Rubén Hinojosa

Rubén E. Hinojosa (born August 20, 1940), American politician, has been the Democratic representative for the Texas 15th congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1996.

Hinojosa was born in Edcouch, Texas. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the University of Texas-Pan American. He served as president of his family's food processing company, H&H Foods. In 1974, he was elected to the Texas State Board of Education, serving for 20 years.

Running for Congress in 1996, Hinojosa defeated Republican Tom Haughey with 62% of the vote. He defeated Haughey again in 1998, winning 59% of the vote. In 2000 he took 89% of the vote, facing only independent Frank L. Jones III. Finally in 2002 he was elected once again.

In 2004, Congressman Hinojosa faced Republican Michael Thamm in the redrawn district 15 and defeated the former major, winning with 59 percent of the vote. In the 2006 mid-term election he faced both Paul Haring and Eddie Zamora, both Republicans. Congressman Hinojosa won 61 percent of the vote in the once-again redrawn district.

Current history

Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) was elected to Congress in 1996 and is serving his sixth term as the representative of the 15th District of Texas. The 15th Congressional District stretches from the Rio Grande Valley to historic Goliad County and the Coastal Bend region. Much of the region is rural, however, Hidalgo and Cameron Counties are part of the third fastest growing metropolitan statistical area in the country.

In the 110th Congress, Congressman Hinojosa was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he has been appointed to the Subcommittee on Europe and the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment.

Prior to his election, Congressman Hinojosa served twenty years as President and Chief Financial Officer of a family-owned food processing company, H&H Foods. As a result, Hinojosa's net worth is between $636,034 and $2,443,999 in 2007 according to financial disclosure statements.[1] He earned a Bachelor in Business Administration and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Texas in Austin and in Edinburg, respectively. He is married to Martha Lopez Hinojosa and has one son, Ruben Jr., and four daughters Laura, Iliana, Kaitlin and Karén.

Politically, Hinojosa is considered a Liberal in a socially conservative Hispanic district which puts him at odds to other Hispanic congressional leaders on the state level who are also Democrat.^{[citation needed]} Traditionally, Hinojosa votes along party lines and readily votes with his party as opposed to those Democrats with more moderate voting records. As such Hinojosa supports stem cell research, gay marriage rights, increased education funding, free trade agreements, gun control, and the lowering of health care costs.^{[citation needed]} He opposes the Iraq War, voting against the original authorization in 2002, Social Security privatization, and stronger anti-immigration policies. Hinojosa also voted against President Bush's tax cuts. Hinojosa voted for a ban on the procedure critics call "partial-birth abortions"and Bush's faith-based programs initiative which would have benefited many local low-income Hispanics in his district. According to the American Conservative Union, Hinojosa's 2007 voting was record 4 out of 100. However, the liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him 90 points, positioning Hinojosa left of the center politically.

On October 3, 2008 Rep. Hinojosa voted in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program^[1] believing that the enumerated powers grant congress the authority to "purchase assets and equity from financial institutions in order to strengthen its financial sector."

Recently, Hinojosa voted for the passage of the 'Cap and Trade' bill known as H.R. 2454 American Clean Energy and Security Act.[2]

Congressional committee assignments

• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness (Chairman)
• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit

References

1. ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll681.xml

External links

• U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa official U.S. House site
• Rubén Hinojosa for United States Congress official campaign site
• Rubén Hinojosa at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Rubén E Hinojosa campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Rubén Hinojosa issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Rubén Hinojosa campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Rubén E. Hinojosa (TX) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Rubén Hinojosa profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Ruben Hinojosa voting record
• [3] Fox News - Ruben E. Hinojosa profile

Categories: 1940 births | Living people | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas | American politicians of Mexican descent | American Roman Catholic politicians | Hispanic and Latino American people in the United States Congress | People from Texas