U.S. House of Representatives (1997-2005, 2007-2011)
In January 1997, 28th District congressman Frank Tejeda died at the start of his third term. A special election to fill the remainder of his service was held in April, resulting in Rodriguez defeating his nearest rival Juan F. Solis III with 66.7% of the vote.
After being sworn in on April 12, Rodriguez served as a member of the Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs and Resources Committees. He was also the ranking member of the VA Subcommittee on Health. Additionally, he led the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as chairman from 2003 to 2004 after four years as its Health Care Task Force Chairman.
He was also involved in military base creation and redevelopment and drafted legislation creating the Brooks City-Base; he also promoted the transformation of the former Kelly Air Force Base into Kelly USA, a maintenance and logistics center.
Rodriguez was the lead sponsor of the Hispanic Health Improvement Act.
In his capacity in Congress from 2006–2011, Congressman Rodriguez led as a champion of Veterans, farmers, law enforcement, and border security for the people of the 23rd District. He made sure the University of Texas at San Antonio had the funds to build a department for the development of Homeland Security, Veterans' received the benefits they deserved, the border was secure from the violence in Mexico, and secured funds for the agriculture community that consists of farmers, Texas A&M University,and Sul Ross University research programs.
In July 2011, Congressman Rodriguez celebrated with El Paso County officials the groundbreaking of the Tornillo Port of Entry. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee in the 2009-10 legislative session, Congressman Rodriguez was able to secure the $97 million to build the port of entry while also securing funds for new Veterans' Clinics in Del Rio, South San Antonio, and Uvalde.
Read more about this topic: Ciro Rodriguez
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—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)