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José E. Serrano

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José E. Serrano
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
March 21, 1990 – January 3, 2021
Preceded byRobert Garcia
Succeeded byRitchie Torres
Constituency18th district (1990–1993)
16th district (1993–2013)
15th district (2013–2021)
Member of the New York Assembly
In office
January 1, 1975 – March 21, 1990
Preceded byEugenio Alvarez
Succeeded byDavid Rosado
Constituency75th district (1975–1982)
73rd district (1983–1990)
Personal details
Born
José Enrique Serrano

(1943-10-24) October 24, 1943 (age 81)
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Political partyDemocratic
Children5, including José
EducationLehman College (dropped out)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1964–1966
Unit172nd Support Battalion[1]
José E. Serrano's voice
Serrano pays tribute to the New York Yankees for winning their 27th World Series championship
Recorded November 6, 2009

José Enrique Serrano (born October 24, 1943) is an American politician who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 until his retirement in 2021. Serrano, a Democrat from New York, represented a district that is one of the smallest in the country geographically, consisting of a few square miles of the heavily populated South Bronx in New York City. His district was also one of the most densely populated and one of the few majority Hispanic districts in the country. The district was numbered the 18th from 1990 to 1993 and the 16th from 1993 to 2013, and the 15th district from 2013 to 2021. He was the longest-serving Hispanic-American in the House.[2] He did not run for re-election in 2020 due to a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and Ritchie Torres was elected to succeed him.[3]

Early life, education, and military service

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Serrano was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. At the age of seven, Serrano was taken by his family to The Bronx, where he was raised in the Millbrook Houses. Serrano went to Grace Dodge Vocational High School in the Bronx and briefly attended Lehman College in 1961. He served as a private in the 172nd Support Battalion of the United States Army Medical Corps from 1964 to 1966. Serrano was employed by Manufacturers Hanover Bank from 1961 to 1969, except for his military service, and served on New York City's District 7 School Board from 1969 to 1974. He was also chairman of the South Bronx Community Corporation and a delegate to the 1976 Democratic National Convention.

New York Assembly

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Serrano was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1975 to 1990, sitting in the 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th and 188th New York State Legislatures. His district was numbered the 75th until 1982, and the 73rd from 1983 on. He was Chairman of the Committee on Consumer Affairs (1979-1983), and the Committee on Education (1983-1990).[citation needed]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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In 1990, Serrano won a special election for the seat vacated by resigning U.S. Congressman Robert García with 92% of the vote.[4] He never won re-election with less than 92% of the vote[5][6] in what is considered one of the safest seats in Congress.

In 2004, Serrano faced an electoral challenge from Jose Serrano, an unemployed former loading dockworker with the same name who eventually dropped out of the race in July.[7]

Tenure

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Serrano speaks during floor debate on December 19, 1998, that preceded that vote on the impeachment of President Bill Clinton
Serrano photographed in 2007
Serrano at an event in 2014

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

On November 18, 2005, Serrano was one of three members of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. The other two votes were from Cynthia McKinney of Georgia 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] and 2013 [HJR 15],[18] Serrano introduced a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd Amendment, thereby removing presidential term limits. Each resolution died without ever getting past the committee.[19][20]

Serrano paid attention to local environmental issues in New York, with a particular focus on constructing greenways, acquiring parklands, and cleaning up the Bronx River, which ran through his district. Recently a beaver was discovered swimming in the river for the first time in 200 years, something seen as a testament to his efforts.[21] In 2007, he engineered the purchase of the last privately owned island in New York harbor—South Brother Island—for preservation in perpetuity by the City of New York as a wildlife refuge for rare shorebirds.[citation needed]

Serrano was one of three New York-area congressmen on the House Appropriations Committee, the others being Nita Lowey of the 18th district and Grace Meng of the 6th district. At the end of his tenure, he was the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, having previously served as the chair. As chairman, he successfully engineered the inclusion of language in the 2007 omnibus spending bill that guaranteed the extension of the 50 State Quarters program to include the minting of six additional quarters to honor the District of Columbia and the five United States territories, including Serrano's native Puerto Rico.[citation needed]

