Rubén Hinojosa
Rubén Hinojosa | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 15th district |
|
Assumed office January 3, 1997 |
|
Preceded by | Kika de la Garza |
Personal details | |
Born | Edcouch, Texas |
August 20, 1940
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Martha Lopez |
Residence | Mercedes, Texas |
Alma mater | Texas A&I, University of Texas-Pan American |
Occupation | grocery executive |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Rubén E. Hinojosa (born August 20, 1940) is the retiring U.S. Representative for Texas's 15th congressional district, serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretches from Seguin (east of San Antonio), to McAllen on the Mexican border. Much of the region is rural although Hidalgo County is part of the third fastest-growing metropolitan statistical area in the country. Hinojosa serves on the House Financial Services and Education committees.
Contents
Early life, education, and career
Hinojosa was born in Edcouch, Texas. The eighth of eleven children, Hinojosa was reared in Hidalgo County, which borders on Mexico, and earned two business degrees,[1]a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the University of Texas-Pan American. For two decades, he was the president and chief financial officer of his family's food processing company, H&H Foods. U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan named H&H the “Number One Minority-Owned Business in America” in 1983. In 1987, the U.S. Small Business Administration named the Hinojosas “Minority Entrepreneur of the Year.”[2]
By 1994, the company was one of the major employers in the Rio Grande area, with 350 employees, and had begun to produce ready-to-eat foods. In 2005, it had $40 million in revenue but had 270 employees.[3]
In 1974, Hinojosa was elected to the Texas State Board of Education, a position which he held for ten years.
Hinojosa’s father and uncle founded H&H Foods in 1947 as a slaughterhouse. Control of the firm passed in 1976 to himself and his brother, Liborio. He gave up his executive position when he entered Congress, but remained a director and major stockholder.[4]
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
Political campaigns
After 32-year incumbent Kika de la Garza announced his retirement, Hinojosa won a five-way primary for the seat by only 588 votes. This practically assured him of being only the sixth person to represent this heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district. He defeated Republican Tom Haughey with 62 percent of the vote. He defeated Haughey again in 1998, winning 59 percent of the vote. In 2000, he took 89 percent of the vote against the Independent Frank L. Jones, III. In 2002, he was unopposed. In 2004, Hinojosa faced Republican Michael Thamm in the redrawn District 15 and defeated the former major, winning 59 percent of the vote. In the 2006 mid-term election he faced Paul Haring and Eddie Zamora, both Republicans. Hinojosa won 61 percent of the vote in the once-again redrawn district.[6]
In the general election held on November 4, 2014, Hinojosa squared off once again with the Republican Eddie Zamora, who received 7,776 votes (54.9 percent) in the primary election held on March 4. Douglas A. "Doug" Carlile (born c. 1963) polled the remaining 6,393 Republican ballots (45.1 percent).[7]
Hinojosa will not seek an eleventh term in the House in 2016. Several major Democrats are in the running to succeed him, including State Representative Armando Martinez of Weslaco, City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr., of Edinburg, District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez of Hidalgo County, and Hidalgo County Commissioner Joseph Palacios. Ruben Villarreal, the mayor of Rio Grande City in heavily Democratic Starr County is running for the seat as a Republican.[8]
Political positions
Hinojosa has been called as a “hard-core liberal” and a “rank-and-file Democrat”.[9][10] The 'That's My Congress' website has given Hinojosa a “Liberal Action Score” of 37/100 and a “Conservative Action Score” of 16/100 for his votes in the 112th Congress.[11][12]
During the 111th Congress, Hinojosa voted with his party 99 percent of the time. He voted to extend the Patriot Act and supported the 2011 budget compromise. He voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), the American Clean Energy and Security Act, otherwise known as, “Cap and Trade”,[12] and the Troubled Asset Relief Program.[11]
Hinojosa has emphasized assisting minorities and low-income Americans gain access to higher education. He has been especially active in supporting water-conservation projects along the Mexican border, and in replacing federal subsidies for student loans with direct government loans. Hinojosa and George Miller were responsible for constructing the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, which increased the maximum Pell Grants available to low-income students and authorized additional funding for minority-serving schools.
He co-sponsored a 2010 bill for enhanced border security, but has opposed the construction of a wall along the border.
He has also been a very strong supporter of free-trade agreements, and was one of 15 House Democrats to vote for the 2005 Central American Free Trade Agreement.[1]
In 2010, Hinojosa supported the introduction of full-body scanners at Valley International Airport. He said that we need to take more precautions when it comes to public safety, and that the new technology “gives TSA employees a distinct advantage in the prevention of terrorist events.”[13]
In June 2011, Hinojosa introduced legislation that would expand the authority of NADBank, which had already funded more than 100 projects to prevent the release of untreated sewage into the Rio Grande and other bodies of water, to finance infrastructure projects designed to enhance economic development along the border and raise environmental standards.[14]
He has also supported measures to aid undocumented workers. He backed the “AgJobs” bill aimed at helping undocumented farm workers. He has been an advocate of the DREAM Act, which would provide citizenship to people who were brought to the U.S. as children by their parents.[1][15] He cited his concern that these children came to the US alongside their parents and should not be faulted. Hinojosa argued that “[o]ur country is much better off by being able to let those children get a college education and serve in the military and contribute to the prosperity of our country.”[16]
J. M. Lozano, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Kingsville in Kleberg County, for a time worked on Hinojosa's staff in McAllen beginning in 2003. At the time Lozano was a Democrat.[17]
Personal life
Hinojosa is married to Martha Lopez Hinojosa and they have two daughters, Kaitlin and Karen. He has one son, Ruben Jr., and two daughters from a previous marriage.
Bankruptcy
Hinojosa declared personal bankruptcy in December 2010. He had $2.9 million in debts, mostly owed to Wells Fargo Bank. Hinojosa's bankruptcy stems from his personal guarantee of a loan made to his family's food processing company, H&H Foods.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Aaron Nelsen, "Hinojosa becomes emotional while announcing retirement, San Antonio Express-News|date=November 14, 2015, pp. A3-A4
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Congressman Rubén Hinojosa official U.S. House site
- Rubén Hinojosa for Congress
- Rubén Hinojosa at DMOZ
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
United States House of Representatives | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 15th congressional district 1997–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
United States order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by | United States Representatives by seniority 74th |
Succeeded by Ron Kind D-Wisconsin |
- Use mdy dates from November 2015
- Articles with DMOZ links
- 1940 births
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- American politicians of Mexican descent
- Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
- School board members in Texas
- University of Texas at Austin alumni
- University of Texas–Pan American alumni
- Texas Democrats
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Businesspeople from Texas
- Bankruptcy in the United States