Congresswoman Johnson Honors Congressman James Oberstar

It was a great honor to sit on the House Transportation Committee when Jim Oberstar was its chairman.

Chairman Oberstar, who passed away Saturday, served on the committee from the beginning of his congressional career in 1974 until he left Congress in 2011.

He was a personal mentor and a devoted friend to me. Even more important, he played a critical role in nearly every piece of transportation legislation enacted into law during his tenure. Transportation programs, railways, highway, water infrastructure, the Coast Guard and maritime projects all have the imprint of Chairman Oberstar on them.

Of particular significance to North Texas was a victory he helped orchestrate in 2007. President George W. Bush had vetoed a water resources bill that contained funds for repairing infrastructure in Dallas necessary to prevent serious damage if the Trinity River flooded. It was Chairman Oberstar, despite being absent from the chamber because of surgery, whose passion fueled our efforts to lead a bipartisan movement that culminated in Bush’s veto being overridden.

Chairman Oberstar was a thoughtful policymaker — one who spoke six foreign languages fluently — and his impact on transportation and infrastructure issues reached beyond the shores of our country.

While chairman, he appointed me to chair the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. With that appointment, I became the first woman and the first African-American to head the subcommittee. I learned much of what I know about the difficult and arduous issues that the committee concerns itself with while serving under the leadership of this man, who was one of the most thoughtful and fair-minded committee leaders in congressional history.

Minnesota sent Chairman Oberstar to Washington for 18 terms, and his long tenure afforded him exceptional power and influence. An unwavering Democrat, he was nonetheless able to work with members on both sides of the aisle. His personal friends included Democrats and Republicans alike.

He credited his way of doing business and his ability to work with others of divergent views to his mother, a former factory worker, and his father, a mine union organizer who devoted much of his time to fighting for worker safety and increased wages.

Chairman Oberstar never lost the common touch. He believed that at the core of the American economy were the people who needed to travel safely each day from their homes to their places of employment and back. Those people needed safe roads, tunnels, highways, bridges and modes of transportation that they could rely upon.

He worked very hard to ensure that safety. And for that, all Americans, whether they knew him or had never uttered his name, owe Chairman Oberstar a tremendous debt of gratitude. He served all of us, and he served us with distinction and grace. May God rest his soul.

SOURCE: Dallas Morning News

Congresswoman Johnson Embraces National Climate Assessment

A White House report issued Tuesday that calls for urgent steps to address climate change fell flat with congressional Republicans.

House Science Chairman Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, called it “a political document intended to frighten Americans into believing that any abnormal weather we experience is the direct result of human CO2 emissions.  In reality, there is little science to support any connection between climate change and more frequent or extreme storms.”

But the senior Democrat on the panel, Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, embraced the White House analysis.

“The scientific debate over climate change is over and the impacts are growing more evident in the lives of every American,” she said. “As a Texan, I have seen the impacts myself with severe drought and record temperatures.  These conditions impact our agriculture economy, human health, water supplies, and the livelihoods of many citizens. In addition, these changing conditions are destroying ecosystems both on land and in the ocean.”

Rolling out the report, John Podesta, a top adviser to President Barack Obama, said that climate denial in Congress poses an obstacle to much-needed action that would save lives and property, and mitigate damage from increasingly extreme droughts and other weather events.

“You see a very real challenge. I think the entire lineup of the House Science Committee on the Republican side voted relatively recently to deny the fact that climate change was even happening,” Podesta said. “So hopefully this report — they might review it and it will change their minds. But we’ve got a challenging context on Capitol Hill.”

The third National Climate Assessment was widely expected to generate pushback from the right.

At the White House, press secretary Jay Carney unequivocally denied that the report is intended to scare anyone.

“No,” Carney said. “The purpose of the third national climate assessment is to provide information in a form that is understandable and comprehensive for Americans across the country to use and review, so that they can better understand the effects of the changing climate on their regions.”

“It’s happening now. That is the bottom line … of this assessment,” he said.

Smith, chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, warned that the climate report is meant to lay the groundwork for “costly and unnecessary regulations and subsidies.”

The report points to the 2011 drought in Texas and Oklahoma – more than 100 days over 100°F – as evidence of the unusual and damaging weather extremes that a changing climate has already entailed.

“Rates of water loss were double the long-term average, depleting water resources and contributing to more than $10 billion in direct losses to agriculture alone,” the report says.

