first United States journalist to host daily Spanish and 
     English language newscasts, and Rafael Diaz Balart became a 
     prominent Miami investment banker;
       Whereas, on February 10, 2007, Florida International 
     University will dedicate the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall as the 
     new home of the College of Law;
       Whereas Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall will provide a state-of-
     the-art facility for teaching, research, and study, as well 
     as scholarly and social interaction; and
       Whereas the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall was designed by the 
     internationally renowned architect Robert A. M. Stern, Dean 
     of the School of Architecture at Yale University: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the 
     lifetime accomplishments and legacy of Rafael Jose Diaz-
     Balart for his numerous contributions to democracy, and 
     recognizes the Florida International University dedication of 
     the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall at the College of Law as an 
     appropriate tribute in his memory.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days 
during which Members may insert material relevant to H. Res. 131 into 
the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to yield 
the time to Representative Meek from Florida for the purpose of 
managing the Democratic side of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to come before the 
House today in support of Resolution 131, to recognize Rafael Jose 
Diaz-Balart, grandfather of two of our great colleagues here in this 
great House, Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart.
  Rafael Diaz-Balart was a native of Santiago de Cuba and completed his 
law degree at the University of Havana in 1919. Soon after he joined 
the bar, Rafael Diaz-Balart became the municipal judge in the city of 
Palma Soriano, where he served with great distinction. Four years 
later, he earned a post of civil law notary in the town of Banes in 
eastern Cuba, where he was later then elected city council president 
and mayor of the city.
  Upon his election to the Cuban House of Representatives, he founded 
the law firm of Diaz-Balart, Diaz-Balart and Amador in Havana, with his 
son, Rafael Lincoln, Mario and Lincoln's father, and Rolando Amador. 
Years later, he earned the post Land Registrar, a prominent achievement 
for lawyers in Cuba.
  After the 1959 coup, Rafael Diaz-Balart lived in exile and became a 
proud citizen of the United States. In exile, Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart 
entered law school at the University of Madrid, and in 1965, at age 66, 
earned his second law degree.
  While Rafael Diaz-Balart had many great accomplishments, his greatest 
of all may have been the honor and sense of duty that he instilled his 
son Rafael Lincoln and his four grandsons: Lincoln and Mario, whom I 
proudly serve with here in the House; also Jose, who is a prominent 
journalist; and Rafael, a successful businessman in Miami.
  This week Florida International University Law School will be 
dedicated in the name of Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall, a tribute to their 
grandfather. The keynote address will be given by Supreme Court Justice 
Ruth Bader-Ginsburg, and there will be countless Federal, State and 
local municipal elected officials.
  This honor to the Diaz-Balart family is a testimony to the American 
Dream. Here is a family in a bloodline that left Cuban exile, but came 
to the United States to make this country better.
  The entire family has contributed not only to the south Florida 
community, but the entire State of Florida, and also this great country 
of ours, which is the United States of America.
  I think the House is full within its right to be able to recognize 
this great American for what he was able to do in his contributions to 
those that not only serve here in the House of Representatives, but 
serve in the fields of journalism and in business. I am honored to 
bring this to the floor at this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 131, a resolution 
recognizing and honoring the lifetime contributions of Rafael Jose 
Diaz-Balart, on the dedication of the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall at the 
Florida International University College of Law.
  I would like to thank my friend Mr. Meek for introducing this 
important resolution.
  The founding of the Florida International University College of Law 
did not become possible until 2000. The college of law received full 
accreditation from the American Bar Association in December 2006.
  The law school is home to 382 law students and 25 faculty members. 
The Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall was designed by the renowned architect and 
dean of architecture at Yale University, Robert A.M. Stern. It 
incorporates two interior courtyards, an atrium, a reading room, an 
auditorium, a legal clinic, and two teaching courtrooms. In addition, 
the hall will have two additional rooms solely for expanding 
international and foreign law collections.
  Of particular interest to the students and the school are volumes 
focusing on international organization and Caribbean and Latin American 
law.

