Sam Johnson

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. You know, as he said, I flew 62 combat missions in the Korean War and 25 in Vietnam before being shot down. I had the privilege of serving in the United States Air Force for 29 years, attending the prestigious National War College, commanding two air bases, among other things. I mention these stories because I view the debate on the floor not just as a U.S. Congressman elected to serve the good people of the Third District in Texas, but also through the lens of a lifelong fighter pilot, student of war, a combat warrior, a leader of men, and a prisoner of war. Ironically, this week marks the anniversary that I started a new life and my freedom from prison in Hanoi. I spent early 7 years as that prisoner of war, more than half of that time in solitary confinement. I flew out of Hanoi on February 12, 1973, with other long-held prisoners of war, weighing just 140 pounds. And tomorrow, 34 years ago, I had my homecoming to Texas, a truly unspeakable blessing of freedom. While in solitary confinement, my captures kept me in leg stocks, like the pilgrims, for 72 days. As you can imagine, they had to carry me out of the stocks because I couldn't walk. The following day they put me in leg irons for 2\1/2\ years. That is when you have a tight metal cuff around each ankle with a foot-long bar connecting the legs. I still have very little feeling in my right arm and right hand, and my body has never been the same since my nearly 2,500 days of captivity. But I will never let my physical woes hold me back. Instead, I try to see the silver lining. I say that because, in some ways, I am living a dream, a hope that I had for the future. From April 16, 1966, to February 12, 1973, I prayed that I would return home to the loving embrace of my wife, Shirley, and my three kids, Bob, Jenny, and Beverly. My fellow POWs and I clung to the hope of when, not if, we returned home. We would spend hours tapping on the adjoining cement walls about what we would do when we got home to America. We pledged to quit griping about the way the government was running the war in Vietnam and do something about it. We decided we would run for office and try to make America a better place for all of us. So, little did I know back in my rat-infested 3-by-8 dark, filthy cell that, 34 years after my departure from hell on earth, I would spend the anniversary of my release pleading for a House panel to back my measure to support and fully fund our troops in harm's way; and, that just days later I would be on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, surrounded by distinguished veterans, urging Congress to support our troops to the hilt. We POWs were still in Vietnam when Washington cut the funding for Vietnam. I know what it does to morale and mission success. Words cannot fully describe the horrendous damage of the anti-American efforts against the war back home to the guys on the ground. Our captors would blare nasty recordings over the loudspeaker of Americans protesting back home, tales of Americans spitting on Vietnam veterans when they came home, and worse. I don't think we should ever, ever let that happen again. The pain inflicted by your country's indifference is tenfold that inflicted by your ruthless captors. Our troops and their families want, need, and deserve the full support of this country and the Congress. Moms and dads watching the news need to know that the Congress will not leave their sons and daughters in harm's way without support. Since the President announced his new plan for Iraq last month, there has been steady progress. He changed the rules of engagement, removed political protection. There are reports we wounded the number two of al Qaeda and killed his deputy. And, yes, al Qaeda operates in Iraq. It is alleged that top radical jihadist, al-Sadr, has fled Iraq maybe to Iran, and Iraq has closed its borders with Iran and Syria. The President has changed course, has offered a new plan. We are making progress. We must seize the opportunity to move forward, not stifle future success. Debating nonbinding resolutions aimed at earning political points only destroys morale, stymies success, and emboldens the enemy. The grim reality is that this House measure is the first step to cutting funding of the troops. Just ask John Murtha about his slow- bleed plan that hamstrings our troops in harm's way. Now it is time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home and those who fought and died in Iraq already, so I can keep my promise that when we got home we would quit griping about the war and do something positive about it. We must not allow this Congress to leave these troops like the Congress left us. Today, let my body serve as a brutal reminder that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past. Instead, learn from them. We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them. We must support them all the way. And, to our troops, we must remain always faithful. God bless you all. I salute you and this Congress.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Mr. Paul Gillmor, who is a United States Air Force veteran. And he was a judge advocate, so he knows some of the legal problems involved in this thing. I would like to yield him 5 minutes. (Mr. GILLMOR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho, Bill Sali. (Mr. SALI asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlelady from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to Mr. Peter Roskam from Illinois.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Jim Jordan.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, in closing, we have heard a lot of excellent presentation points today. I might just clarify the fact that the study group did recommend a surge in one part, and the President has eliminated the rules of engagement that we had laid on our troops over there, so we have a way to make this thing really happen. I really want to know, if the Democrats insist they are supporting our troops, why they would not let me introduce my measure that mandates that Congress would support and fully fund the men and women in uniform. I am positive that Democrats will attempt to cut funding as soon as the spending bills come up this spring, and maybe earlier, because there was a press conference earlier today that indicated exactly that. I fear what that means for our troops on the ground, for their morale. The reality is that President Bush realized he needed to change the course in Iraq, and that is why he worked with folks on the ground in Iraq to hear fresh ideas and came up with a new plan. The President wants change and that is why he changed the rules of engagement, enabling our guys to shoot at any suspected terrorists. The President wants change. That is why he removed political protections of all insurgents, so all of the bad guys could be brought to justice regardless of who they knew or who they worked for. These ideas are huge breakthroughs and real solutions. These ideas represent fresh starts and new plans. What is the Democratic plan to move forward and win? They do not have one. Thirty-six hours of political grandstanding, nonbinding resolutions and petty posturing, they are not proposing solutions. They are not even encouraging new ideas. In fact, they stop them like when they squashed my amendment. Many hope that the troop surge is the beginning of the end. We should all want that if it gets the job done. Yet the Democrats just say no. You know, the time will come when you can put the money behind these nonbinding resolutions. You better believe we will be watching and calling for those funding cuts loud and clear. America needs to know, cutting funds for our troops in harm's way is not a remedy. It is a ruse. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and yield the balance of my time to the next moderator, Mr. Saxton.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 4 minutes to Mrs. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 5 minutes to Dave Camp, a fellow Member of Congress from Michigan, and a fellow member of the Ways and Means Committee, one of the ranking members.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to yield 5 minutes to Mr. Todd Akin from Missouri.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers).

