WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) released the following statements after their legislation, which would designate the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) community-based outpatient clinic in Plano, Texas, as the “U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic,” passed the Senate and now heads to the President’s desk:

“Sam Johnson was an American hero, a statesman, a loving husband and father, and a friend,” said Sen. Cornyn. “With more than five decades of service to our nation in the Air Force and Congress, Sam’s life was a shining example of American patriotism, and I am glad that my Senate colleagues have passed this legislation to preserve his extraordinary legacy.”

“I’m proud to have worked with Senator Cornyn to rename this facility the Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic, honoring Congressman Johnson’s unwavering service to our nation, our veterans, and Texas military families,”said Sen. Cruz.“The renaming of this facility reflects our commitment to deepening and embodying those values.”

The legislation was led in the House of Representatives by Congressman Keith Self (TX-03).

Background:

Born in 1930 in San Antonio, Sam Johnson served in the Air Force for 29 years. He flew combat missions in Korea and Vietnam, earning several valor awards and two purple hearts for wounds received in action. In 1966, he was shot down on his 25^th combat mission in Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for seven years, with much of that time served in solitary confinement. He returned to Texas after the war, serving in the Texas House of Representatives until successfully running for U.S. Congress in 1991.

Rep. Johnson was a long-time member of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means and has a room named in his honor in the Rayburn House Office Building. He retired from Congress in 2019 and passed away in 2020 at the age of 89 in Plano, Texas.