                              {time}  1445

  Rafael Diaz-Balart, for whom the hall was named, was born in Cuba and 
earned a law degree from the University of Havana in 1919. He later 
served as a lawyer, a judge, president of the city council and was 
eventually elected mayor of the city of Banes and then was elected 
congressman. Diaz-Balart went into exile in 1959 and earned his second 
law degree from the University of Madrid in 1965. He died in Miami in

[[Page H1305]]

1985. Mr. Diaz-Balart is also the grandfather of two distinguished 
Members of Congress, Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
  I congratulate the Florida International University College of Law on 
receiving its full American Bar Association accreditation and the 
inauguration of this beautiful new hall.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to one of my great colleagues from the Florida delegation (Ms. 
Wasserman Schultz).
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank both of my good friends 
from Florida, Mr. Keller and Mr. Meek. It is my privilege to join with 
my colleagues in honoring the life and legacy of the Diaz-Balart 
family, and particularly Rafael Diaz-Balart, who distinguished himself 
not just in the Cuban House of Representatives, but by becoming a 
wonderful citizen of the United States of America and contributing his 
subsequent generations of his family to the history of the State of 
Florida and to the United States by lending his two grandsons to the 
United States House of Representatives.
  Mr. Speaker, across this country we have a wonderful history of 
naming institutions like law centers after our giants, and Florida is 
no exception. The Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern 
University is named after a Florida giant. The University of Florida 
Law Center, the Holland Building, is named after a Florida giant. And 
now the law center at Florida International University will be named 
after a Cuban-American, a Florida giant, Rafael Diaz-Balart, and it is 
my privilege to join my colleagues in honoring his legacy and his life 
today.
  Mr. KELLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), the ranking 
member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the first Hispanic woman 
elected in the history of the United States Congress.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I 
thank my good friend Mr. Meek of Florida for presenting this resolution 
for us today.
  I rise in strong support of this resolution, which honors the life of 
Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart, a prominent attorney, an elected official in 
pre-Castro Cuba, who is also the grandfather, as we have heard, of our 
esteemed South Florida Congressional colleagues, Lincoln Diaz-Balart 
and Mario Diaz-Balart, as well as their two other brothers, Jose Diaz-
Balart, a very well known television personality and news anchor, and 
Rafael Diaz-Balart, a prominent South Florida businessman.
  Their grandfather, Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart, was a native of Santiago 
de Cuba, and completed his studies at the University of Havana with a 
law degree in 1919. While maintaining his law practice, he was also 
elected city council president and mayor of Banes, and later as a 
member of the Cuban House of Representatives, similar to our body.
  Following the 1959 communist takeover by Fidel Castro, Rafael Jose 
Diaz-Balart fled to the United States to live in exile with his family. 
Shortly following, he proudly became a citizen of the United States. 
Along with his son, Rafael Lincoln, he commenced law school at the 
University of Madrid, Spain, and in 1965, at the age of 66, earned a 
second law degree. He sadly passed away in Miami, Florida, in 1985.
  He, like my father Enrique Ros and so many others who fled Cuba due 
to Castro's tyrannical regime in the last 50 years, Rafael dreamt of a 
free Cuba, a country where human rights are respected, where political 
prisoners are freed, with a democratic, multi-party political system 
that flourishes and a free market economy that thrives, thus allowing 
the Cuban people and their foreign economic partners to own their 
businesses and to prosper. None of those things are allowed today.
  I am so glad that this Saturday, February 10, the Florida 
International University College of Law will dedicate its new law 
center as the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall. We are also proud of the many 
accomplishments of FIU, Florida International University, my alma 
mater, and we think this is a positive step forward.
  So I ask my colleagues to join us in commemorating the life of a 
great patriot, Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart, a tremendous mentor, a loving 
husband, a father and one of the most outstanding members of the South 
Florida community, a freedom fighter from his first to his last breath.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on House Resolution 131.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.
  Mr. KELLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the grandson of Rafael Diaz-Balart, my friend and colleague, 
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart).
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the 
gentleman from Florida, Mr. Keller. I want to thank all of those 
colleagues who have spoken here today. On behalf of my brother, 
Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who is actually now in a committee and 
cannot be here, I want to particularly thank Congressman Kendrick Meek 
for this profound and deep honor.
  Congressman Meek, I have to tell you, there are not a lot of secrets 
in this process, but somehow you kept this a secret, and I am not quite 
sure how you were able to do this, because both my brother and I didn't 
know about this until very, very recently. That is something that is 
frankly unusual, for anything to be kept a secret in this process.
  I particularly want to thank the sponsor of this resolution for, 
again, this honor to our grandfather and our family, our entire family, 
that this House is giving all of us today.
  But when I think of families who have public service in their 
background, our dear friend Congressman Kendrick Meek comes from a 
family of deep service to our country. As I said recently in a public 
meeting in Miami, the matriarch of the Florida congressional delegation 
and particularly the South Florida Members congressional delegation is 
Congresswoman Carrie Meek, who was not only a fine Member of this 
institution and also was a member of the Florida legislature for many 
years, but she is an icon in the history of our Nation. She is one of 
those who has broken through, her entire life, that glass ceiling, not 
once, not twice, but many, many times. Then, of course, her son, 
Kendrick, who is a tough fighter for issues that he believes in and for 
the people he represents and who I am honored to call a dear friend of 
mine.
  So I am deeply honored, Congressman. I am deeply honored for all of 
this. On behalf of the Diaz-Balart family, I just want to thank you for 
this deep honor, this deep privilege. It is a day that we will not soon 
forget. Again, just thank you all very much.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting when you look at this resolution, 
because it is the American Dream. Some Americans don't have the 
opportunity to have a resolution brought before the House of 
Representatives honoring the memory of their bloodline, their father 
and their grandfather and their entire family. But I can tell you that, 
in the words of my grandmother, saying ``isn't God good,'' this 
resolution displays the American Dream.
  As we start to look at this resolution, as we start to reflect on the 
contributions of the Diaz-Balart family to the United States of 
America, to find that it not only didn't start totally with Rafael Jose 
Diaz-Balart, but he had a lot to do with the pilgrimage to the United 
States of America and the contributions that his grandchildren have 
made and that his son made in this society, that have made America 
better. It has brought us together in many ways.
  Understanding a story of some of the issues facing America right now, 
as some folks may feel about recent immigrants to this country, this is 
a perfect example to set up on the pedestal of how those that come to 
our country with the will and desire to serve this country, not to pull 
from this country, but to serve on behalf of this country, what can 
happen.
  We have four individuals that are the grandchildren of the very man 
that we are recognizing here in the House of Representatives, this 
great country of ours, individuals fought to allow us to

