Legislative Accomplishments
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson is widely recognized as one of the most effective legislators in Congress. She is credited with originally authoring and co-authoring more than 33 bills that were passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the President. She is proudest of her July 14, 2003 piece of legislation that called for President George W. Bush to designate the United States Postal Service located at 1502 East Kiest Boulevard as the "Dr. Caesar A.W. Clark, Sr. Post Office Building."
ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN ISSUE AREAS
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Congresswoman Johnson is well-known for her efforts to improve and update our nation's transportation infrastructure. She has obtained millions of dollars for transportation projects in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area, including funds for highways, bridges, flood relief projects, and road repairs.
As America continues to face significant budget restraints over the next six years for highway, transit, and construction programs, the Congresswoman believes it is critical to examine and develop methods to maximize existing transportation assets.
Moreover, Congresswoman Johnson is an advocate, in favor of encouraging modes of public transportation connections. Establishing a broad based public transportation connection results in providing a more widely accessible and appealing transportation alternative.
The following public transportation systems serve thousands of international communities: inner-city buses and rail systems, local mass transit; and rural transit systems. However, these transit systems are rarely linked together within a common facility, providing consolidated travel information. Congresswoman Johnson's Intermodal Transportation Act of 2003 will provide an infrastructure support system for these missing intermodal connections.
To help combat urban congestion in the nation's metropolitan areas, Congresswoman Johnson also authored a piece of legislation titled the "Metropolitan Congestion Relief Act of 2003." This Act comprises a six-part approach to provide the necessary funding for local and regional decision-makers to solve their transit problems directly. The Congresswoman believes these officials should be empowered to independently manage their transportation programs in order to directly address growing metropolitan congestion.
ENVIRONMENT
Among Congresswoman Johnson's recent accomplishments in the Thirtieth Congressional District, fighting for clean air for Dallas Fort Worth families is at the top of the list. In consideration of the current 2005 clean air compliance deadline, the Congresswoman led the controversial battle in the House of Representatives against environmentally unsound industries that proposed waiting until 2012 to begin the process of cleaning up the unhealthy air that plagues the DFW area.
Congresswoman Johnson is committed to continue the fight any additional requests for extensions. The clean air compliance deadline extension would have a continual devastating impact on the health of children, pregnant women, and the elderly. It would have a deleterious effect on nearly 500 thousand people in the Dallas Fort Worth area who suffer from illnesses that are aggravated by air pollution. She is recognized by the following national organizations for her efforts to defend clean air and protect environmental standards for all Americans: Blue Skies Alliance; Sierra Club; U.S. Public Interest Research Group; Physicians for Social Responsibility; American Lung Association; Clean Air Task Force; and the Defenders of Wildlife.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
As a member of the Science Committee where she serves as the senior Democrat on the Subcommittee on Research, Congresswoman Johnson has been active in sponsoring and supporting legislation dealing with scientific research, development, and policy. To this end, Congresswoman Johnson successfully inserted an amendment to the Nanotechnology bill, which recently passed the House. This amendment requires that public input and outreach be integrated into the program through regular and ongoing public discussions, including citizens' panels, consensus conferences, and educational events.
HOMELAND SECURITY
In September 2003, as a Member of the Transportation Committee, Congresswoman Johnson conducted the first town hall hearing, in the DFW, region on Homeland Security addressing the needs of the first responders. The Congresswoman examined how the federal government could better assist state and local governments with the consequences of chemical, biological, and nuclear disasters, and domestic terrorism.
Congresswoman Johnson's Homeland Security activities include Transportation Security, Critical Infrastructure, Federal Civil Service, Agriculture and Biological Terrorism, Government Management, and Emergency Preparedness and Response. She understands the need to protect the Texas and American transportation infrastructure from terrorist attacks, and as a result, has worked to ensure that adequate resources are made available to the states. As such, Congresswoman Johnson has reached out to the federal entities responsible for protecting the nation's airports and seaports to conduct oversight and ensure that Americans remain safe from harm. Moreover, during the 108th Congress, Congresswoman Johnson has also fought for better coordination and communication between the law enforcement community and emergency management community.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Congresswoman Johnson is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in democracy, good governance, and human rights. She was one of first members of Congress to visit Iraq and meet with the US Armed Forces personnel stationed in Baghdad.
Congresswoman Johnson has led the way in Congress to protect the lives and rights of women and children during war, conflict, and its aftermath. She has introduced three resolutions on the role of women in war and post conflict situations. Her resolutions seek to ensure economic rights and empowerment as important steps in ensuring equal rights for women all over the globe. She has held national and international peace discussion forums to promote the productive exchange of ideas and experiences among women of all ethnic and national communities. The Congresswoman believes that the children of the world deserve to inherit a culture of peace; a lengthy process, where results are not visible overnight, but long overdue.
Congresswoman Johnson is also well known for her efforts to feed the starving people of Africa and for playing a leading role in bringing biotech issues to forefront.
HEALTH CARE & EDUCATION
One of the Congresswoman's most passionate fights has been the expansion of health care for children. In February 2003, she introduced the SMART Health Act, which stands for the Student Medical Access Raises Test scores and/or Student Medical Access Reduces Truancy. The bill promotes the well being and educational achievement of children through a school-based health initiative.
On behalf of parents and children, Congresswoman Johnson fought tirelessly to protect the Head Start Program. She participated in the Congressional Black Caucus hearing on Head Start hosted by Sarah Greene, President and CEO of the National Head Start Association. The Congresswoman's support led to the drafting of legislation, which included $2 billion in extra funding for the Head Start Program over the next five years.
In October 2003, the University of Texas at Dallas created a lecture series named in honor of Congresswoman Johnson. This endeavor is designed to expose Dallas-area students to the best and brightest minds in mathematics and science and promote career opportunities in those fields.
CRIME
The Congresswoman is totally committed to aggressively working with community activist leaders in order to reduce crime throughout the Greater Dallas Fort-Worth area. To ensure the safety of everyone in District 30, Congresswoman Johnson is also working to establish an anti-crime coalition, bringing together police-community partnerships like Weed & Seed, local community activists, business, education, religious leaders, parents and students.
CONCLUSION OVERVIEW
To assist Congresswoman Johnson in serving the residents of the thirtieth district, she has established local Task Forces to advise her on Labor, Trade Medicare, Health Care Reform, and Tax Reform.
Overall, the Congresswoman has sponsored legislation designed to reauthorize child health care programs, improve Medicare, and to fight attempts that would reduce the government's commitment to providing universal coverage for our nation's senior citizens and disabled population. She also worked to expand access to health insurance for the uninsured and to provide quality health care for everyone, remedy environmental injustice, make the tax code fairer for workers, and assist small businesses to be more effective. In addition, she has also sponsored bills addressing HIV/AIDS, honoring our veterans, and doubling funding for the National Science Foundation.
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