Congresswoman Johnson Reacts To President Obama's State Of The Union Address

“Tonight the President laid out a clear vision for America.  His message of opportunity, action, and optimism points to 2014 as being a year of action. His proposals to work with Congress to extend emergency unemployment insurance, to raise the minimum wage, and to provide increased workplace fairness for women are all actions I strongly support. I also could not agree more with the President that the nation that goes all-in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow. This is an edge America cannot surrender.

I am supporting his commitment to use executive action to expand job training programs, launch manufacturing innovation institutes, cut the red tape on infrastructure investments, and getting the long term unemployed back to work. The President made it clear that he is committed to strengthening the middle class and creating opportunities for Americans to work their way into the middle class.

The President also emphasized all of the good that the Affordable Care Act is doing around the country. It is very encouraging to know that over 9 million Americans have signed up for health insurance and Medicaid. My guest to the speech, Regina Montoya, Senior Vice President of Dallas’ Children's Hospital, is one of the many healthcare professionals that knows firsthand about the positive impact this law is having.

I look forward to working with the Administration and I sincerely hope that I can work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. These times are far too important to Texas and to America to let political posturing get in the way of progress." - Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

Congresswoman Johnson To Visit Taiwan

U.S. congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson will visit Taiwan later this week to learn more about the development of bilateral relations, Taiwan's foreign and economic policies and its ties with China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

She will also call on other government officials and representatives from the private sector to discuss issues related to Taiwan-U.S. ties, the ministry added.Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan Thursday on a four-day visit, during which she will meet with President Ma Ying-jeou, the ministry said in a statement.

Johnson, who is currently ranking member on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, is a long-time friend of Taiwan's, the ministry said. A member of the Taiwan Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives, she is supportive of the U.S.' commitment to Taiwan's security and the idea of a bilateral free trade agreement, according to the ministry.

The ministry said it hopes that Johnson, who has visited Taiwan several times, will continue to support the country.

Source: China Post

Congresswoman Johnson Stands Up For Working Families

"These are hard but improving times. All Americans are entitled to the unemployment insurance that they paid into when they were working." - Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

http://youtu.be/uENmqbSKPec

Congresswoman Johnson Marks 50th Anniversary Of War On Poverty

On the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” speech, his eldest daughter returned to the U.S. Capitol in support of national anti-poverty programs.

Lynda Byrd Johnson Robb reminisced on her father’s legacy, recounted how “Daddy” aimed to “erase the barriers” that kept people in need.

“He made people recognize that there was poverty within this country,” she said after an event with current Democratic lawmakers. “He brought it to the front page of the newspapers and said, we have poverty in this country and it is a moral obligation for us to give them the opportunities to bring them out of poverty.”

During his 1964 State of the Union address, Johnson, a former Texas congressman and senator, declared a “war on poverty” that spurred action for programs including Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid. A half-century later, debate is stirring over their effectiveness. During a concurrent news conference, conservative Republicans in the House argued that that government-centered solutions have led to more Americans in poverty than at any time in history, even if the percentage in poverty has declined.

Two Texas Democrats appeared at the event featuring Johnson Robb: Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Houston Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

“Though the programs introduced by [Lyndon] Johnson helped to reduce the number of Americans living below the poverty line by 43 percent, as a nation we are far from eradicating poverty,” Rep. Johnson said during her remarks. She noted that 17.9 percent of Texans live in poverty, slightly above the national 15 percent rate. Both, she said, are “simply unacceptable.”

Source: Dallas Morning News / Ben Kamisar 

Congresswoman Johnson Welcomes Civil Rights Icon, Congressman John Lewis, To Dallas

Congressman John Lewis, one of the champions of the civil rights movement who risked his life nearly 50 years ago to win voting rights for racial minorities in this country, will be the featured speaker at my 21st annual prayer breakfast which will be held on Monday February 24th.

Congressman Lewis, who got down on his knees to pray just moments before armed Alabama state troopers viciously attacked him and others engaged in a peaceful march on the Edmund Petus Bridge on March 7th , 1965, will share his experiences, his faith, and his journey with community leaders, and local religious and elected officials.

People around the world witnessed on television the brutal beatings of Congressman Lewis and hundreds of other peaceful marchers. Before going to the hospital to have doctors treat his fractured skull, Congressman Lewis appeared on television and pleaded with the nation’s leadership to guarantee equal protection under the law for racial minorities.

Four months later, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and also announced that the federal government would bring legal action against states that used poll taxes to deny minorities the right to vote.

I can think of no other person who is more qualified to speak at a prayer breakfast in Texas during a time when the state legislature has drawn political maps that discriminate against minority voters. It is the same legislature that has enacted a voter ID law that is designed to suppress the votes of students, the elderly and the disenfranchised.

A founding member the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Congressman Lewis has led a life that has been shaped by activism and prayer. On Capitol Hill, he is known as the “conscience of the Congress.”

Congressman Lewis was one of the organizers of the March on Washington In 1963. Only 23 years-old at the time of the demonstration, he was the youngest speaker to address the hundreds of thousands of people who attended the event. At the 50th anniversary celebration of the event held this past summer, he was the only surviving original speaker to address those who were in attendance.

Around the world and across this nation he is known as a champion of democracy. In 2001, Congressman Lewis was awarded the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Foundation. In 2010, he was the first recipient of the Liberty and Justice For All award presented by the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation. Two years ago, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for his outstanding contributions to justice and equality in our country.

Now, it is our privilege to have this great humanitarian come to Dallas. He will be coming to pray with us, to fellowship with us, and to call attention to the efforts of some to damage the political progress that so many of us have fought for in Texas. He is no stranger to the battles that confront us.

He knows that we are on the principled and correct side of the issues, and of history. It has been a privilege to work with him, and to stand with him for justice, fairness and equality during our time together in Washington.