José E. Serrano

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=May 2020}}

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.

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|date=February 2022}}

In 1990, Serrano won a special election for the seat vacated by resigning U.S. Congressman Robert García with 92% of the vote.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=107262|title=Our Campaigns - NY District 18 Special Race - Mar 20, 1990|website=www.ourcampaigns.com|access-date=October 22, 2018}} He never won re-election with less than 92% of the vote{{Cite web|url=http://www.collegetermpapers.com/TermPapers/Government_&_Politics/Political_Profile_of_Jose_Serrano.shtml|title=Political Profile of Jose Serrano, Government & Politics - CollegeTermPapers.com|website=www.collegetermpapers.com|access-date=October 22, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.bronxnewsnetwork.org/2010/11/bronx-general-election-results.html|title=Bronx General Election Results|website=www.bronxnewsnetwork.org|access-date=October 22, 2018}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/24/nyregion/seeing-double-on-ballot-similar-names-sow-confusion.html|title=Seeing Double on Ballot: Similar Names Sow Confusion|last=Hicks|first=Jonathan P.|work=The New York Times |date=July 24, 2004 |access-date=October 22, 2018|language=en}}

File:José Serrano during debate on impeaching Bill Clinton (December 19, 1998) 09.png]]

File:J. Serrano official portrait.jpg

File:6.19.2014 Workshop on Prevention of Mobile Device Theft (14312729517).jpg

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."CBS 60 Minutes, [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rep-flake-on-cutting-congressional-pork/ Rep. Flake On Cutting Congressional Pork]. Consulted on June 27, 2007. 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."

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/01/1526209|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201225145/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05%2F12%2F01%2F1526209|url-status=dead |title=Rep. Jose Serrano: One of Three Congress members to Vote for Immediate U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq| website=Democracy Now! |archivedate=December 1, 2005}}

In 1997 [HJR 19],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/105/hjres19 |title=H.J.Res. 19 (105th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 1999 [HJR 17],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/106/hjres17 |title=H.J.Res. 17 (106th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 2001 [HJR 4],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/107/hjres4 |title=H.J.Res. 4 (107th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 2003 [HJR 11],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/108/hjres11 |title=H.J.Res. 11 (108th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 2005 [HJR 9],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/109/hjres9 |title=H.J.Res. 9 (109th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 2007 [HJR 8],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hjres8 |title=H.J.Res. 8 (110th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 2009 [HJR 5],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hjres5 |title=H.J.Res. 5 (111th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 2011 [HJR 17],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hjres17 |title=H.J.Res. 17 (112th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} and 2013 [HJR 15],{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hjres15 |title=H.J.Res. 15 (113th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, ... |publisher=GovTrack.us}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hj111-5&tab=related |title=H. J. Res. 5: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second... |publisher=GovTrack.us |date=January 6, 2009 |access-date=August 23, 2010}}{{Cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.J.RES.17: |title=112th Congress (2011–2012): H.J. Res. 17 |access-date=June 30, 2011 |archive-date=July 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704150920/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.J.RES.17: |url-status=dead }}

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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/nyregion/23beaver.html|title=After 200 Years, a Beaver Is Back in New York City|first=Anahad|last=O’Connor|newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 23, 2007}} 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|date=February 2022}}

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|date=February 2022}}

Serrano advocated for Puerto Ricans under FBI prosecution.{{cite web |url=http://www.pr-secretfiles.net/ |title=FBI Files on Puerto Ricans |website=www.pr-secretfiles.net |access-date=February 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307094344/http://www.pr-secretfiles.net/ |archive-date=March 7, 2005 |url-status=dead}}{{better source needed|date=February 2022}} 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|date=February 2022}}

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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/jose-serrano-hugo-chavez-death-dead-die-tweet-2013-3|title=DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN: Hugo Chavez Was 'Committed To Empowering The Powerless'|last=LoGiurato|first=Brett|date=March 5, 2013|work=Business Insider|access-date=October 19, 2018}} 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".{{cite web|url=http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/05/17199243-world-leaders-pay-tribute-to-chavez?lite |title=World leaders pay tribute to Hugo Chavez as wave of grief washes over Latin America |publisher=Worldnews.nbcnews.com |date=October 24, 2012 |access-date=March 6, 2013}} 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".

