Sam Johnson

Sam Johnson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office May 8, 1991
Preceded by	Steve Bartlett
Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Acting
In office October 29, 2015 – November 5, 2015
Preceded by	Paul Ryan
Succeeded by	Kevin Brady
Personal details
Born	(1930-10-11) October 11, 1930 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Shirley Johnson
Alma mater	Southern Methodist University George Washington University
Religion	Methodism
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Military career
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1950–1979
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Korean War Vietnam War
Awards	Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit (3) Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star with "V" Device Purple Heart (2) Meritorious Service Medal Air Medal (4) Prisoner of War Medal

Samuel Robert "Sam" Johnson (born October 11, 1930) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 3rd congressional district serving in Congress since 1991. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes much of Collin County, including Plano, where he lives. In October–November 2015, he was the acting Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, where he also serves as chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee.

Johnson is also a retired United States Air Force Colonel and was a decorated fighter pilot in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War where in the latter he was an American prisoner of war in North Vietnam for nearly seven years.

Early life and education

Johnson grew up in Dallas and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School.^[1] Johnson graduated from Southern Methodist University in his hometown in 1951, with a degree in business administration. While at SMU, Johnson joined the Delta Chi social fraternity as well as the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity.^[2]

Military career

Johnson served a 29-year career in the United States Air Force, where he served as director of the Air Force Fighter Weapons School and flew the F-100 Super Sabre with the Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying demonstration team. He commanded the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Homestead AFB, Florida and an air division at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, retiring as a Colonel.^[3]

He is a combat veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars as a fighter pilot. During the Korean War, he flew 62 combat missions in the F-86 Sabre and shot down one Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. During the Vietnam War, Johnson flew the F-4 Phantom II.

POW

On April 16, 1966, while flying his 25th combat mission in Vietnam, he was shot down over North Vietnam and suffered a broken arm and back. He was a prisoner of war for nearly seven years, including 42 months in solitary confinement. During this period, he was repeatedly tortured.

Johnson was part of a group of eleven U.S. military prisoners known as the Alcatraz Gang, a group of prisoners separated from other captives for their resistance to their captors. They were held in "Alcatraz", a special facility about one mile away from the Hỏa Lò Prison, notably nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton". Johnson, like the others, was kept in solitary confinement, locked nightly in irons in a windowless 3-by-9-foot concrete cell with the light on around the clock.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Johnson was released on February 12, 1973 during Operation Homecoming. Johnson recounted the details of his POW experience in his autobiography, Captive Warriors.

He walks with a noticeable limp, due to a wartime injury.

Post-military career

After his military career, he established a homebuilding business in Plano. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1984 and was re-elected four times.

U.S. House of Representatives

On May 8, 1991, he was elected to the U.S. House in a special election brought about by eight-year incumbent Steve Bartlett's resignation to become mayor of Dallas. Johnson defeated fellow conservative Republican Thomas Pauken, also of Dallas, 24,004 (52.6 percent) to 21,647 (47.4 percent).^[9] Johnson thereafter won a full term in 1992 and has been reelected nine times. The 3rd has been in Republican hands since 1968. The Democrats did not even field a candidate in 1992, 1994, 1998, or 2004.

Elections

2004

Johnson ran unopposed by the Democratic Party in his district in the 2004 election. Paul Jenkins, an independent, and James Vessels, a member of the Libertarian Party ran against Johnson. Johnson won overwhelmingly in a highly Republican district. Johnson garnered 86% of the vote (178,099), while Jenkins earned 8% (16,850) and Vessels 6% (13,204).

2006

Johnson ran for re-election in 2006, defeating his opponent Robert Edward Johnson in the Republican primary, 85 to 15 percent.^[10][11]

In the general election, Johnson faced Democrat Dan Dodd and Libertarian Christopher J. Claytor. Both Dodd and Claytor are West Point graduates. Dodd served two tours of duty in Vietnam ^[12] and Claytor served in Operation Southern Watch in Kuwait in 1992. It was only the fourth time that Johnson had faced Democratic opposition.

Johnson retained his seat, taking 62.5% of the vote, while Democrat Dodd received 34.9% and Libertarian Claytor received 2.6%. However, this was far less than in years past, when Johnson won by margins of 80 percent or more.

