Chet Edwards

He also assisted in enacting the 21st Century GI Bill of Rights into law, covering the full cost of a college education for troops.

Thomas Chester Edwards (born November 24, 1951) is an American politician who was a United States Representative from Texas, representing a district based in Waco, from 1991 to 2011.

He received the “Texas Business” award during the 68th Regular Session as one of three outstanding freshman legislators, and was named by Texas Monthly as one of the "Ten Outstanding Legislators" during his tenure.

Edwards served as a member on the House Budget Committee, the Appropriations Committee, and the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee and vice chair of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.

He also chaired the House Army Caucus.

He graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University in 1974, earning a bachelor's degree in economics.

One of his professors was future U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator Phil Gramm.

Upon graduation, he received the Earl Rudder Award, which is given to two outstanding seniors.

When Teague announced his retirement in 1978, Edwards ran in the Democratic primary to succeed him.

In 1981, Edwards earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

He then went to work for the Trammell Crow Company as a commercial real estate agent.

Later, Edwards purchased several rural radio stations in South Texas.

Previously, he served in the Texas Senate from 1983 to 1990.

He is a member of the Democratic Party.

He lost by only 115 votes to his former professor, Phil Gramm, who switched to Republican affiliation in 1983.

Edwards was elected to the Texas Senate in 1983, and served until 1990, representing District 9.

He was the youngest member at age 30.

In the Texas Senate, Edwards was a member of the Senate Education Committee which oversaw class size reduction in public schools.

He was also on the Health and Human Resources Committee, chaired the Senate Nominations Committee, the Texas Sunset Commission, a joint commission which reviews state agencies on a 12-year rotation, and the Texas Election Code Revision Committee.

Edwards was also a member of the Committee on Business, Technology, and Education.

Edwards opposed the 2001 federal tax cuts and voted against eliminating the marriage penalty and estate tax.

In 2001, he opposed cuts of $100 million to the nuclear non-proliferation budget proposed by the Bush administration.

Serving as a member on the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Edwards oversaw homeland defense and university research programs to protect Americans from the threat of nuclear terrorism.

In 2003, the Association of the U.S. Army gave Edwards its "Legislator of the Year Award."

He was co-chair of the House Army Caucus for over a decade and served on the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees for six years before joining the Appropriations Committee.

Edwards is a moderate Democrat according to a nonpartisan organization GovTrack.

He was also a leader in the House of Representatives.

However, he has stated his opposition to caps on medical malpractice lawsuits.

He voted for the Iraq Resolution.

Edwards supported the implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and, in 2003, helped secure $84 million to install radiological detectors at the busiest foreign ports so nuclear materials could be detected overseas before reaching America.

In 2006, Edwards was honored with the Award of Merit, the highest award given by the Military Coalition, which represents 36 military and veteran groups.

After becoming Chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee in 2007, Edwards authored a $17.7 billion increase in funding for veterans health care and benefits, the largest increase in veterans funding in the history of the Veterans Administration.

In 2007, he received the Marix Congressional Achievement Award from the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) in recognition of his work.

Edwards was on Barack Obama's vice presidential shortlist in 2008.

A Waco resident, Edwards was born in Corpus Christi.

In 2008, both the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars recognized Edwards' leadership with their national awards.

He voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Edwards was the Chairman of the 18th MSC Student Conference on National Affairs Conference, where he helped to bring Vice President Walter Mondale and businessman Ross Perot to campus.

After graduation, Edwards worked as an aide to Congressman Olin E. Teague for three years.

This mentorship later influenced Edwards’ work in Congress on Veterans Affairs.