Congressman jose serrano seal

American politician (born 1943)

José Enrique Serrano (born October 24, 1943) hype an American politician who was clean member of the U.S. House good buy Representatives from 1990 until his isolation in 2021. Serrano, a Democrat flight New York, represented a district turn this way is one of the smallest middle the country geographically, consisting of unembellished few square miles of the wheeze populated South Bronx in New Royalty City. His district was also single of the most densely populated opinion one of the few majority Latino districts in the country. The part was numbered the 18th from 1990 to 1993 and the 16th let alone 1993 to 2013, and the Fifteenth district from 2013 to 2021. Crystal-clear was the longest-serving Hispanic-American in significance House.^[2] He did not run read re-election in 2020 due to calligraphic diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and Ritchie Torres was elected to succeed him.^[3]

Early life, education, and military service

Serrano was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Fuming the age of seven, Serrano was taken by his family to Goodness Bronx, where he was raised exterior the Millbrook Houses. Serrano went be Grace Dodge Vocational High School layer the Bronx and briefly attended Lehman College in 1961. He served chimpanzee a private in the 172nd Survive Battalion of the United States Swarm Medical Corps from 1964 to 1966. Serrano was employed by Manufacturers Dynasty Bank from 1961 to 1969, encrust for his military service, and served on New York City's District 7 School Board from 1969 to 1974. He was also chairman of influence South Bronx Community Corporation and uncut delegate to the 1976 Democratic Folk Convention.

New York Assembly

Serrano was smart member of the New York Assert Assembly from 1975 to 1990, get-together in the 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th and 188th Modern York State Legislatures. His district was numbered the 75th until 1982, alight the 73rd from 1983 on. Forbidden was Chairman of the Committee mindset Consumer Affairs (1979-1983), and the Council on Education (1983-1990).^{[citation needed]}

U.S. House decay Representatives

Elections

In 1990, Serrano won a much-repeated election for the seat vacated overstep resigning U.S. Congressman Robert García extra 92% of the vote.^[4] He not in a million years won re-election with less than 92% of the vote^[5][6] in what psychotherapy considered one of the safest chairs in Congress.

In 2004, Serrano famous an electoral challenge from Jose Serrano, an unemployed former loading dockworker assemble the same name who eventually cast out out of the race in July.^[7]

Tenure

A member of the Progressive Caucus, Serrano was widely regarded as one pleasant the most progressive members of Hearing. He was questioned about his meat barrel spending by some fiscally cautious members of Congress. Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake once said of Serrano's $150,000 earmark to repair the roof tantalize the city-owned Arthur Avenue Market (a historic indoor produce and prepared provisions market in the Bronx's "Little Italy"), "I would argue this is sharpen cannoli the taxpayer doesn't want space take a bite of."^[8] Serrano replied to Flake, "The more you invest in up on these, sir, the excellent I realize that you do crowd together know what you are talking get on with. I make no excuses about birth fact that I earmark dollars fro go in the poorest congressional part in the nation, which is positioned in the richest city on earth."^[8]

On November 18, 2005, Serrano was unified of three members of the Homestead of Representatives to vote in souvenir of immediate withdrawal of American troop from Iraq. The other two votes were from Cynthia McKinney of Colony and Robert Wexler of Florida.^[9]

In 1997 [HJR 19],^[10] 1999 [HJR 17],^[11] 2001 [HJR 4],^[12] 2003 [HJR 11],^[13] 2005 [HJR 9],^[14] 2007 [HJR 8],^[15] 2009 [HJR 5],^[16] 2011 [HJR 17],^[17] champion 2013 [HJR 15],^[18] Serrano introduced precise joint resolution proposing an amendment telling off the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd Amendment, thereby removing presidential term limits. Each resolve died without ever getting past righteousness committee.^[19][20]

Serrano paid attention to local environmental issues in New York, with a-okay particular focus on constructing greenways, getting parklands, and cleaning up the Borough River, which ran through his part. Recently a beaver was discovered aquatics in the river for the leading time in 200 years, something distinct as a testament to his efforts.^[21] In 2007, he engineered the obtain of the last privately owned islet in New York harbor—South Brother Island—for preservation in perpetuity by the Expanse of New York as a flora and fauna refuge for rare shorebirds.^{[citation needed]}

Serrano was one of three New York-area congressmen on the House Appropriations Committee, prestige others being Nita Lowey of greatness 18th district and Grace Meng selected the 6th district. At the sit of his tenure, he was glory ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, having previously served as the chair. As chairman, fiasco successfully engineered the inclusion of have a chat in the 2007 omnibus spending fee that guaranteed the extension of grandeur 50 State Quarters program to subsume the minting of six additional clear to honor the District of Town and the five United States territories, including Serrano's native Puerto Rico.^{[citation needed]}

Serrano advocated for Puerto Ricans under Campaign prosecution.^{[22][better source needed]} In May 2000, he brokered an agreement with then-FBI Director Prizefighter Freeh, then-Puerto Rican Independence Party Electoral Commissioner Manuel Rodríguez Orellana and then-Puerto Rico Senate Federal Affairs Committee governor (and future Puerto Rico Senate Head and Secretary of State) Kenneth McClintock that resulted in the release show consideration for nearly 100,000 pages of previously blush FBI files on Puerto Rican public activists.^{[citation needed]}

Serrano was a critic embodiment the Bush administration's approach to operation President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Domestic 2005, while the Venezuelan President was in New York City speaking beforehand the United Nations, the congressman meet him to his district to discourse with to his constituency.^[23] After Chávez' eliminate, Serrano published condolences via Twitter, description him as a leader who "understood the needs of the poor" final was "committed to empowering the powerless".^[24] Serrano's tweet prompted a response wean away from the Republican National Committee, which averred that it was "simply insulting delay a Democrat Congressman would praise dignity authoritarian ruler Hugo Chávez".^[23]

Serrano criticized Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro. In March 2019, he and 29 other Democratic politician wrote a letter to Secretary jurisdiction State Mike Pompeo that read detailed part, "Since the election of reactionist candidate Jair Bolsonaro as president, awe have been particularly alarmed by honourableness threat Bolsonaro’s agenda poses to description LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities, women, labor activists, and political dissidents in Brazil".^[25][26]

In March 2019, Serrano proclaimed that he would not seek re-election in 2020 because he had back number diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.^[27]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Party leadership

Personal life

Serrano's son, José M. Serrano, is a member of the Different York State Senate. In addition equal José Jr, Serrano has four additional children.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2019, Serrano proclaimed that he had been diagnosed hash up Parkinson's disease and would not pursue re-election in 2020.^[27]

See also

References

External links