Silvestre Reyes

Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat, has represented the Sixteenth Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997.

Iraq War
Reyes voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Contradicting opinions on the ability to add troops to Iraq
In an exclusive interview with Newsweek on December 5, 2006. Rep Silvestre Reyes said, "We have to consider the need for additional troops to be in Iraq, to take out the militias and stabilize Iraq... I would say 20,000 to 30,000." 

After the President's January 10, 2007 announced plan for a troop surge however, the Rep. Reyes told the El Paso Times that a 21,500 troop increase was unthinkable. "We don't have the capability to escalate even to this minimum level". 

Confusion on terrorist groups in 2006 CQ interview
In a December 2006 interview with CQ National Security Editor Jeff Stein &mdash; after Reyes had been named the next chair of the House Intelligence Committee by incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) &mdash; Reyes was unable to answer two fundamental questions about the Middle East correctly:
 * Reyes incorrectly identified al Qaeda as having a mix of Shiites and Sunnis, but predominantly Shiite. As Stein noted:
 * "He couldn’t have been more wrong... the extremist Sunnis who make up al Qaeda consider all Shiites to be heretics. Al Qaeda’s Sunni roots account for its very existence. Osama bin Laden and his followers believe the Saudi Royal family besmirched the true faith through their corruption and alliance with the United States, particularly allowing U.S. troops on Saudi soil."

To Reyes' credit, Stein wrote:
 * Reyes was unable to identify Hezbollah as Shiite or Sunni (it is a Shiite group).
 * "He knows that the 1,400-year-old split in Islam between Sunnis and Shiites not only fuels the militias and death squads in Iraq, it drives the competition for supremacy across the Middle East between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia. That’s more than two key Republicans on the Intelligence Committee knew when I interviewed them last summer. Reps. Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.) and Terry Everett (R-Ala.) both back for another term, were flummoxed by such basic questions, as were several top counterterrorism officials at the FBI."

Alleged nepotism and defense contracts
As reported in the April 25, 2005 edition of the El Paso Times, "All three children of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, worked in some capacity for defense contractors that were criticized by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. General Services Administration for installing faulty or incomplete equipment for a border security technology system. International Microwave Corp. and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. &mdash; through their political action committees and others &mdash; also gave Reyes about $17,000 in campaign contributions during the past five years." "

Reyes responded, "I had no role in whatever way of anyone getting these contracts. These contracts, whether they're bid or no-bid or whatever, that's done by the different (government) agencies," Reyes said. "My job, as I see it, since I used systems like this and since I know how important they are to Border Patrol agents in those situations, is to make sure we're out there funding them so that we can get these systems installed throughout the border.""

PAC Money
In the spring of 2007 $50,000 was raised for Reyes by his brother through a new political action committee, BEST PAC. Almost all of the money raised was by the staff and clients of the PMA Group lobbying firm. Within weeks the same donors gained millions of dollars in earmarks from Reyes and members of Congress closely associated with PMA.

BEST PAC was established by Jesus “Chuy” Reyes, Reyes’ brother and campaign manager, on March 1, 2007. By the first week of June 2007, the PAC had raised $35,000 from 32 people, nearly all of whom were employees of the PMA Group or an employee of a defense or intelligence technology firm represented by PMA. Most of the donations were made before the House Intelligence Committee approved the 2008 intelligence authorization bill, which included earmarks for the PAC donors. Most of the non-PMA related persons and firms that donated to BEST PAC were affiliated with the lobbying firm Potomac Advocates, known as PRASAM, which specialized in defense and intelligence matters. Many of the BEST PAC donors were also long-time supporters of Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.),Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), and Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.). In July 2007 those three members and Reyes provided twelve earmarks for a total of $30 million in the defense appropriations bill for donors to BEST PAC.

BEST PAC made four donations by October 1, 2007. $21,430 was given to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, two $2,300 contributions to the New Hampshire Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Katrina Swett, and a third contribution of $5,000 to Swett was reported to the FEC by BEST PAC's treasurer as returned by Swett because it exceeded the PAC's contribution limits. Swett, the daughter of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and wife of ex-Rep. Dick Swett (D.-N.H.), ended her campaign in late September, 2007. Jesus Reyes said that he did not know who PMA is and that the fundraising for the PAC was set up through his daughter who is Reyes’ fundraiser and the wife of the PAC’s treasurer, Guillermo Cintron.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Reparations for Japanese Latin Americans
Reyes cosponsored The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act in the 110th Congress which would establish a commission that would determine the facts and circumstances involving the relocation, internment and deportation of Japanese Latin Americans.

Bio
Reyes was born November 10, 1944 in Canutillo, Texas. He served in the United States Army and worked for the U.S. Border Patrol as the Chief Patrol Agent of the El Paso Border Patrol Sector. Reyes was elected to the U.S. House in 1996.

2006 elections
No major candidates announced their intentions to contest Reyes’ seat in the November 2006 election. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Reyes retained his seat.

2008 superdelegate

 * Clinton Campaign Press Release
 * Reyes' district went for Obama by 42,562 to 37,842 in the Texas primary.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces
 * Subcommittee on Readiness
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
 * House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Chair
 * House Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Select Intelligence Oversight Panel

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Readiness
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces - Ranking Minority Member
 * House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
 * Subcommittee on Oversight
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism/HUMINT Analysis and Counterintelligence
 * House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Chair, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, 107th Congress
 * Democratic Task Force on Drugs
 * Executive Committee, Democratic Study Group
 * Founding Member, Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus
 * National Guard & Reserve Components Congressional Members Organization
 * New Democratic Coalition
 * Vice Chair, Democratic Homeland Security Task Force

Boards and other Affiliations

 * 21st Century Democrats
 * El Paso County Democrats
 * Unite El Paso

Articles

 * Richard Cowan, "Anti-war Rep. to head House intelligence panel," Reuters (Washington Post), December 1, 2006.
 * Gary Martin, "Pelosi tabs Texan to lead intelligence panel," San Antonio Express-News, December 1, 2006.
 * "House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes," The Carpetbagger Report, December 1, 2006.
 * Katherine Shrader, "Reyes to Head House Intelligence Panel," Associated Press (Forbes), December 2, 2006.
 * Amy Fagan, "Reyes to lead intelligence panel," Washington Times, December 2, 2006.
 * Jim Doyle, "Key lawmaker calls spy program illegal. Once an advocate of wiretaps and Iraq war, Harman is now criticizing Bush's policies," San Francisco Chronicle, December 2, 2006.
 * Mark Mazzetti and Jeff Zeleny, "Next Chairman for Intelligence Opposed War," New York Times, December 2, 2006.
 * Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, "'We Can’t Afford to Leave'. As the debate over Iraq intensifies, leading Democrat Silvestre Reyes is calling for the deployment of more U.S. troops," Newsweek (MSNBC), December 5, 2006.
 * John McCaslin, "Inside the Beltway" Washington times, January 18, 2007.

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Fort Bend Democrats
 * South Texas Chism
 * Burnt Orange Report