He also assisted in enacting the 21st Century GI Bill of Rights into law, covering the full cost of a college education for troops.

In 2008, both the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars recognized Edwards' leadership with their national awards.

In 2007, he received the Marix Congressional Achievement Award from the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) in recognition of his work.

Serving as a member on the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Edwards oversaw homeland defense and university research programs to protect Americans from the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Edwards supported the implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and, in 2003, helped secure $84 million to install radiological detectors at the busiest foreign ports so nuclear materials could be detected overseas before reaching America.

His pro-economic, pro-agriculture record also earned him endorsements from both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Farm Bureau Friends of Agriculture Fund (AGFUND).

[9] Edwards voted against ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions and received an 83% rating from the NAACP in 2006.

Edwards was honored by the Baptist Joint Committee, and earned the Walter Cronkite Award from the Interfaith Alliance for his principled stand to keep government regulations out of churches and houses of worship.

[7] Edwards was elected to the U.S. House in 1990 with 54 percent of the vote in what was then the 11th District, defeating Republican Hugh Shine.

In their place, his district absorbed College Station, home to Texas A&M and a long-standing bastion of conservatism.

Edwards defeated conservative State Representative Arlene Wohlgemuth in November 2004 by 9,260 votes, or approximately a 3.8% margin.

Edwards was one of two Democrats to represent a significant portion of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Congress, along with Eddie Bernice Johnson.

[14] On February 18, 2008, Edwards officially endorsed Barack Obama in the Texas March 4 Democratic primary.

[15] In late June 2008, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi publicly suggested that Edwards would be a great choice as Obama's vice-presidential running mate.

[1] In November 2008, Edwards was reelected, defeating Republican Rob Curnock, a Waco video business owner, with 53 percent of the vote.

Edwards was challenged by Republican nominee Bill Flores, a retired Bryan oil and gas executive.

[20] Nate Silver in the FiveThirtyEight.com New York Times blog predicted that there was a 4.7% chance that Edwards would defeat Flores.

Since leaving Congress in 2011, Edwards has established Edwards, Davis Stover & Associates, LLC with his former chief of staff, Lindsey Davis Stover, and continues to be involved with veterans issues in the Washington, D.C. area through his work on the boards of the Military Child Education Coalition and the Arlington National Cemetery Advisory Commission.