2023S0434-1 05/24/23
 
  By: West, et al. S.R. No. 662
 
 
 
SENATE RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to pay
  tribute to the Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson and to recognize
  her on her trailblazing career in public service, which included
  15 terms of leadership representing the 30th Congressional
  District of Texas; and
         WHEREAS, A native of Waco, Eddie Bernice Johnson studied
  nursing at Saint Mary's College and later went on to earn a
  nursing degree from Texas Christian University and a master's
  degree in public administration from Southern Methodist
  University; she moved to Dallas during the late 1950s, where she
  experienced the blatant racism and discrimination that helped to
  inspire her commitment to activism and advocacy, and she went on
  to lead an exceptional career of public service that helped to
  transform the city and improve the lives of people across the
  nation; and
         WHEREAS, Eddie Bernice Johnson began her pioneering career
  of public service when she became the first African American
  professional at the Dallas Veterans Administration Hospital,
  where she served as chief psychiatric nurse; she would continue
  to break boundaries at every step of her career, and in 1972, she
  became the first Black woman elected to represent Dallas County
  in the Texas House of Representatives; she became the first woman
  in Texas history to lead a major house committee, and she earned a
  reputation as a champion for women and children and was admired
  for her bipartisan and no-nonsense approach to policymaking; and
         WHEREAS, In 1977, she accepted an appointment to serve as a
  regional director of the United States Department of Health,
  Education, and Welfare under President Jimmy Carter; after
  serving in the federal government and in the private sector, she
  returned to Texas, and in 1986, she became the first Black person
  since Reconstruction to represent Dallas in the Texas Senate; she
  continued to make strides in improving the Dallas community, and
  she brought her service as a state legislator to a close in 1992,
  when she became the first registered nurse to be elected to the
  United States Congress; and
         WHEREAS, Congresswoman Johnson served as a member of the
  House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee throughout her
  tenure as a United States Representative, and her many committee
  and subcommittee leadership assignments have led to national
  strides in such areas as human rights, STEM education,
  transportation, environmental policy, and foreign relations; she
  is widely recognized as one of the most effective legislators in
  Congress, and she is responsible for authoring and co-authoring
  more than 175 bills that have been signed into law; she has served
  as dean of the Texas Congressional Delegation and the Texas, New
  Mexico, and Arizona Democratic Congressional Delegation, and her
  acclaimed initiative, A World of Women for World Peace, has
  gained national and international recognition; and
         WHEREAS, This widely esteemed Democratic leader is the
  founder and cochair of the Diversity and Innovation Caucus and
  the House Historical Black Colleges and Universities Caucus; she
  has remained focused on serving her local constituents while
  tirelessly working in support of human rights in the United
  States and around the globe, and she can reflect with pride on her
  exceptional legacy and on the enduring example of leadership and
  public service she leaves behind; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th
  Legislature, hereby commend the Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson
  on her dedication to serving the citizens of Dallas County and on
  30 years of outstanding leadership as a United States
  Congresswoman and extend to her best wishes in her retirement and
  in all her future endeavors; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
  her as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate.