Johnson RSS Articles

Interesting read: White House at odds with bishops over abortion

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

White House at odds with bishops over abortion
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR (AP)
Associated Press
November 20, 2009

WASHINGTON — The White House is on a collision course with Catholic bishops in an intractable dispute over abortion that could blow up the fragile political coalition behind President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

A top Obama administration official on Thursday praised the new Senate health care bill's attempt to find a compromise on abortion coverage — even as an official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Sen. Harry Reid's bill is the worst he's seen so far on the divisive issue.

The bishops were instrumental in getting tough anti-abortion language adopted by the House, forcing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to accept restrictions that outraged liberals as the price for passing the Democratic health care bill. Reid, D-Nev., now faces a similar choice: Ultimately, he will need the votes of Democratic senators who oppose abortion to get his bill through the Senate.

So far, Reid has steered the Senate bill in a direction that abortion rights supporters can live with: allowing coverage for abortion in federally subsidized health care plans, provided that private funds are used to pay for the procedure. But abortion opponents say his compromise would gut current federal restrictions on abortion funding.

GOP senators and governors stepped up their opposition to the bill Thursday, assailing the measure as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts and heavy new burdens for states.

Despite criticism, there were growing indications Reid would prevail on an initial Senate showdown set for Saturday night. He needs a 60-vote majority to advance the bill toward full debate, expected to begin after Thanksgiving and last for weeks. It's during that debate that the battle over abortion will be joined in earnest. Reid will need to clear another 60-vote hurdle before senators cast their final vote on the bill.
At the White House on Thursday, health reform director Nancy Ann DeParle praised Reid's effort to find a compromise on abortion.

"It was carefully worked through by the leader, who cares a lot about making sure this maintains the status quo on abortion policy," DeParle told reporters. Obama has said he wants the bill to remain neutral on abortion, and DeParle said Reid struck just the right balance.

But Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the bishops' conference Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, said Reid's "is actually the worst bill we've seen so far on the life issues."

He called it "completely unacceptable," adding that "to say this reflects current law is ridiculous."
The legislation is designed to answer Obama's call to expand coverage, end industry practices such as denying coverage to people with health problems and restrain the growth of health care spending.

Democrats put the price tag of the 2,074-page measure at $979 billion, higher than the $849 billion figure they had cited Wednesday as the cost of expanding coverage to 31 million who now lack insurance. Republicans calculated it at more like $1.5 trillion over a decade and said even that was understated because Reid decided to delay implementation of some of the bill's main features until 2014.

On abortion, the bill would forbid including coverage for the procedure as a required medical benefit. However, it would allow a new government insurance plan to cover abortions and let private insurers that receive federal subsidies offer plans that include abortion coverage.

In all cases, the money to pay for abortions would have to come from premiums paid by beneficiaries themselves, kept strictly separate from federal subsidy dollars. Government funds could be used for abortions only in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother — reflecting a current law known as the Hyde amendment.

The Hyde amendment restrictions apply to Medicaid, military health care and the federal employee health plan. Many states provide abortion coverage to low-income Medicaid beneficiaries, but they must do so separately with their own funds.

Abortion opponents say Reid's bill circumvents Hyde. For example, they say that any funds a government insurance plan would use to pay for abortion would be federal funds by definition — even if the money comes from premiums paid by beneficiaries.

"All the money the government has starts out being private money," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life. "Once the government has them, they're federal funds."
The restrictive language passed by the House would forbid any health plan that receives federal subsidies from paying for abortions, except as allowed by the Hyde amendment. Women would have to purchase separate coverage for abortion services.

Abortion rights supporters say that fencing off government funds from private premiums would achieve the same goal, without forcing women to get special coverage for a legal medical procedure now routinely included in many private health insurance plans.

