Albert Bustamante
| Albert Garza Bustamante | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 23rd district |
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In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Abraham Kazen |
| Succeeded by | Henry Bonilla |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 8, 1935 Asherton, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Rebecca Bustamante |
Albert Garza Bustamante (born April 8, 1935) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. A Democrat, he was a prominent Hispanic member of the House.
Bustamante was born and raised in Asherton, Texas, to a family of Mexican migrant workers. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army, serving for two years as a paratrooper. In 1958, he enrolled in San Antonio College, earning an associate degree. Bustamante then went on to major in education at Sul Ross State College. After earning his degree, he was hired as a teacher at San Antonio's Cooper Jr. High School.
In 1968, Bustamante took a job as an aide to Congressman Henry Gonzalez. In his first run for elective office in 1972, Bustamante was elected as a Bexar County, Texas, Commissioner. He then was elected as a county judge in 1978 and served on the state's Jail Standard Commission.
Bustamante burst into the national spotlight in 1984, when he challenged nine-term incumbent Chick Kazen in the Democratic primary for Texas's 23rd congressional district. No Republican even filed in this heavily Democratic, Hispanic-majority district, meaning that the Democratic primary was the real election. He defeated Kazen in an upset, all but assuring his election in November. He was reelected three times from this vast district, which spanned 800 miles from his home in San Antonio to El Paso.
While in Congress, he served on the Armed Services Committee and helped to keep open several Texan military bases. He served on the Procurement and Military Nuclear Systems Subcommittee, the Subcommittee on Energy, and the Natural Resources Subcommittee. In 1987 and 1988 he supported nuclear test ban amendments, and he voiced concern for environmental and safety problems in the nation's nuclear production plants. He played an important role in delaying funding for a Special Isotope Separation project in Idaho.
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