Raymond Eugene Green (born October 17, 1947) is an American
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who served as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for , serving for 13 terms. He is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. His district included most of eastern
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, including portions of the suburbs.
In November 2017, Green announced that he would retire from
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
at the end of his current term, and not run for re-election in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
.
Early life, education, and early career
Green was born in Houston and he graduated from the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1971 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1977. He held positions as a business manager and a private attorney prior to his election to Congress.
Texas legislature
Green was first elected to the
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...
in 1972. He was elected to the
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...
in 1985.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
Green was first elected to the
U.S. House
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
in 1992. Although the 29th was (then as now) drawn as a majority-Hispanic district, Green finished second in the five-way Democratic primary, behind
city councilman
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...
Ben Reyes. Green defeated Reyes in the runoff by only 180 votes, all but assuring him of election in this heavily Democratic district. Green was reelected 12 times, never facing substantive electoral opposition. He ran unopposed in 1998, 2002 and 2004.
On November 13, 2017 Green announced his retirement. He later endorsed State Senator Sylvia Garcia, who now represented his old state senate district (and who finished third in the 1992 Democratic primary) as his successor. Garcia went on to win the primary, and easily won the general election.
Green left office in January 2019 after representing portions of eastern Houston for 46 years, having never lost an election.
Tenure
In the
115th Congress
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...
, Green was the only non-Hispanic white Democrat representing a significant portion of Houston, and one of only three in the entire Texas delegation (the others being
Lloyd Doggett
Lloyd Alton Doggett II (born October 6, 1946) is an American attorney and politician who is a U.S. representative from Texas. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented a district based in Austin since 1995, currently numbered as ...
and
Beto O'Rourke
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senat ...
).
From 1996 until his retirement in 2019, Green was a member of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. In 2011, he became Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy. He also served on the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Legislative issues
Since being elected to the House of Representatives, Green had been working on education, labor, energy, domestic manufacturing, health issues, NASA's Johnson Space Center, and Social Security and veterans benefits. He has worked to improve access to quality health care, support initiatives to improve our economy and increased job training, and maintain financial aid for students.
Congressman Green voted in favor of the Iraq Resolution in 2002, and gave a speech on the house floor linking Saddam Hussein to the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
in 2001. Despite the Democratic leadership's general disapproval of the war, Green voted against measures aimed at placing a timetable on military withdrawal.
In September 2004, he proposed the Every Vote Counts Amendment, which would have abolished the
U.S. electoral college
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...
in
United States presidential election
The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not dir ...
s.
Congressman Green has also proposed legislation addressing domestic and global
electronic waste
Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Inform ...
(e-waste) concerns. H.R. 2284, The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act of 2011, was introduced in the 112th Congress to prohibit the exportation of some electronics whose improper disposal may create environmental, health, or national security risks.
Green also served on the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health during drafting of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and helped write and amend the legislation. Since then, he has worked for increased access to affordable and quality health care.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Energy and Commerce
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
**
Subcommittee on Energy and Power
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Jurisdiction
The House Subcommittee on Health has general jurisdiction over bills and resolutions relating to pub ...
Congressional Arts Caucus
The Congressional Arts Caucus is a registered Congressional Member Organization for the US House of Representatives in the 115th Congress.
History
The Congressional Arts Caucus was created in the 1980s as a way for the various members of Congres ...
*Congressional Vision Caucus
*
Afterschool Caucuses
The Afterschool Caucuses are bipartisan caucuses in the United States Congress established to build support for afterschool programs and increase resources for afterschool care. Senators Lisa Murkowski ( R- AK) and Tina Smith ( D- MN) chair the Se ...
*
Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus
The Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus, a United States Congress caucus, works to improve the 9-1-1 phone system and emergency response systems.U.S.-Japan Caucus