Associated Press Special Correspondent David Espo contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Johnson insists stimulus “not worth it”

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Citing “it’s just not worth it,” U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) took aim at the so-called stimulus created to keep unemployment below 8% that has come under intense fire for gross inaccuracies as reported on the Administration’s own $18 million website created to track the stimulus. Since the $800 billion so-called stimulus passed, unemployment has spiked to 10.2%, with that number estimated to rise even higher.

Seemingly every day since the White House unveiled its stimulus jobs report, stories of exceptionally rosy jobs numbers have piled up. Last week, the Associated Press reported that the White House's original claims after the first round of recipient reports were over exaggerated by thousands of jobs.

More recently, ABC News ran a story probing bogus job claims reported on the $18 million website created by the White House to track the $800 billion in stimulus spending, www.recovery.gov. For example, the costly site confirmed that nonexistent congressional districts in Arizona received millions of taxpayer dollars.

“It’s just not worth it. I’m deeply concerned that the government keeps writing checks that our children and grandchildren can not cash. Furthermore, where is the accountability? Why do the facts keep shifting and why did the White House spend $18 million on a website,” wondered Johnson.

In a related matter, White House's budget chief Peter Orszag recently announced that Medicare and Medicaid improperly paid out $54.2 billion in fiscal 2009, with the rate of Medicare fee-for-service errors more than doubling over the previous year. “The American public is growing weary of daily reports on how their government is wasting their hard-earned tax dollars. They have a right to know why their money is going nowhere fast,” concluded Johnson.

To spotlight the problematic stimulus numbers coming out of the Administration, Johnson posted the ABC News clip citing egregious errors on Recovery.gov on his blog. To watch “Stimulus Site Gets Scorched by ABC Nightly News, Job Creation Data Very Much in Doubt,” go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Fg3s33Lug. To read Johnson’s blog, go to www.SamJohnson.house.gov.

# # #

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson congratulates

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Dr. Tracey McKenzie, professor of sociology at Collin College, has been named the 2009 Professor of the Year at a ceremony in Washington, DC this week. Dr. McKenzie, who resides in East Dallas, was chosen from over 1,200 community college professors for this prestigious award.

For 28 years the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching have recognized the most outstanding undergraduate instructors in the country. The award includes a $5,000 cash prize and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC.

Dr. McKenzie is the third professor from CCCC to be recognized at this event, making it the only community college in the nation with three national winners. Her honor marks an unprecedented third national winner at Collin College in just 9 years, with Dr. Rosemary Karr winning in 2007 and Brad Baker winning in 2000. Clearly, Collin College is home to exceptionally qualified, outstanding professors.

For more information on the Professor of the Year award, including nomination and selection processes, please visit http://www.usprofessorsoftheyear.org.

# # #

Breast cancer detection takes a backseat in Democrats’ healthcare bill

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Please read a WSJ piece detailing what rationing of care will look like under a government-run healthcare system. Every version of the Democrats’ healthcare reform bill ties decisions from this same panel to decide benefit coverage. So, if the House bill becomes law, then the government-forced health insurance in this country will not pay for a mammogram for women between ages of 40-49 – and then only one every two years. How is that for rationed care?

A Breast Cancer Preview
The mammogram decision is a sign of cost control to come.
November 19, 2009

A government panel's decision to toss out long-time guidelines for breast cancer screening is causing an uproar, and well it should. This episode is an all-too-instructive preview of the coming political decisions about cost-control and medical treatment that are at the heart of ObamaCare.

As recently as 2002, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force affirmed its recommendation that women 40 and older undergo annual mammograms to check for breast cancer. Since regular mammography became standard practice in the early 1990s, mortality from breast cancer—the second leading cause of cancer death among American women—has dropped by about 30%, after remaining constant for the prior half-century. But this week the 16-member task force ruled that patients under 50 or over 75 without special risk factors no longer need screening.

So what changed? Nothing substantial in the clinical evidence. But the panel—which includes no oncologists and radiologists, who best know the medical literature—did decide to re-analyze the data with health-care spending as a core concern.

