MIAMI BEACH, Fla., March 16 (UPI) -- Former Rep. Bill Lehman, D-Fla., considered by many a visionary on racial issues and public transit, died Wednesday at age 91.
The Miami legislator and automobile dealer died at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, The Miami Herald reported. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Lehman served in Congress from 1972 until 1992, representing the northeast section of what is now Miami-Dade County.
He was a member of the so-called "college of cardinals" among House Democrats and was chairman of the House Appropriations committee's subcommittee overseeing highways, reports and mass-transit systems.
Lehman was proud member of the liberal wing of the party who voted against a constitutional amendment banning flag burning, against military aid to the Nicaraguan Contras and against sending troops to the Persian Gulf.
In 1981, he negotiated the release of a political prisoner in Argentina, and in 1984 he smuggled a synthetic heart valve to a young patient in the Soviet Union. He went to Cuba in 1988 and negotiated the release of three political prisoners.