[[Page H1306]]

salute one flag. Two are contributing to this country, serving at the 
same time in the U.S. House of Representatives in this Congress and in 
the last Congress and the Congress before that, and one is at the top 
of journalism as it relates to Spanish language international 
television, and another is a prominent businessman in South Florida. I 
think this is a time that the House is rightfully recognizing these 
great Americans for what they were able to do.
  Mr. Speaker, to Mr. Diaz-Balart and to Mr. Keller and to all of my 
colleagues here, it is a great honor to bring this before the House, 
because I believe everyone can understand the reason why we are here, 
and it is justified. But this could be one of many examples of families 
that have contributed to our country. I know they will continue to do 
so, and I know their children's children will continue to do so, and 
this moment in history will just be one beacon of light to show how 
appreciative we are for not only the Diaz-Balart family for their 
contributions but other families like them.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would totally agree with my colleague, Mr. Meek, that 
the Diaz-Balart family has made America a much better place for all of 
our children to grow up. I have been very honored to serve with both 
Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, and I know they both have a lot of pride 
in their grandfather.
  I am very happy that Mr. Meek introduced this resolution honoring 
Rafael Diaz-Balart. Mr. Meek also obviously has a lot of pride in the 
bloodline he has with the famous Congresswoman Carrie Meek. I was 
reminded of her just this past weekend when I was down in Miami for the 
football game on Sunday and I parked on Carrie Meek Boulevard down 
there.
  I explained to the parking lot attendant that I served with Carrie 
Meek and I am friends with her son, Kendrick Meek. He said, Yeah, man. 
That will be thirty bucks. It only gets you so far. But I have a lot of 
pride in knowing both of these families.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance my time.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just would like to thank Mr. Miller of the 
Education Committee, also the majority leader's office and the 
Speaker's office for allowing us to bring this resolution so that it 
can be timely for the dedication this weekend when the good people of 
Florida and this great country and the Supreme Court Justice will honor 
the memory of Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart at the naming of the hall of the 
law school.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution, H. Res. 131.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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