Silvestre Reyes

Silvestre Reyes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 16th district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Ron Coleman
Succeeded by	Beto O'Rourke
Chair of the House Intelligence Committee
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Pete Hoekstra
Succeeded by	Mike Rogers
Personal details
Born	(1944-11-10) November 10, 1944 (age 79) Canutillo, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Carolina Reyes
Education	El Paso Community College University of Texas, Austin
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1966–1968[1]
Rank	Sergeant
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Air Medal

Silvestre "Silver" Reyes^[2] (born November 10, 1944) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district, serving from 1997 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence between 2007 and 2011. In the Democratic Primary election on May 29, 2012, Reyes lost by a margin wide enough to avert a runoff election^[3] to former El Paso city councilman Beto O'Rourke.

In 2008 Reyes served as the Southwest Co-Chairman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign along with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Then U.S. Senator Clinton praised Reyes saying he was "one of our wisest and most experienced leaders on national security and the particular issues that affect Americans living along the border and throughout the Southwest. I am proud to have his support and grateful for his advice."^[4]