Water will become scarcer. And the report warns of increasingly damaging storms in coming years: “The expected rise in sea level will result in the potential for greater damage from storm surge along the Gulf Coast of Texas.”

“Observed climate-induced changes have been linked to changing timing of flowering, increases in wildfire activity and pest outbreaks, shifts in species distributions, declines in the abundance of native species, and the spread of invasive species,” the report says. Warming could lead to an increased population of the black ratsnake, for instance.

Smith rejected the findings, asserting that they’re based in part on selective use of facts.

“The White House today released a report claiming that changes in regional U.S. weather can be attributed to manmade climate change. The climate is changing due to a number of factors, including human contributions and natural cycles. But the administration’s report includes unscientific characterizations on the connection between severe weather events and climate change and fails to explain the absence of warming over the last 15 years,” he said.SOURCE: Dallas Morning News

Congresswoman Johnson Hosts 14 Annual 'A World Of Women For World Peace' Conference

On Saturday, May 3, 2014, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson hosted the 14^th annual ‘A World of Women for World Peace’ conference in Dallas, Texas.  There were 200 local citizens, peace activists, and community leaders in attendance.

Every year, hundreds of international peace activists, politicians, and local citizens gather in Dallas to share solutions on how to increase the role of women in bringing peace to areas of conflict and political unrest across the globe. Congresswoman Johnson began ‘A World of Women for World Peace’ to bring greater visibility to victims of war and conflict and to recognize women who are promoting non-violent conflict resolution within their communities.

“I knew that there was something I had to do to prevent the loss of human life,” Congresswoman Johnson said explaining why she began the peace conference. “I turned to women who are natural peacemakers. I know that women have a unique ability to connect to both sides of any conflicts, because they are the mothers; they are the wives, and they are the daughters of the soldiers who are losing their lives in battle. Women can have a powerful influence on the peacemaking process when they are brought to the table.”

This year’s conference featured an esteemed international panel of peace activists. Presenters included Abigail Disney, international peace activist and executive producer of the internationally acclaimed miniseries , Women, War, & Peace, who is also the granddaughter of Walt Disney Company’s founder, Roy Disney.

Additional presenters included: Dr. Dilshad Dayani of World Women Global Council; Rais Bhuiyan of World Without Hate; Saudi Arabian princess and international women’s rights activist, Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel; Judy Chen Hsieh, a television executive and peace activist in Asia, as well as Dilshad Dayani, the founder of the World Women Global Council, a peace advocacy group. WFAA TV 8 anchor, Shon Gables served as moderator.  

“My faith dictated to me that I should attempt to save the life of the man who tried to kill me,” said Rais Bhuiyan, a native of Bangladesh, who was left for dead after being shot by a white supremacist after September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bhuiyan, who pleaded with officials for clemency for the man who left him sightless in one eye, was one of four “global peacemakers” who spoke to the conference attendees.

“Women perform quiet and patient work to resolve wars and conflicts around the world… {and} have a special concern for seeing a peaceful world. One of the things that we have never tried is listening to women in our efforts to prevent war and conflict,” said Abigail Disney.

Congresswoman Johnson And Committee On Science Space & Technology Hold Hearing On Future NASA Mars Mission

For the past several years, there has been a widespread feeling in the space community, difficult to articulate but nonetheless quite real, that America's space program is adrift. Following the cancellation of U.S. plans to return to the moon and the retirement of the space shuttle, and with no obviously meaningful goal ahead, there is a clear sense that our space program lacks purpose and direction.

Lately, however, there has been a renewed "buzz" in the space community around the question of whether the United States should carry out the first human flyby mission to Mars in 2021. A particularly favorable planetary alignment makes such a mission possible at that time, and then not again until the 2030s. This early opportunity to gain experience toward the goal of human exploration of Mars and the value of such a mission as an inspirational kick-start to what is widely seen as a rather moribund national civil space policy have been attractive to many. Contrariwise, the difficulty of readying the hardware required by 2021 and the many unknowns that will inevitably be faced by the crew that must fly the mission are equally daunting to many others. Nonetheless, the goal is so challengingly tempting that in February it was the subject of a special hearing convened by House Science Committee Chairman and champion U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, "Mars Flyby 2021: The First Deep Space Mission for the Orion and Space Launch System?"