The task force concedes that the benefits of early detection are the same for all women. But according to its review, because there are fewer cases of breast cancer in younger women, it takes 1,904 screenings of women in their 40s to save one life and only 1,339 screenings to do the same among women in their 50s. It therefore concludes that the tests for the first group aren't valuable, while also noting that screening younger women results in more false positives that lead to unnecessary (but only in retrospect) follow-up tests or biopsies.

Of course, this calculation doesn't consider that at least 40% of the patient years of life saved by screening are among women under 50. That's a lot of women, even by the terms of the panel's own statistical abstractions. To put it another way, 665 additional mammograms are more expensive in the aggregate. But at the individual level they are immeasurably valuable, especially if you happen to be the woman whose life is saved.

The recommendation to cut off all screening in women over 75 is equally as myopic. The committee notes that the benefits of screening "occur only several years after the actual screening test, whereas the percentage of women who survive long enough to benefit decreases with age." It adds that "women of this age are at much greater risk for dying of other conditions that would not be affected by breast cancer screening." In other words, grandma is probably going to die anyway, so why waste the money to reduce the chances that she dies of a leading cause of death among elderly women?

The effects of this new breast cancer cost-consciousness are likely to be large. Medicare generally adopts the panel's recommendations when it makes coverage decisions for seniors, and its judgments also play a large role in the private insurance markets. Yes, people could pay for mammography out of pocket. This is fine with us, but it is also emphatically not the world of first-dollar insurance coverage we live in, in which reimbursement decisions deeply influence the practice of medicine.

More important for the future, every Democratic version of ObamaCare makes this task force an arbiter of the benefits that private insurers will be required to cover as they are converted into government contractors. What are now merely recommendations will become de facto rules, and under national health care these kinds of cost analyses will inevitably become more common as government decides where finite tax dollars are allowed to go.

In a rational system, the responsibility for health care ought to reside with patients and their doctors. James Thrall, a Harvard medical professor and chairman of the American College of Radiology, tells us that the breast cancer decision shows the dangers of medicine being reduced to "accounting exercises subject to interpretations and underlying assumptions," and based on costs and large group averages, not individuals.

"I fear that we are entering an era of deliberate decisions where we choose to trade people's lives for money," Dr. Thrall continued. He's not overstating the case, as the 12% of women who will develop breast cancer during their lifetimes may now better appreciate.

More spending on "prevention" has long been the cry of health reformers, and President Obama has been especially forceful. In his health speech to Congress in September, the President made a point of emphasizing "routine checkups and preventative care, like mammograms and colonoscopies—because there's no reason we shouldn't be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse."

It turns out that there is, in fact, a reason: Screening for breast cancer will cost the government too much money, even if it saves lives.

###

Recovery.huh?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Watch the ABC News report spotlighting the Stimulus waste, fraud and abuse

The Administration should not put the rights of terrorists over the rights of Americans

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The Justice Department last week announced it would hold civilian trials in New York for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad and other terror suspects. I suspect that the Administration hopes that this move will hasten the closure of Guantanamo Bay in time for the self-imposed January deadline.

I find the Administration’s announcement exasperating, irresponsible and absurd. The Administration should not prioritize the rights of terrorists over the rights of Americans to be safe and secure.

Let me be clear: terrorists do not deserve the same right to trial as Americans. It seems like America already gives terrorists more rights than any other country. Enough already!

Trying terrorists in New York will afford those who wish us harm constitutional rights that they do not deserve. I also question the wisdom of holding terrorist trials in a busy city full of innocent bystanders, many possibly still scarred by September 11th.

I believe that trying terrorists in military commissions at Guantanamo Bay is the most reasonable and responsible venue and safest option for the American people. The Administration needs to put the safety and the wishes of the American people first.

Giving thanks for the blessing of freedom

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By U.S. Rep Sam Johnson

Nearly four centuries have passed since the first Thanksgiving, but the reasons we celebrate this day each year remain the same. Throughout times of war and peace and years of poverty and prosperity, Americans have continued this timeless tradition of taking time to pause and say “thanks.”

