Editing Rodney Alexander (section)

==Background==
Alexander was born in the village of [[Bienville, Louisiana|Bienville]] in [[Bienville Parish]] to the former [[Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park)|Mary Crawford]] and James Earl Alexander.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/reps/alexander.htm|title=Rodney Alexander|website=[[Rootsweb]]|access-date=18 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109044243/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/alexander.htm|archive-date=November 9, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1964, he graduated from [[Jonesboro-Hodge High School]] in [[Jonesboro, Louisiana|Jonesboro]] in [[Jackson Parish, Louisiana|Jackson Parish]], which is often cited as his hometown. He then attended [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], but he left college to work for his family construction company.

Alexander left the police jury to represent District 13 in the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]] from 1988 until his election to [[United States Congress|Congress]] in 2002. While in the state House, he served as the chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee. In this position, her shepherded to passage the Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program (LaCHIP), which assists mothers and children with basic health care and insurance needs.

Alexander enrolled in college courses intermittently for forty-five years. When the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]] began to offer online courses, he enrolled for two years and graduated from [[University of Louisiana at Monroe|ULM]] with a degree in general studies in 2009.