Chet Edwards has represented the 11th
Congressional District of Texas since January of l99l. During his service
in the U.S. House of Representatives, Edwards has developed a reputation
as a fiscal conservative who fights hard for his district, while
being a leader on national issues such as the budget, defense, veterans,
education and religious liberty.
- A member of the powerful House Appropriations
Committee, Edwards presently holds several key leadership
positions. He is one of the four Democratic Chief Deputy
Whips and is co-chairman of the House Army Caucus. He
also co-chairs the National Security Caucus and the
bipartisan House Impact Aid Coalition. Edwards is a
member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee
which makes all House Democratic committee
assignments.
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- As the top-ranking moderate/conservative in the
House Democratic leadership, Edwards is known as a bridge
builder between conservative, moderate and liberal
Democrats.
- Edwards considers his greatest legislative
achievement to be his defense of religious liberty. He
was the leader of the bipartisan effort that soundly
defeated Representative Ernest Istook's resolution to
amend the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights has never
been amended in our nation's history. Edwards strongly
believes that America's greatest contribution in our
nation's experiment in democracy is the religious freedom
guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution
which reads: "Congress shall make no laws respecting an
establishment of religion or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof . . . ."
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- In his Central Texas district, Edwards is known as
a hard worker who has been effective in fighting for
important federal programs and for average working
families. In particular, he has been given credit for
leading the effort to keep Fort Hood as the only
two-division installation in the U.S. Army.
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- His work has also led to major construction
projects at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care
System, the building of a new regional VA office, major
renovations of the Waco airport and Lake Waco dam and the
future joint civilian-military use of the Robert Gray
Army Airfield near Fort Hood.
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- Edwards has obtained funding for a major water
study that will be the foundation of long-term plans to
improve and protect water quality at Lake Waco, Belton
Lake, Stillhouse Hollow Lake and Whitney Lake. He has
also been nationally recognized for his leadership in the
fight to protect military retiree benefits and education
programs for the children of military families.
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- Because of his fight to balance the budget,
Edwards received the "1998 Deficit Hawk Award" given by
the Concord Coalition, a national, non-partisan group
dedicated to reducing federal spending and cutting the
federal debt.
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- With a focus on service to his district, Edwards
considers constituent casework to be one of the most
important responsibilities of his job. In Central Texas
he is well known for returning to his district almost
every weekend.
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- Edwards is a l974 graduate of Texas A&M
University, where he received the Earl Rudder Award as
one of two outstanding graduates. In l981, he received an
MBA from the Harvard Business School.
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- As a businessman he worked in commercial real
estate with the Trammell Crow Company and was later
president of Edwards Communications Company, which owned
an AM/FM radio station. From l983 to l990 he served in
the Texas State Senate and was named "One of Ten
Outstanding Legislators" by Texas Monthly magazine.
Edwards is married to the former Lea Ann Wood. They
have two young sons, John Thomas and
Garrison.
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