Vicente Gonzalez

Congressman Vicente Gonzalez received the Order of the Quetzal, an award that acknowledges foreign officials, organizations, and people who have given back to the nation of Guatemala whose artistic, civic, humanitarian, or scientific work merit special recognition, in January 2020.

In January 2019, Gonzalez was one of seven Democratic lawmakers to meet with President Donald Trump to put an end to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.

In the 115th Congress, Gonzalez participated in bipartisan and bicameral congressional delegations to a variety of countries around the globe. In Japan, he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, and Japanese First Lady Akie Abe. He also met with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tarō Kōno, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty, and other respective government officials. In Guatemala, he met with President Jimmy Morales. In Mexico, he met with the Chief of Staff to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Alfonso Romo; Mexican Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Juan Carlos Baker; and Former Secretary of the Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal. In China, he met with Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Liu He. In South Korea, he met with members of the U.S. Army, stationed at Camp Humphreys, located within the seaport city of Pyeongtaek. In December 2018, he joined the U.S. delegation attending the inauguration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Gonzalez won the 2016 general election and took office on January 3, 2017. Gonzalez was re-elected to serve a second term in the 116th Congress, taking his oath of office on January 3, 2019.

At the start of his career in Congress, he was appointed to the House Financial Services Committee, the Blue Dog Coalition, and the Problem Solvers Caucus. In June 2017, Gonzalez announced the formation of the Congressional Oil & Gas Caucus and will be serving as its chair. He is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Small Business Caucus, and the Congressional Blue Collar Caucus. In the 116th Congress, he serves on the Subcommittees on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets; Housing, Community Development, and Insurance; and Diversity and Inclusion. In the 116th Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi granted him a waiver to jointly serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman Gonzalez is a member of the Subcommittees on the Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade; and Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment.

Since taking office, Gonzalez has spent every Thanksgiving with members of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed overseas. He spent the holiday with troops stationed in Afghanistan in 2017, and in Kuwait and Djibouti in 2018.

Gonzalez declared his candidacy for the 2016 elections for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 15th congressional district after Rubén Hinojosa, the incumbent representative, announced he would not run for reelection. He won the Democratic Party nomination, defeating Sonny Palacios in the runoff election. He defeated Republican Tim Westley in the November general election, winning 57.3% of the vote to Westley's 37.7%.

In 1992, Gonzalez earned his Bachelor of Science in aviation business administration from the Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University on the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. After high school and throughout college, Gonzalez traveled to almost 100 countries around the world. In 1996, Gonzalez graduated from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (now the Texas A&M University School of Law), where he obtained his Juris Doctor. He founded his law firm, V. Gonzalez & Associates, in 1997. He is a member of the bar associations of Texas and New York.

Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (/v ɪ ˈ s ɛ n t eɪ / ; born September 4, 1967) is an American attorney and politician serving as the United States Representative for the 15th District of Texas. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district includes Brooks, Duval, Guadalupe, Jim Hogg, Karnes, and Live Oak counties as well as portions of Hidalgo and Wilson counties.

Gonzalez was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1967. Gonzalez grew up in a working-class family, often working odd jobs. He went to Roman Catholic School in Corpus Christi for part of his young life and eventually dropped out of high school during his junior year. He obtained a G.E.D. and returned to school by enrolling at Del Mar Junior College, where he received an associate degree in banking and finance.