Rubén Hinojosa
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| Rubén Hinojosa | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 15th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Kika de la Garza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 20, 1940 Edcouch, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Martha Lopez |
| Residence | Mercedes, Texas |
| Alma mater | Texas A&I, |
| Occupation | grocery executive |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Rubén E. Hinojosa (born August 20, 1940) is the U.S. House of Representative for Texas's 15th congressional district, serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretches from the Rio Grande Valley to historic Goliad County and the Coastal Bend region. Much of the region is rural, although Hidalgo and Cameron Counties are part of the third fastest growing metropolitan statistical area in the country. He serves on the Financial Services and Education committees.
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[edit] Early Life, Education and Career
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 and Chief Financial Officer of his family's food processing company, H&H Foods, for twenty years.
In 1974, he was elected to the Texas State Board of Education, serving for ten years.
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Committee assignments
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[edit] Political campaigns
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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. In 2002, he was elected once again.
In 2004, 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. Hinojosa won 61 percent of the vote in the once-again redrawn district.
[edit] Political positions
Hinojosa is considered[by whom?] a liberal and votes with his party 86% of the time.[1] Hinojosa has sponsored 61 bills since Jan 7, 1997. Five of these bills were enacted.[2]
Hinojosa supports the DREAM Act, a law which would give a path to citizenship to children who entered the country illegally before the age of 16.[3] On October 3, 2008 Rep. Hinojosa voted in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program[4] believing that the enumerated powers grant Congress the authority to "purchase assets and equity from financial institutions in order to strengthen its financial sector." Hinojosa voted for the passage of the 'Cap and Trade' bill known as H.R. 2454 American Clean Energy and Security Act.[5]
[edit] Personal life
Hinojosa is married to Martha Lopez Hinojosa and has one son, Ruben Jr., and four daughters Laura, Iliana, Kaitlin and Karén. His net worth was between $636,034 and $2,443,999 in 2007 according to financial disclosure statements.[6] However, he filed for bankruptcy in 2010, listing assets of around $1.4 million and debt in excess of $2.7 million.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/H000636
- ^ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400179
- ^ http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/119935-the-dream-act-offers-hard-working-students-a-path-to-citizenship-rep-ruben-hinojosa
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll681.xml
- ^ "GovTrack: Rep. Rubén Hinojosa [D-TX15]'s Voting Record". Govtrack.us. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes.xpd?year=2009&person=400179. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Rep. Rubén Hinojosa [D-TX15". GovTrack.us. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400179. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ Bresnahan, John (February 4, 2011). "House Democrat files for bankruptcy". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/48799.html.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa official U.S. House site
- Rubén Hinojosa for United States Congress official campaign site
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Profile at SourceWatch
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kika de la Garza |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 15th congressional district 1997– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Kay Granger R-Texas |
United States Representatives by seniority 123rd |
Succeeded by Ron Kind D-Wisconsin |
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