U.S. CONGRESSMAN BILL JOHNSON Proudly Representing Eastern and Southeastern Ohio

America has always been "the" leader in promoting freedom and protecting and preserving democracy around the world.  I remain an unwavering supporter of Israel, our strongest democratic ally in the region, and I will continue to insist the U.S. Support Israel's efforts to maintain its military edge over potential threats.

I have been an outspoken critic of one of America’s largest debt holders, China, and its manipulative economic and business practices.  I have been fighting against America giving aid to China, against China’s human rights violations, and against their military buildup and aggression.

But, it’s not just China that threatens America’s national and economic security. I strongly believe that a nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable. We cannot allow such dangerous technology to fall into the hands of an irrational rogue regime, and we should use all diplomatic, political, economic, and, if necessary, military options at our disposal to prevent it.  To that end, I have cosponsored several bills that place further sanctions on Iran.

After spending nearly 27 years in the Air Force, I know that America's freedom is not free...it comes at a great price.  And, I know the extraordinary sacrifices that our soldiers and their families make.  While I would like to see our troops return home as soon as possible, I also believe we face a capable adversary who demonstrated on 9/11 that they can bring the battle to the streets of cities right here at home.  Therefore, we need to fight the war on terror on our terms and in their back yard, not ours.  Military commanders on the ground in the war zones should make operational decisions, not bureaucrats in Washington.  And, we must ensure that our troops have the necessary resources and support to be successful in their mission.

No one should stand in the way of our troops' success, especially other nations.  The United Nations consistently battles issues of transparency, accountability, and efficiency, and member nations repeatedly violate their own UN rules and regulations.  Yet, the UN receives billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers annually.  The U.S. must carefully reassess the benefit of our financial support to the United Nations, which frequently fails to promote our national interests abroad.  That is why I supported legislation that would eliminate all foreign aid to any country that votes against America's interests in the United Nations more that 50 percent of the time.