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".{{cite news |title=Brazil's far-right president tweeted out a pornographic video to condemn Carnival |url=https://www.vox.com/world/2019/3/6/18253070/jair-bolsonaro-tweet-golden-showers-pompeo |work=Vox |date=March 6, 2019}}{{cite web |title=Reps. Susan Wild and Ro Khanna Urge Sec. of State Pompeo to Condemn Human Rights Abuses in Brazil |url=https://wild.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-susan-wild-and-ro-khanna-urge-sec-state-pompeo-condemn-human-rights-abuses |website=www.wild.house.gov|date=March 6, 2019 }}

In March 2019, Serrano announced that he would not seek re-election in 2020 because he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/435634-jose-serrano-says-he-has-parkinsons-will-not-seek-reelection|title=José Serrano says he has Parkinson's, will not seek reelection|work=The Hill|date=March 25, 2019|access-date=March 25, 2019|last = Greenwood|first = Max}}

• Committee on Appropriations
• Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
• Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (Ranking Member)
• Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

• Congressional Hispanic Caucus{{cite web|title=Members|url=https://congressionalhispaniccaucus-lujangrisham.house.gov/members|publisher=Congressional Hispanic Caucus|access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515183838/https://congressionalhispaniccaucus-lujangrisham.house.gov/members|archive-date=May 15, 2018|url-status=dead}}
• Congressional Progressive Caucus.{{cite web|title=Caucus Members|url=https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=71§iontree=2,71|publisher=Congressional Progressive Caucus|access-date=January 30, 2018}}
• International Conservation Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus{{cite web|title=Membership|url=https://artscaucus-slaughter.house.gov/membership|publisher=Congressional Arts Caucus|access-date=March 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120195207/https://artscaucus-slaughter.house.gov/membership|archive-date=January 20, 2019|url-status=dead}}
• Afterschool Caucuses{{cite web|title=Members|url=http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/policyCongressionalCaucuses.cfm|publisher=Afterschool Alliance|access-date=April 17, 2018}}
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus{{cite web|title=Our Members|url=https://royce.house.gov/internationalconservation/members.html|publisher=U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus|access-date=August 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801155201/https://royce.house.gov/internationalconservation/members.html|archive-date=August 1, 2018|url-status=dead}}

• Senior Whip

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.{{Cite web |last=Weiner |first=Tim |date=September 13, 1999 |title=Public Lives: Puerto Rico an Issue of the Heart for a Clinton Loyalist |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/091399faln2.html |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=The New York Times}}

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

{{Portal|Puerto Rico}}

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• List of Puerto Ricans
• Nuyorican
• Puerto Ricans in New York City
• Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007

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{{CongLinks | congbio=s000248 | votesmart=26981 | fec=H0NY18065 | congress=jose-serrano/1042 }}

• [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jose_Serrano Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120000/http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jose_Serrano |date=September 29, 2007 }} at SourceWatch
• [http://www.democracynow.org/2005/12/1/rep_jose_serrano_one_of_three Rep. Jose Serrano: One of Three Congress members to Vote for Immediate U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq], December 1, 2005
• {{C-SPAN|14306}}

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Category:1943 births

Category:Living people

Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)

Category:Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress

Category:Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state)

Category:Lehman College alumni

Category:Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly

Category:Military personnel from New York City

Category:Politicians from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Category:People with Parkinson's disease

Category:Politicians from the Bronx

Category:Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics

Category:American politicians of Puerto Rican descent

Category:School board members in New York (state)

Category:United States Army soldiers

Category:People from Mott Haven, Bronx

Category:21st-century New York (state) politicians

Category:21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Category:20th-century members of the New York State Legislature