Rubén Hinojosa

Rubén Hinojosa
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Kika de la Garza
Personal details
Born	(1940-08-20) August 20, 1940 Edcouch, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Martha Lopez
Residence	Mercedes, Texas
Alma mater	Texas A&I, University of Texas, University of Texas-Pan American
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 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. He serves on the Financial Services and Education committees.

Early Life, Education and Career

Hinojosa was born in Edcouch, Texas. The eighth of 11 children, Hinojosa was raised in Hidalgo County, which borders on Mexico, and earned two business degrees at the University of 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. President 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.”

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.

In 1974, he was elected to the Texas State Board of Education, serving for ten years.

Hinojosa’s father and uncle founded H&H Foods in 1947 as a slaughterhouse. Control of the firm passed to Rubén and his brother Liborio in 1976. Rubén gave up his executive position when he entered Congress, but remained a director and major stockholder.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Education and the Workforce
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit

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% 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 reelected unopposed. 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.

Political positions

Hinojosa has been labeled as a “Hard-Core Liberal” and a “rank-and-file Democrat”. 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.

During the 111th Congress, Hinojosa voted with his party 99% of the time. He voted to extend the Patriot Act and supported the 2011 budget compromise. He voted for both versions of the 2008 financial bailout bill, for Obamacare, for “Cap and Trade” (the American Clean Energy and Security Act), and for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

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.

Hinojosa supported the introduction, in 2010, 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.”

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.

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. 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.”

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 a loan to H&H that he had personally guaranteed.

External links

• U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa official U.S. House site
• Rubén Hinojosa for United States Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance (federal office) at LegiStorm.com
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Voting record at The Washington Post
• 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–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Kay Granger R-Texas	United States Representatives by seniority 94th	Succeeded by Ron Kind D-Wisconsin