As we gather around our tables again this year to give thanks for our many blessings, we are reminded that the spirit of Thanksgiving requires more than expressing gratitude for the gifts of faith, freedom, family and friends. It calls upon each of us to dwell on the meaning of freedom – and those who have fought for it. With America at war for over eight years, many have lost loved ones or have family protecting this great nation at home and abroad.

There are numerous opportunities in our area to lend a helping hand during the holidays, and throughout the year. If you appreciate the bounty of freedom and want to do something about it this holiday season, I challenge you to explore learning more ways you can do great things for our men and women in uniform. With Christmas rapidly approaching, our troops and veterans need to know that we care about them. Trust me when I tell you that it can seem exceptionally lonely when you’re far away from home during the holidays -- no matter how much you love your country.

First, I hope you’ll consider making a family project out of Holiday Mail for Heroes. Created by the Red Cross, Holiday Mail for Heroes allows people to mail Christmas cards and personal greetings to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines overseas and at home, as well as veterans and family members of deployed active-duty military members. Please send your greetings soon, as the last day to participate is December 7th.

The Red Cross will work with Pitney Bowes to screen all mail for security purposes and then deliver the greetings to over 300 locations worldwide. People may send cards to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456. Greetings must have adequate postage. Cards received after December 7th will be returned. Learn more about this program by going to http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail or visiting my website, www.SamJohnson.house.gov.

Second, you also can consider donating to a local charity. Dallas is Love, is a 501c-3 non-profit organization that raises money to send AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Service) gift certificates to United States military troops stationed worldwide. These gift cards can be used around the world in the BX or Commissary stores. Local kids Tania and Patrick Foster created Dallas is Love to show soldiers that they are not forgotten for their selfless efforts to protect the freedom of this country. Learn more about this organization by going to http://www.dallasislove.org. There is no holiday deadline for this local charity since it has grown into a year-round program supporting troops around the globe.

Some folks forget that young men and women have been serving in harms’ way since 2001. As a 29-year Air Force veteran who spent nearly seven years as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam – more than half of that time in solitary confinement – I know that freedom is not free.

I challenge you this holiday season to share your abundant blessings with those in need. By reaching out to others, especially those who serve on the front lines and their loved ones, we can do our part to keep the true spirit of Thanksgiving – and the blessing of freedom – alive.

# # #

Johnson represents portions of Dallas and Collin Counties.

Sam Johnson encourages Texans to send “Holiday Mail for Heroes” by Dec. 7th

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Today U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) encouraged Texans to send “Holiday Mail for Heroes” by the December 7th deadline. Created by the Red Cross, Holiday Mail for Heroes allows people to mail Christmas cards and personal greetings to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines overseas and at home as well as veterans and family members of deployed active-duty military members. The Red Cross will work with Pitney Bowes to screen all mail for security purposes and then deliver the greetings to over 300 locations worldwide.

“It can get pretty lonely during the holidays when you’re far from home and missing your loved ones. Hearing from supportive Americans who back your mission, who tell you that they’re praying for you and send you their love can make a big difference,” said Johnson, a 29-year Air Force veteran and former Prisoner of War in Vietnam for nearly seven years.

People may send cards to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456. Greetings must have adequate postage. Cards received after December 7th will be returned.

In December 2007, Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. approached the Red Cross to distribute thousands of holiday cards coming to the facility for wounded troops. The Red Cross reached out to Pitney Bowes to turn the project into a larger opportunity that could reach members of the military at other facilities. Now in its third year, the Holiday Mail for Heroes program provides Americans with the opportunity to extend holiday greetings and thanks to service members, veterans and their families worldwide. Last year the program received more than 1.4 million cards for service members, their families, and veterans, in communities around the world.

