Special Report: A Look at Hispanic Power on Capitol Hill

Special Report: A Look at Hispanic Power on Capitol HIll
By Erick Galindo, Hispanic Link

At 5%, the number of Hispanics in the 111th Congress may be small, but with two chairs, two vice-chairs and potent subcommittee chairs, their power and influence is grand.

Five of the 28 Hispanic members of the House sit on the Committee on Appropriations, which controls the government’s purse strings. It is considered one of the House’s most important committees. Even the Appropriations subcommittees are seen as powerful. Subcommittee chairs have been called “cardinals" because of the power they wield.

Democrat José Serrano (NY-16) has jurisdiction over the Treasury, Judiciary and National Security Council, among others, as the chairmen of the influential Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Service and General Government.

He is joined on Appropriations by fellow Democrats Dennis Cardoza (CA-18), Ciro Rodríguez (TX-23), Ed Pastor (AZ-04) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34).

Hispanics are also spread into other top committees such as Agriculture, Judiciary, Ways and Means, Homeland Security and Armed Services.

The high-ranking Permanent Select Intelligence Committee is chaired by Silvestre Reyes (TX-16). He is joined by Nydia Velázquez (NY-12), of the fast-rising Small Business Committee, as the only other Latino committee head.

Loretta Sánchez (CA-47),of Homeland Security, is one of two Hispanics serving as vice-chairs.

On the other side of the aisle, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) is the ranking Republican on the influential Foreign Affairs committee.

Of the 28 Hispanic House legislators, 23 are Democrats, four are Republicans and one is Independent.

After the recent retirement of Mel Martínez (R-FL), Bob Menéndez (NJ-D) remains as the only Hispanic sitting on the Senate side.

Beside the committee assignments, members of the all-Democrat Congressional Hispanic Caucus are also assigned to special task forces.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Task Forces

Agriculture and Rural Community
Chair: Rodríguez
Members: Costa and Cardoza

Civil Rights, Veterans and Worker Protections:
Chair: González
Members: Baca, Napolitano and Rodríguez

Commerce and International Relations:
Chair: Hinojosa
Members: Cuéllar, Reyes, Roybal-Allard, Serrano and Velázquez

Communications, Technology and the Arts:
Chair: Reyes
Members: Baca and González

Corporate America:
Chair: Baca
Members: González and Pierluisi

Education and Job Training:
Chair: Grijalva
Members: Baca, Luján, Pierluisi, Reyes and Rodríguez

Green Economy and Renewable Energy:
Chair: Luján
Members: Napolitano, Salazar and Velázquez

Health and the Environment:
Chair: Roybal-Allard
Members: Grijalva, Hinojosa and Rodríguez

Immigration:
Chair: Gutiérrez
Members: Baca, Napolitano, Pierluisi, Reyes, Sablan, Sánchez and Velázquez

Infrastructure and Housing:
Chair: Napolitano
Members: Cardoza, Costa, Cuéllar, Ortiz and Serrano