Educational Biography

Throughout his career in the private sector and now in public service, Rubén Hinojosa has consistently displayed his dedication to educational excellence. As President and Chief Financial Officer of his family-owned business for 20 years, Congressman Hinojosa experienced first-hand the value of education and a trained workforce.

Not one to sit on the sidelines, he was elected to the local school board and worked to address these issues in his community. From the school board, he moved to the Texas State Board of Education, where he served for 10 years through 1984. Soon after that he was elected Founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees for South Texas Community College, a position he held from 1993 through 1996. Hinojosa was instrumental in leading the efforts to successfully create the South Texas I.S.D. magnet high schools system and the new South Texas Community College.

In 1996, Rubén Hinojosa was elected to the United States Congress representing the 15th Congressional District of Texas. Currently he serves on two House committees: 1) Committee on Education and Workforce, 2) Committee on Financial Services and is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

As a senior member of the Education and Workforce Committee, Congressman Hinojosa is widely recognized as a champion for investing in human capital through education. On March 30, 2010, Congressman Hinojosa joined President Barack Obama for the signing of H.R. 4871: the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.  This legislation represents the single largest increase in student financial aid since the G.I. bill was signed in 1944. This bill invests $2.55 billion in historically Black Colleges and Universities and in Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other Minority Serving Institutions.

Representative Hinojosa is widely recognized as a powerful voice for communities traditionally left behind in America's education system: low-income families, minorities, students with disabilities, English language learners, and the children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. As chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s Education Task Force for many years, Congressman Hinojosa worked to ensure that federal education policy never loses sight of the country’s youngest and fastest growing population - Hispanic Americans. By focusing on a group of federal education programs that are critical to the Hispanic community, often referred to as the Hispanic Education Action Plan (HEAP), the Congressman has helped to secure dramatic increases in resources - starting with $8.5 billion in 1998 and growing to over $17.6 billion in FY10.

In January 2007, Congressman Hinojosa was appointed Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness. As incoming chair, Congressman Hinojosa helped guide into law the historic College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, which until 2010, represented the single largest increase in student financial aid since the GI Bill.

Congressman Hinojosa has also vaulted Hispanic-Serving Institutions to a position of prominence in higher education. In the 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act, the Congressman succeeded in establishing a separate Title V dedicated to the development of HSIs. Since that time, funding for HSIs has grown from $12 million to nearly $221 million in FY12. Congressman Hinojosa’s leadership has also enabled the passage of an unprecedented number of measures in that boost the achievement of Hispanics in higher education. His successful initiatives include a landmark $510 million investment in minority institutions and a program to support graduate degree attainment at HSIs.

Congressman Hinojosa has received numerous awards and recognitions including the naming of two new elementary schools in his honor, the Rubén Hinojosa Highway and the Industrial Park in the Delta Region, and a Regents Endowment Professorship in perpetuity at The University of Texas in Austin, all bearing his name. Congressman Hinojosa is also the recipient of prestigious awards such as the Hispanic Heritage Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation for his unflagging support of STEM field education and careers. The Hispanic Heritage Awards were established by The White House in 1987 to commemorate the creation of Hispanic Heritage Month in America. The Hispanic Heritage Awards are considered among the “highest honor for Latinos by Latinos” and recognize notable Latinos who have made a positive impact on America, and the world. Congressman Hinojosa is also the recipient of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) award for Lifetime Achievement, Excellence in Government.

Born in South Texas, Congressman Hinojosa graduated from Mercedes High School and 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 five children.