The Red Cross asks that people follow several guidelines while preparing holiday greetings:

Do: sign all cards; entitle cards “Dear Service Member, Family or Veteran;” limit cards to 15 per person or 50 for school class or business group; and bundle groups of cards in single, large envelopes. Do not: send letters; include personal information such as home or email addresses to request contact or reciprocity; use glitter as excessive amounts can aggravate health issues of wounded recipients; or include inserts of any kind as they must be removed in the screening process.

Learn more at http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail.

# # #

Expanded McKinney family celebrates National Adoption Month

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, a month set aside to draw attention to the adoption of children and youth. U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) marked this by visiting with the Briggs Family of McKinney. Amy and Christopher Briggs adopted Mauricio de Jesus Briggs, 11, Juan Pablo Briggs, 9, and Maria Lucelly Briggs, 8, from Colombia, earlier this year with the assistance of the office of Congressman Johnson.

Amy and Christopher Briggs contacted the Congressman’s office earlier this year for assistance in adopting three children from Colombia. The Briggs were concerned that the adoption paper work and visas would not be completed by the time they were planning to travel. The children had lived with foster care families, but had been moved to an orphanage in anticipation of the pending Briggs adoption.

The orphanage owners were scheduled to be on vacation the month of July and no formal introduction of the children could be made without the orphanage owners. Johnson’s office stepped in to help navigate the overseas bureaucracy. Soon, all of the paper work was completed. The kids were able to meet their new parents early in July to begin their 6 week bonding experience according to strict adoption regulations ordered by the Hague.

Johnson is pleased to report that the three kids are now settled happily in Texas.

“We are very thankful of the assistance of Congressman Sam Johnson’s office in helping to facilitate the adoption process. As a result, we were able to be with our children sooner and become the family the family we all look forward to for so long,” said Amy Briggs.

The office of Congressman Johnson helps facilitate overseas adoptions. To learn more, please contact his local office at 972-470-0892.

SAVE THE DATE

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

On Saturday, January 9th at 10 a.m. in Plano, U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) and The Sallie Mae Fund will hold a free workshop on saving, planning and paying for college. The event coincides with the release of the 2010-2011 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. One participant at the seminar will leave with a $500 scholarship via random drawing. The informational program is free and open to the public.

The Saving, Planning and Paying for College program is sponsored by The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae. A Sallie Mae Fund expert will lead the presentation for parents and teens and then answer questions. Families will learn about saving, planning and paying for college and will receive free resources to guide them through the process.

The seminar will run from 10:00am to 11:30am in the Conference Center at the Collin College Spring Creek Campus, located at 2800 Spring Creek Parkway in Plano.

To attend the workshop, please RSVP to The Sallie Mae Fund online, as seating is limited. To register online, simply go to www.salliemaefund.org.

“Now more than ever, it is critical for kids and parents to learn about the ways they can pay for college. I hope that the Saving, Planning and Paying for College seminar helps a lot of folks better understand their financial options and plan for the future with college in mind,” said Johnson. Those with questions about the event should contact Johnson’s office at 972-470-0892.

Saturday, January 9, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
FREE Saving, Planning and Paying for College Workshop
Conference Center
Collin College
2800 Spring Creek Parkway
Plano, Texas

*RSVP online

# # #

Sam Johnson says "I stand in support of freedom of speech."

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT

One minute on healthcare

Sam Johnson speaks up on heath care

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

One minute on the House floor

Johnson denounces costly health care propsal

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Johnson denounces costly health care propsal

Johnson denounces national energy tax

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Johnson denounces national energy tax

Congressman Johnson talks health reform

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Johnson talks health reform

Johnson assails Administration moving Gitmo detainee to New York City

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Johnson assails Administration moving Gitmo detainee to New York City

Johnson calls for Social Security reform

Thu, 14 May 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Johnson calls for Social Security reform

Johnson reintroduces worksite enforcement bill

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Johnson reintroduces worksite enforcement bill

Congressman Johnson calls for fiscal responsibility

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Johnson calls for fiscal responsibility

Congressman Johnson addresses the Presidents budget

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Johnson addresses the Presidents budget