Representative José E. Serrano

José Enrique Serrano, commonly known as José E. Serrano, was born on October 24, 1943, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. He spent his early childhood on the island before his family moved to New York City, settling in the South Bronx. Growing up in a working-class, Spanish-speaking household, Serrano experienced firsthand the challenges faced by Puerto Rican and other Latino communities in urban America. These formative experiences in a borough marked by poverty, discrimination, and underinvestment would later shape his political priorities and his long-standing advocacy for marginalized communities.

Serrano attended public schools in New York City and graduated from Morris High School in the Bronx. After high school, he served in the United States Army from 1964 to 1966, an experience that further exposed him to the diversity of the nation and reinforced his sense of public duty. Following his military service, he worked in the private sector and became active in local community affairs in the Bronx. Although he did not complete a traditional college degree, Serrano’s education was grounded in grassroots organizing, neighborhood advocacy, and practical political experience, which helped launch his career in public service.

Serrano’s formal political career began in the New York State Assembly, where he was elected as a Democrat in 1974. Representing a Bronx district, he served in the Assembly from 1975 until 1990. During this period, he focused on issues such as affordable housing, education, health care, and services for low-income and immigrant communities. He built a reputation as a dedicated advocate for the Bronx, working to secure resources for a borough that had become a national symbol of urban decline. His legislative record in Albany and his strong ties to local constituents positioned him as a leading figure in Latino politics in New York. His son, José M. Serrano, born in 1972, would later follow him into public office and become a New York State Senator, extending the family’s involvement in public service.

José E. Serrano entered the United States Congress in 1989, winning a special election to fill a vacancy in a Bronx-based district. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Representative from New York in the United States Congress from March 21, 1990, to January 3, 2021, ultimately completing 16 terms in office. Throughout his tenure, he represented a portion of The Bronx, New York, one of the poorest and most diverse districts in the country. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, spanning the end of the Cold War, the post–September 11 era, the Great Recession, and the early decades of the twenty-first century. As a member of the House of Representatives, José E. Serrano participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents who were predominantly Latino, African American, and immigrant.

In Congress, Serrano became particularly influential through his long-standing role on the House Appropriations Committee. He served on and later chaired the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, where he oversaw funding for a wide range of federal agencies and programs, including the Treasury Department, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and various independent agencies. He was also a strong supporter of arts and cultural funding and played a key role in securing resources for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities. Serrano was known for his advocacy on behalf of Puerto Rico, consistently supporting measures to address the island’s political status, economic challenges, and disaster recovery needs. He was a vocal critic of the U.S. embargo on Cuba and introduced legislation over many years to end it, reflecting his broader interest in Latin American and Caribbean affairs.

Over the course of his congressional service, Serrano focused on issues central to his Bronx constituents, including public housing, environmental justice, health care access, and education. He worked to clean up and redevelop abandoned industrial sites, improve air quality, and expand green spaces in the South Bronx, an area long burdened by pollution and high asthma rates. He supported federal programs aimed at combating poverty and expanding social services, and he was a reliable vote for civil rights, voting rights, and immigration reform. His legislative efforts and constituent services contributed to incremental improvements in infrastructure and quality of life in his district, even as it continued to face significant socioeconomic challenges.

Serrano announced in 2019 that he would not seek reelection, citing a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. He completed his final term in the 116th Congress, leaving office on January 3, 2021. His retirement marked the end of more than four decades in elected office, from the New York State Assembly to the U.S. House of Representatives. In later life, he has been recognized as a pioneering Puerto Rican and Latino leader in New York and national politics, noted for his steadfast representation of the Bronx and his advocacy for Puerto Rico and other Latino communities. His career is often referenced alongside other notable figures sharing the Serrano surname, including his son, New York State Senator José M. Serrano, and unrelated public figures such as José António Serrano (1851–1904), a Portuguese physician and anatomist; José Serrano, the Ecuadorian politician and Minister of the Interior born in 1970; José Serrano (1873–1941), the Spanish zarzuela composer; José María Galante Serrano (1948–2020), the Spanish activist known as Chato Galante; José Mariano Serrano (1788–1852), Bolivian member of the Congress of Tucumán; Rosso José Serrano (born 1942), Colombian police officer; and footballers José Serrano (born 1981), a Spanish player, and José Serrano (born 2002), a Venezuelan player.