Much was said at that hearing, but a particularly insightful comment was offered by U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, in her opening remarks. She offers her own answer to the question posed in the hearing topic: "no," because with our present development plans, this would not only be the first deep-space mission for Orion and SLS, but the first mission. More important, she then goes on to pose several questions of her own, questions that make plain what must be remedied about our nation's civil space policy: "However, I think this hearing does provide a good opportunity to again stress that we need a clear, thoughtful road map for our nation's human-exploration program. Successive NASA Authorization Acts have made clear that Congress believes that Mars is an appropriate goal for our nation's human spaceflight activities. It's time for NASA to tell us how they intend to achieve that goal. What technologies will be needed, what sequence of intermediate destinations should be pursued and why, and what are the risks that will need to be addressed?"

Exactly so. But rather than being an impediment to the mission, these are precisely the questions for which Mars Flyby 2021 can focus our nation and our space agency on that which is needed to provide the answers. And yes, we need to answer these questions and many more, but doing so starts with the decision to take the first steps. But unlike the situation in the time of Apollo, what faces us for Flyby 2021 are not questions of fundamental feasibility but rather are matters of routine engineering development, well within our capability to pursue.

A commitment to the first human mission to Mars would provide just the impetus we need as a nation to address the political and technical issues that are the present day roadblocks on our path to Mars and, later, beyond. The goal is near enough to require action rather than talk, yet far enough to be attained without undue pressure on the budget. It offers a clear and sorely needed pass-fail test of American resolve - this particular goalpost cannot move, and is not subject to political reinterpretation. The questions we have to answer to give ourselves the best chance for mission success are precisely the questions that must be answered before humans will ever walk the surface of Mars. For these reasons and more, the congresswoman's questions should be seen not as reasons to stay, but as reasons to go.

In its largest sense, the overarching purpose of U.S. civil space policy must be to make America the world's pre-eminent space-faring nation. No lesser goal is worth the effort, risk and expense of the enterprise, and no greater goal is needed. We cannot and must not try to "go it alone"; great nations must embrace alliances and partnerships. But our nation should settle for nothing less than partnering from the front as humankind undertakes to explore and develop what President John F. Kennedy first called "this new ocean."

It is absolutely true that we need "a clear, thoughtful road map for our nation's human exploration program." No single mission or destination can provide that road map or can fully embody our space policy or the strategy by which it is carried out. But such a mission can be on that road; it can exemplify that strategy and policy, it can be a goal that "will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills," as Kennedy said of the lunar goal in 1962.

Mars Flyby 2021 could fill exactly this role on our way to the space frontier. And realistically, we will spend just about as much money at NASA if we are bold as we will if we remain timid. So, let's use that money to be bold - again.

SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

Congresswoman Johnson Mourns The Passing Of Former Congressman James Oberstar

Today former U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar, former representative of northeastern Minnesota for 36 years, passed away in his sleep. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, who served with Congressman Oberstar for 18 years in the House of Representatives, issued the following statement on his passing:

“I am deeply saddened to hear of the unexpected passing of my dear friend Congressman Jim Oberstar,” Congresswoman Johnson said. “Jim was a giant on Capitol Hill. He was a committed and caring champion for Minnesota and a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was an excellent bipartisan leader that was deeply respected in the halls of Congress. I learned a lot serving with him on the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. He helped me bring so many transportation jobs and economic opportunities to Texas through his committed leadership as chairman of the committee.”

“My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Jean and all his children and grandchildren. My thoughts also go out to the people of his district and the state. Today Minnesota lost one of its greatest leaders.”

Congresswoman Johnson Hosts 22nd Annual Military Academy Day

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson held her 22nd Annual Military Academy Day on Saturday, April 26th at Duncanville Senior High School in Duncanville, Texas.

“Being a part of our country’s military is high calling. It will prepare you for a great future,” Congresswoman Johnson said while addressing nearly 150 high school students aspiring to join one of the country’s five service academics. “The future of America’s standing in the world will be decided by the men and women who attend institutions where they receive an exceptional education and military training.”

Students in attendance met graduates of the military academies and representatives of the Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy, Merchant Marine Academy, Naval Academy, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Joined by their parents, the students learned that an education at the academies was paid for by the federal government. Graduating students are commissioned officers in the armed series and must serve as officers.

Congresswoman Johnson Attends U.S. News & World Reports STEM Solutions Conference

U.S. News & World Report honored STEM leaders Friday during its annual STEM Solutions conference luncheon for their outstanding leadership in the the field, inducting four new members into it's STEM Leadership Hall of Fame.

U.S. News honored Anousheh Ansari, the Chair and CEO of Prodea Systems; Norm Augustine, the retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin; Shirley Ann Jackson, the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and William Swanson, the chairman of Raytheon Company.

“They have a deep and unwavering commitment to advancing STEM education and career engagement, lifetimes in essence, dedicated to developing a blueprint for the future in STEM,” said Ray Almgren, the vice president of marketing at National Instruments, who announced the award winners.

While the honorees experiences and accomplishments varied greatly across the science and technology fields, all of those honored for their achievements Friday shared a common goal of expanding STEM access to students early on in their educational careers in order to ensure the U.S. can be armed with the workforce it needs to maintain a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Following the award ceremony, the honorees joined U.S. News Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly on stage to discuss the ways educators, volunteers and business leaders could better steer students in the direction of STEM careers.

“The fact that we really do live in a data-driven, web-enabled, super-computer-powered and hyperconnected world creates enormous opportunities,” Jackson said. “If we can have a conversation that engenders a national conversation about this, about how we invite and excite and prepare our young people and how we open the aperture wider for talent from around the world, then I think we can begin to make progress.”

The award winners said that STEM education could be strengthened by raising the federal education standards, better educating teachers and ensuring students have access to up-to-date technologies. Yet, in order to ensure students develop an interest in the field, professional engineers, scientists and mathematicians must also play a role in developing the next generation of leaders.

“I challenge those in industry to get off the sidelines and engage and put some of your efforts to move this needle,” Swanson said.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, who has worked extensively to expand STEM access to minorities, also attended the luncheon. Johnson said so often students are just missing early opportunities to be influenced by science because the resources are just not there. Johnson has devoted much of her time to helping open doors to technology for young people. Johnson founded the Congressional Black Caucus Science and Technology Brain Trust more than 20 years ago and says she is spending more and more of her time reaching out to encourage students to pursue STEM careers.

“It is so essential that we maintain leadership, innovation and research in this country. To do that, we must have the talent and right now we are not making progress. We are doing an inch when we should be doing a mile,” Johnson says. “With this kind of leadership on the public stage, we [can] bring the public along.”

The lunch also included dozens of students who attend science and math schools in the Washington, D.C., area.

“It is a whole new experience for our kids to actually come out and see there is actually more out there,” says Hakim Johnson, a math and science teacher at Howard Middle School.

“There are so many people who have so many accolades. It is important for them to be able to see that. You could never get all these great minds to come to the school.”

Congresswoman Johnson Joins Secretary Foxx In Calling For Action On I-635 LBJ Freeway East Project

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at the site of the proposed I-635 LBJ Freeway East on the last stop of the Invest in America, Commit to the Future bus tour.

This week, Secretary Foxx has been traveling across the country highlighting transportation projects that have the potential to bring thousands of jobs by improving America’s transportation infrastructure.

He visited Texas to highlight the proposed 11-mile I-635 LBJ Freeway East project that has stalled due to a lack of funding. “The Administration wants to work with Members, such as Congresswoman Johnson, to meet the transportation and infrastructure needs of Texas and other states throughout our country,” Secretary Foxx said. “The impact of this highway project will lead to jobs for our citizens.”

“It is fitting that the Secretary has chosen Dallas as the capstone of his nationwide trip this week promoting our nation’s infrastructure,” Congresswoman Johnson said. “The Dallas area is a major gateway to this country due to its central location. Location is not the only reason our area has become such a critical crossroads for the Texas. Dallas leaders have demonstrated a firm commitment to invest in our infrastructure networks, ensuring that goods and people can travel in and around our city safely.”

Source: North Dallas Gazette

Congresswoman Johnson Introduces Resolution Recognizing National Nurses Week

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, the first nurse elected to the Congress, has introduced House Resolution 540, recognizing May 6, 2014 – May 12, 2014 as National Nurses Week. This resolution honors the dedicated service and extraordinary contributions of our nation’s devoted and highly trained nursing professionals.

“As the first nurse elected to Congress, I recognize that nurses are the glue that hold the American health care system together,” said Congresswoman Johnson. “I have seen the growth and expansion of the critical role of nurses from my time at the Veterans Hospital to today with more than three million registered nurses caring for the people of the United States. We must recognize their contribution, and continue to support them in our ever-expanding healthcare system.”  

House Resolution 540 encourages citizens of the United States to observe National Nurses Week with appropriate recognition that includes ceremonies, activities, and programs that demonstrate the importance of nurses in the everyday lives of patients. Nurses are the largest single group of health care providers in the United States.