[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 95 (Wednesday, July 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1452-E1453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MR. JOSE R. CORONADO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 19, 2006

  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Jose R. Coronado, 
Director of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, on his coming 
retirement on July 21st, 2006, from his years of Federal service and 
outreach to the veterans of South Texas.
  Jose R. Coronado was born and raised in Benavides, Texas. He attended 
the Texas College of Arts and Industries at Texas A&M University-
Kingsville, and graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science in 
Zoology/Chemistry. This was followed by a Masters of Science Degree in 
Education/Administration from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He began 
his long, illustrious Federal career when he was selected by the 
Veterans Administration through a national competition to attend the 
U.S. Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Healthcare 
Administration where he earned his second Masters Degree in 1973. Mr. 
Coronado is also an Army veteran from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment 
where he served as a Battalion Operations Sergeant from 1953 to 1955.
  His experience in the Army led him to his first position with the VA 
as an Administrative Officer in the Research Department of the Veterans 
Administration Medical Center in the City of Houston, Texas. This was 
the start of a long, illustrious career with the Veterans 
Administration, where he is now the Director of the South Texas 
Veterans Health Care System in the City of San Antonio. He was 
responsible for a healthcare delivery system which has an annual budget 
of $404.4 million; three divisions, namely that of the Audie L. Murphy 
Division, the Kerrville Division, and the Satellite Clinic Division. 
The South Texas Veterans Health Care System is also affiliated with the 
University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, which enables 
it to

[[Page E1453]]

have an ambulatory care program with outpatient clinics in Corpus 
Christi, Laredo, McAllen, San Antonio, and Victoria.
  In addition to his lifelong involvement in the medical community, Mr. 
Coronado was honored as a member of the Senior Executive Service of the 
United States with three Presidential Rank Awards by Presidents Ronald 
Reagan, George H. Bush, and Bill Clinton. In addition to these 
prestigious awards, Mr. Coronado has received the Regent's Award in 
2002 from the American College of Health Care Executives, the 1995 Ray 
E. Brown Award by the Association of Military Surgeons in the United 
States, and other numerous awards.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have had this time to recognize the 
wonderful dedication of Jose R. Coronado to the City of San Antonio and 
to the medical community of South Texas, and I thank you for this time.

                          ____________________