Chet Edwards For Congress - Meet Chet

Welcome!

Kat — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 09:52:02 -0700

Welcome!

...and thank you for visiting my website.

Since my first election to Congress in 1990, I have worked hard to be an effective voice for all the people of Central Texas.

My service in Congress is about giving the citizens of our area an effective voice in Congress on issues that matter to us and our families in our day to day lives:

jobs,
safe neighborhoods,
quality schools,
affordable health care and
retirement security.

It is about maintaining a strong national defense and respecting our military families and veterans, who have sacrificed so much to protect the American family. It is about returning fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets to Washington, so we don’t undermine our economy and drown our children and grandchildren in a $9 trillion sea of national debt.

And, it is about returning respect and bipartisanship to government, so we can make America’s democracy work better for the interests of all Americans, not just the special interests. At the local level, I believe my strong work ethic and position on the important Appropriations Committee can help bring jobs to our District, which has been and will continue to be one of my top priorities.

By working together, we can bring private and public investments here to build new businesses, improve our roads, support our local schools, colleges and universities, and help communities strapped with high property taxes make essential water and infrastructure improvements. Maybe those accomplishments won’t make national headlines, but they can improve the quality of life for the good, hard-working families in our District.

Thank you again for visiting my website. We will be updating it often with the latest news, and we will be adding new features as time goes on.

Sincerely,

Congressman Chet Edwards

About Chet Edwards

Kat — Sun, 21 May 2006 10:51:54 -0700

Congressman Chet Edwards

Congressman Chet Edwards of Waco has served Central Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives for the past 17 years.

During that time he has developed a reputation of working hard and effectively for Texas jobs and federal investments in Ft. Hood, the Central Texas Veterans' Health Care System, the A&M Medical School, L-3, Lockheed Martin, Interstate 35, transportation and water resources, and university research programs at Baylor and Texas A&M Universities.

As Chairman of the important Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Edwards is known as a national champion for America's veterans, troops, and their families. In 2007, he authored the largest increase in veterans funding in the 77-year history of the VA - an $11.8 billion increase. Edwards also co-chairs the bi-partisan House Army Caucus and the USO Congressional Caucus.

This year, both the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars recognized Congressman Edwards' leadership with their national awards given to only one member of Congress. In 2007, he was awarded with the Disabled American Veterans “Going to Bat for Veterans” award, and received the Military Order of the Purple Heart's “Inspirational Leadership” award in 2005. In 2003, the Association of the U.S. Army gave Edwards its “Legislator of the Year Award” and in 2004, the American Legion gave Chet its “Unsung Hero Award.”

Edwards is the only Texan on the influential Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees key homeland defense and university research programs. He also serves on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

As one of only a handful of House Members on both the Budget and Appropriations Committees, Edwards is known as a fiscal conservative who believes massive federal deficits and the $9 trillion national debt are harmful to our economy and morally wrong to pass on to our children and grand children. The non-partisan Concord Coalition has given him its “Deficit Hawk” Award and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has given Edwards its “Spirit of Enterprise Award” for the past five years for his strong support of small business. Edwards has also been recognized for his innovative, cooperative approaches to protecting private property rights and the environment.

As a lifelong person of faith, Edwards has been honored by the Baptist Joint Committee and earned the Walter Cronkite Award from the Interfaith Alliance for his principled fight to keep government funding and regulations out of our churches and houses of worship. Congressman Edwards was also honored with the T.B. Maston Christian Ethics Award.

Edwards' proven record of hard work, combined with his influential Appropriations Subcommittee Chairmanship, put him in a position to fight effectively for jobs and vital education, health, transportation and water investments in the 17th District, which stretches from Navasota to College Station/Bryan to Waco to Cleburne and Burleson.

Upon graduation from Texas A&M in 1974, Edwards received the Earl Rudder Award, given to two outstanding seniors. He then worked for 3 years for Congressman Olin E. “Tiger” Teague before earning an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

In the 1980's Edwards worked at the Trammell Crow Company in commercial real estate and owned a rural radio station as President of Edwards Communications. From 1983 to 1989, Edwards served in the Texas Senate. As a Member of the Senate Education Committee, he played an active role in reducing class sizes in Texas' public schools and was named one of “Ten Outstanding Legislators” by Texas Monthly magazine.

Edwards and his wife, Lea Ann, along with their sons, J.T. (12) and Garrison (11) attend the Calvary Baptist Church in Waco.

Texas Aggie: Class of '74

Kat — Sat, 20 May 2006 13:59:27 -0700

Texas Aggie: Class of '74

Congressman Chet Edwards is one of only four Aggies in the U.S. Congress and has been a loyal supporter of Texas A&M University for 35 years.

At A&M, Chet chaired SCONA XVIII and earned the Earl Rudder/Brown Foundation Award upon his graduation in 1974. One month later Edwards was hired as a Legislative Assistant by Congressman Olin E. "Tiger" Teague, Class of 1932.

Congressman Teague chaired the House Science Committee and represented College Station, so Edwards worked closely with Texas A&M officials for over three years to earmark research funding for Texas A&M and its components, helping make A&M one of the top research institutions in the country.

As a State Senator from 1983-1990, Edwards strongly supported A&M funding issues. He was on the Texas Sunset Commission, which he later chaired, when he, along with Senators Kent Caperton and John Sharp, changed the state law to ensure an A&M representative would serve on the Board overseeing the Permanent University Fund, which is a key component of A&M’s funding.

As a U.S. Congressman since 1991, and as one of only a handful of House members to serve on both the Appropriations and Budget Committees, Edwards has worked very closely with Texas A&M on numerous appropriations projects.

As the Representative for Fort Hood, the only two-division U.S. Army installation in the world, Edwards has played a key role in bringing together the Army and A&M on important research projects, including the Army’s vital digitization process. In 2003, Edwards received the "Legislator of the Year" Award from the Association of the U.S. Army, headed by retired General Gordon Sullivan, the former Chief of Staff of the Army.

As Chairman of the powerful Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee and co-chairman of the bipartisan House Army Caucus, Edwards is in a position to support future cooperative efforts between the Army and A&M; and it is helpful for Ft. Hood, A&M and the state of Texas to have Chet Edwards as a senior appropriator.