Fascell was elected to the
Florida House of Representatives in 1950. In 1954 he was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives as a
Democrat in a district representing
Dade County, Florida. Fascell was the sole Democratic representative from the state of Florida (1 of 7) to not sign the 1956
Southern Manifesto. Fascell would later go on to vote in favor of the
Civil Rights Acts of 1960 and
1968, in addition to the
24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, but not the
Civil Rights Acts of 1957 (though he agreed to the Anderson-Aiken amendment) or
1964. Fascell began as a supporter of the
Vietnam War, but he soon spoke out against the war. Fascell cosponsored the
War Powers Act of 1973 and he won aid for Cuban-Americans who had settled in his district. He served as the chairman of the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1984 to 1993. He worked to repeal the
Clark Amendment, allowing the U.S. government to send aid to
UNITA rebels in
Angola, as a partner in the
Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly lobbying firm. Fascell worked to champion the creation of
Biscayne National Park, south of Miami. It was signed into law by President
Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. The visitor center in the park is named after Representative Fascell. Similarly, a public park located in
South Miami is named for him. The Dante B. Fascell
North-South Center Act of 1991 established the prestigious
think tank at the
University of Miami. Fascell retired from the House after his 19th term ended in 1993. When President
Bill Clinton took office he proposed to nominate Fascell as the United States Ambassador to Italy, however Fascell declined for family reasons as he had developed
colorectal cancer. On October 29, 1998, Fascell was presented with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton. He died the following month from colorectal cancer, at the age of 81. ==Publications==