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I will make a statement later, but right now I would like to introduce Congressman Geoff Davis from the State of Kentucky who was in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served this Nation as an assault helicopter flight commander in the 82nd Airborne Division, which is where I went through jump school, too, and I think he is well qualified to discuss this issue. I would like to recognize the gentleman for 5 minutes.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 5\1/2\ minutes to the great Congressman from the State of Minnesota, an ex- Marine, John Kline.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 3 minutes to Representative John Shimkus from Illinois. He is an ex-Army Academy graduate and served in the United States Army and still is in the Reserves. (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, at this time we would like to allow 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida, Tom Feeney. (Mr. FEENEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. You know, it is an honor to be here today joined by Members of Congress who have served this Nation nobly both in the Armed Forces and today as statesmen and -women in the United States House of Representatives. You know, there are lots of ways people can serve this country. Dedicating time to the Armed Forces, the greatest military in the world, can be some of the most fulfilling time in one's life. I know, because I spent 29 years in the United States Air Force; got called up from my ROTC class at SMU and flew 62 combat missions in Korea in a plane I named after my wife, ``Shirley's Texas Tornado.'' In 1965, I left for my first tour in Vietnam, working for General Westmoreland in the headquarters. In 1966 I returned again. And while flying my 25th mission, I was shot down, landed in the middle of a division of North Vietnamese soldiers. What followed for the next 2,494 days can only be described as hell on Earth, or as my friend and fellow POW, Jeremiah Denton did, blinked the letters of one word in Morse Code into a movie camera as a desperate plea for help. The letters made up the word ``torture.'' Of my nearly 7 years in captivity, I spent more than half of that time in solitary confinement. As you can imagine, the North Vietnamese would say and do anything to break our will. The physical torture is not fit for describing as some of it is too graphic and too gory. There were many times that I would pray to God that I would pass out and slip into unconsciousness just to escape the pain if I couldn't escape the beatings. Yet, what also scarred me for life was the emotional torture that the North Vietnamese broadcast to taunt us and break our wills. They constantly blared anti-American messages from back home over the loud speakers. The enemy knows that any anti-American murmur can be used as a weapon. And the same holds true today. The enemy wants our men and women in uniform to think that their Congress doesn't care about them, that they are going to cut the funding and abandon them and their mission. They want Congress to cave to the wishes of those who advocate a cut-and-run attitude. And we should not allow that to happen. We must learn from our mistakes. We cannot leave a job undone like we left in Korea, like we left in Vietnam, like we left in Somalia. Osama bin Laden said that ``in Somalia, the United States pulled out, trailing disappointment, defeat, and failure behind it.'' And we didn't blink an eye when the radicals bombed the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia killing 20 and injuring 372; or after the Kenya embassy bombings that killed 213 people and injured 5,000; or that same day at the Tanzania embassy bombing killing 11 people and injuring 68. On October 12, 2000 the USS Cole bombing killed 17 and injured 39. And we all know how they tried to bring down the World Trade Towers and didn't stop until they completed the job September 11. All of these tragedies of terrorism happened without a United States response. We can't waver in our fight for freedom. We cannot abandon the bedrock of democracy; they are the brave and selfless men and women of our United States Armed Forces. We will stand up with them. We must stand up with them. And I will stand up with them in Congress, because they stand up for our freedom every minute of every day. They are the reason we call America the land of the free and the home of the brave. And I salute them. Now, today I have the distinct privilege of managing time during this debate. Each person joining me is a shining example of duty, honor, country. And I know folks across America will learn a lot from hearing about their stories and hearing why they know firsthand freedom is not free.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I just would like to correct something. We are not occupying Iraq. We are helping the Iraqi government, who has complete control over there trying to win this battle. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to our new representative from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn). (Mr. LAMBORN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5\1/2\ minutes to the Representative from Virginia, Thelma Drake, who represents Norfolk and America's Navy.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 4\1/2\ minutes to Mr. Garrett from New Jersey.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 5 minutes to my friend from Virginia, Virgil Goode.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico, who was a pilot in the United States Air Force, serving in the Philippines, received a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal before returning to the United States. (Mr. PEARCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield now to the chairman of our Republican Study Committee, Mr. Jeb Hensarling from Texas, 5\1/2\ minutes. (Mr. HENSARLING asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 3\1/2\ minutes to my colleague from Michigan, Tim Walberg.