2008

Johnson retained his seat in the House of Representatives by defeating the Democrat Tom Daley and Libertarian nominee Christopher J. Claytor in the 2008 general election. He won with 60 percent of the vote, an unusually low total for such a heavily Republican district.^[10]

2010

Johnson won re-election with 66.3% of the vote against Democrat John Lingenfelder (31.3%) and Libertarian Christopher Claytor (2.4%).^[13]

2014

Johnson handily won re-nomination to his thirteenth term, twelfth full term, in the U.S. House in the Republican primary held on March 4. He polled 30,943 votes (80.5 percent); two challengers, Josh Loveless and Harry Pierce, held the remaining combined 19.5 percent of the votes cast.^[14]

Tenure

In the House, Johnson is an ardent conservative. By some views, Johnson had the most conservative record in the House for three consecutive years, opposing pork barrel projects of all kinds, voting for more IRAs and against extending unemployment benefits. The conservative watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste has consistently rated him as being friendly to taxpayers. Johnson is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.^[15]

Johnson is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee, and joined Dan Burton, Ernest Istook and John Doolittle in refounding it in 1994 after Newt Gingrich pulled its funding. He alternated as chairman with the other three co-founders from 1994 to 1999, and served as sole chairman from 2000 to 2001.

On the Ways and Means Committee, he was an early advocate and, then, sponsor of the successful repeal in 2000 of the earnings limit for Social Security recipients. He proposed the Good Samaritan Tax Act to permit corporations to take a tax deduction for charitable giving of food. He chairs the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations, where he has encouraged small business owners to expand their pension and ^[16] benefits for employees.

Johnson is a skeptic of calls for increased government regulation related to global warming whenever such government interference would, in his mind, restrict personal liberties or damage economic growth and American competitiveness in the market place. He also opposes calls for government intervention in the name of energy reform if such reform would hamper the market and or place undue burdens on individuals seeking to earn decent wages. He has expressed his belief that the Earth has untapped sources of fuel, and has called for allowing additional drilling for oil in Alaska.

Johnson is one of two Vietnam-era POWs still serving in Congress, along with John McCain.^[17]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means (Interim Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Social Security (Chairman)
• Joint Committee on Taxation

Caucus memberships

• Immigration Reform Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Public Pension Reform Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

Personal life

Johnson was married to the former Shirley L. Melton of Dallas from 1950 until her death on December 3, 2015.^[18] They were the parents of three children and ten grandchildren.

Military awards

Johnson's decorations and awards include:

1st Row	Silver Star w/ bronze Oak Leaf Cluster				Legion of Merit w/ two bronze Oak Leaf Clusters				Distinguished Flying Cross
2nd Row	Bronze Star w/ "V" Device			Purple Heart w/ bronze Oak Leaf Cluster			Meritorious Serice Medal			Air Medal w/ three bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
3rd Row	Air Force Commendation Medal w/ bronze Oak Leaf Cluster			Air Force Presidential Unit Citation			Air Force Outstanding Unit Award w/ "V" Device and one silver oak leaf cluster			Prisoner of War Medal
4th Row	Korean Service Medal w/ two  3⁄16" bronze stars			Vietnam Service Medal w/ three  3⁄16" silver stars and one  3⁄16" bronze star			United Nations Korea Medal			Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal w/ 1960- device

Other awards and honors

• 1990: Johnson was inducted into the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame.

• October 2009: the Congressional Medal of Honor Society awarded Johnson the National Patriot Award, the Society's highest civilian award given to Americans who exemplify patriotism and strive to better the nation.^[19]

• 2011: Freedom of Flight award^[20]

• March 2016: Congressional Patriots Award^[21]

• April 2016: Patriot Award^[22]

Bibliography

• 1992, Captive Warriors: A Vietnam P.O.W.'s Story; ISBN 0-89096-496-3

See also

• List of Korean War veterans who are recipients of the Bronze Star

References

External links

• Congressman Sam Johnson official House site
• Sam Johnson for Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Tribute to Sam Johnson, Smithsonian Institution
• Texas Nonprofit Is Cleared After GOP-Prompted Audit: Group Says Probe Was 'Political Retaliation' by DeLay Allies, Washington Post, February 27, 2006

Chairmen of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means
Fitzsimons W. Smith Harper Griswold Randolph Clay G. Campbell Eppes Bacon Cheves Eppes Lowndes S. Smith McLane Randolph McDuffie Verplanck Polk Cambreleng J. W. Jones Fillmore McKay Vinton Bayly Houston L. Campbell J. G. Jones Phelps Sherman Stevens Morrill Schenck Hooper Dawes Morrison Wood Tucker Kelley Morrison R. Mills McKinley Springer Wilson Dingley Payne Underwood Kitchin Fordney Green Hawley Collier Doughton Knutson Doughton Reed Cooper W. Mills Ullman Rostenkowski Gibbons Archer Thomas Rangel Levin Camp Ryan Johnson Brady