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

Serrano was a critic of the Bush administration's approach to handling President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. In 2005, while the Venezuelan President was in New York City speaking before the United Nations, the congressman invited him to his district to speak to his constituency.[23] After Chávez' death, Serrano published condolences via Twitter, describing him as a leader who "understood the needs of the poor" and was "committed to empowering the powerless".[24] Serrano's tweet prompted a response from the Republican National Committee, which asserted that it was "simply insulting that a Democrat Congressman would praise the authoritarian ruler Hugo Chávez".[23]

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

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

Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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Party leadership

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  • Senior Whip

Personal life

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Serrano's son, José M. Serrano, is a member of the New York State Senate. In addition to José Jr, Serrano has four other children.[citation needed]

In March 2019, Serrano announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and would not seek re-election in 2020.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ausa.org" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014.
  2. ^ "Hispanic Americans". House Press Gallery. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Brown, Nicole (July 16, 2019). "With Rep. José Serrano retiring, candidates vie for South Bronx congressional seat". AM New York. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - NY District 18 Special Race - Mar 20, 1990". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  5. ^ "Political Profile of Jose Serrano, Government & Politics - CollegeTermPapers.com". www.collegetermpapers.com. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  6. ^ "Bronx General Election Results". www.bronxnewsnetwork.org. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  7. ^ Hicks, Jonathan P. (July 24, 2004). "Seeing Double on Ballot: Similar Names Sow Confusion". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  8. ^ a b CBS 60 Minutes, Rep. Flake On Cutting Congressional Pork. Consulted on June 27, 2007.
  9. ^ "Rep. Jose Serrano: One of Three Congress members to Vote for Immediate U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on December 1, 2005.
  10. ^ "H.J.Res. 19 (105th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  11. ^ "H.J.Res. 17 (106th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  12. ^ "H.J.Res. 4 (107th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  13. ^ "H.J.Res. 11 (108th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  14. ^ "H.J.Res. 9 (109th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  15. ^ "H.J.Res. 8 (110th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  16. ^ "H.J.Res. 5 (111th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  17. ^ "H.J.Res. 17 (112th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  18. ^ "H.J.Res. 15 (113th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ..." GovTrack.us.
  19. ^ "H. J. Res. 5: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second..." GovTrack.us. January 6, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  20. ^ "112th Congress (2011–2012): H.J. Res. 17". Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  21. ^ O’Connor, Anahad (February 23, 2007). "After 200 Years, a Beaver Is Back in New York City". The New York Times.
  22. ^ "FBI Files on Puerto Ricans". www.pr-secretfiles.net. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  23. ^ a b LoGiurato, Brett (March 5, 2013). "DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN: Hugo Chavez Was 'Committed To Empowering The Powerless'". Business Insider. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  24. ^ "World leaders pay tribute to Hugo Chavez as wave of grief washes over Latin America". Worldnews.nbcnews.com. October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  25. ^ "Brazil's far-right president tweeted out a pornographic video to condemn Carnival". Vox. March 6, 2019.
  26. ^ "Reps. Susan Wild and Ro Khanna Urge Sec. of State Pompeo to Condemn Human Rights Abuses in Brazil". www.wild.house.gov. March 6, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Greenwood, Max (March 25, 2019). "José Serrano says he has Parkinson's, will not seek reelection". The Hill. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  28. ^ "Members". Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  29. ^ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  30. ^ "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  31. ^ "Members". Afterschool Alliance. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  32. ^ "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
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New York State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New York Assembly
from the 75th district
1975–1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the New York Assembly
from the 73rd district
1983–1990 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 18th congressional district
1990–1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 16th congressional district
1993–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 15th congressional district
2013–2021 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative
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