Editing Sam Johnson (section)

==Post-military career==
After his military career, he established a homebuilding business in [[Plano, Texas|Plano]], Texas.

=== Texas House of Representatives ===
He was elected to the [[Texas House of Representatives]] in 1984 and was re-elected three times, serving a total of seven years in the state legislature.<ref name="Swartsell">{{cite news|title=Longtime Texas congressman Sam Johnson, POW in Vietnam, dies at age 89|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/05/27/longtime-texas-congressman-sam-johnson-pow-in-vietnam-dies-at-age-89/|first=Nick|last=Swartsell|date=May 27, 2020|access-date=May 27, 2020|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News}}</ref>

===U.S. House of Representatives===
[[File:Dick Cheney and Sam Johnson.jpg|thumb|right|Johnson and [[Dick Cheney]] in 2001]]
[[File:Sam and Shirley Johnson with Rick Perry.jpg|thumb|right|Sam and Shirley Johnson with [[Governor of Texas|Governor]] [[Rick Perry]] in 2003]]
[[File:Col. Oliver North and Congressman Sam Johnson.png|thumb|right|Johnson greeting [[Oliver North]] in 2006]]
[[File:John McCain and Sam Johnson.jpg|thumb|right|Johnson with fellow [[Prisoner of war|POW]] [[John McCain]] in 2016]]
On May 8, 1991, he was [[1991 Texas's 3rd congressional district special election|elected to the U.S. House in a special election]] brought about by eight-year incumbent [[Steve Bartlett]]'s resignation to become [[List of mayors of Dallas|mayor of Dallas]]. Johnson defeated fellow [[Conservative (politics)|conservative]] Republican [[Thomas Pauken]], also of Dallas, 24,004 (52.6 percent) to 21,647 (47.4 percent).<ref>''Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections'' 6th ed., [[Washington, D.C.]], 2010, p. 1341</ref>

====Selected elections====

===== 2004 =====
{{see also|2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas#District 3|2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas#District 3|2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas#District 3}}
Johnson ran unopposed by the [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] in his district in the 2004 election. Paul Jenkins, an independent, and James Vessels, a member of the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|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).<ref name="Roll Call">{{cite web|title=Member Profile – Sam Johnson, R|url=http://media.cq.com/members/460|access-date=May 27, 2020|publisher=[[Roll Call]]}}</ref>

===== 2006 =====
Johnson ran for re-election in 2006, defeating his opponent Robert Edward Johnson in the Republican [[Partisan primary|primary]], 85 to 15 percent.<ref name="state1">{{cite web |url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 22, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062336/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archive-date=January 9, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/local/stories/DN-usreprndp_08met.ART.State.Edition3.aae3.html |title=News for Dallas, Texas &#124; Dallas Morning News &#124; Dallas-Fort Worth Politics &#124; The Dallas Morning News |publisher=Dallasnews.com |date=March 8, 2006 |access-date=August 29, 2010}}</ref>

In the general election, Johnson faced Democrat Dan Dodd and Libertarian Christopher J. Claytor.  Both Dodd and Claytor are [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] graduates.  Dodd was a U.S. Air Force officer who served in Vietnam,<ref>{{cite news|title=Texas candidates for State Representative, Governor, State Cabinet, U.S. Senator and Congress|url=http://www.ntxe-news.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=15&num=31207&printer=1|date=January 12, 2006|access-date=May 27, 2020|newspaper=North Texas e-News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528092451/http://www.ntxe-news.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=15&num=31207&printer=1|archive-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> while Claytor served in [[Operation Southern Watch]] in Kuwait in 1992.<ref>{{cite news|title=Christopher Claytor, candidate for United States Representative|url=https://voterguide.dallasnews.com/2018-general/candidates/465/|access-date=May 28, 2020|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528091703/https://voterguide.dallasnews.com/2018-general/candidates/465/|archive-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref>  It was only the fourth time that Johnson had faced Democratic opposition.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-14gbMQftG0C&pg=PA89|title=Representing Texas|publisher=BookSurge Publishing|year=2007|last=Guttery|first=Ben R.|page=84|isbn=9781419678844}}</ref>

Johnson retained his seat, taking 62.5% of the vote, while Dodd received 34.9% and Claytor received 2.6%.<ref>{{cite news|title=County goes Democratic; Republicans hold state, national posts|url=https://starlocalmedia.com/mesquitenews/news/county-goes-democratic-republicans-hold-state-national-posts/article_31e02964-05d6-5174-959f-4cb8b4ae0033.html|first=Brian|last=Porter|date=November 14, 2006|access-date=May 28, 2020|newspaper=Mesquite News}}</ref>  However, this was by far less a margin of victory then in past years, when Johnson won by 80 percent or more.<ref name="Roll Call"/>

===== 2008 =====
Johnson retained his seat in the House of Representatives by defeating 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.<ref name="state1"/>

===== 2010 =====
Johnson won re-election with 66.3 percent of the vote against Democrat John Lingenfelder (31.3 percent) and [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] Christopher Claytor (2.4 percent).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/texas|title=Texas Election Results 2010|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|year=2010|access-date=March 15, 2011}}</ref>

===== 2014 =====
Johnson handily won re-nomination to his 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar04_169_state.htm?x=0&y=218&id=176|title=Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|access-date=March 6, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140305180619/https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar04_169_state.htm?x=0&y=218&id=176|archive-date=March 5, 2014}}</ref>

===== 2016 =====
Johnson won reelection to his 13th full term in the general election held on November 8, 2016. With 193,684 votes (61.2 percent), he defeated Democrat Adam P. Bell, who polled 109,420 (34.6 percent). Scott Jameson and Paul Blair, the nominees of the Libertarian and [[Green Party (United States)|Green]] parties, polled 10,448 votes (3.3 percent) and 2,915 (0.92 percent), respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist319_state.htm|title=Election Results|date=November 8, 2016|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|access-date=December 17, 2016}}</ref>

===== 2018 =====
Three days after being sworn in for his 14th term overall and his 13th full term, Johnson announced he would not run for reelection.<ref name=Politicoretire/>

==== Tenure ====
In the House, Johnson was an ardent [[Conservatism (United States)|conservative]].<ref name=AP/><ref name=Swartsell/> 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 [[Individual Retirement Account|IRAs]] and against extending unemployment benefits. The conservative watchdog group [[Citizens Against Government Waste]] consistently rated him as being friendly to taxpayers. Johnson was a signer of [[Americans for Tax Reform#Taxpayer Protection Pledge|Americans for Tax Reform]]'s [[Taxpayer Protection Pledge]].<ref name ="ATR">{{cite web|title=The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers 112th Congressional List|url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/091411-federalpledgesigners.pdf|publisher=Americans for Tax Reform|access-date=November 30, 2011}}</ref>

Johnson was a member of the conservative [[Republican Study Committee]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Member List|url=https://rsc-walker.house.gov/|publisher=Republican Study Committee|access-date=December 21, 2017|archive-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101195017/https://rsc-walker.house.gov/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and joined [[Dan Burton]], [[Ernest Istook]], and [[John Doolittle]] in refounding it in 1994 after [[Newt Gingrich]] pulled its funding.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Cabal That Quietly Took Over the House|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/the-cabal-that-quietly-took-over-the-house/276213/|first=Tim|last=Alberta|date=May 24, 2013|access-date=May 27, 2020|magazine=The Atlantic}}</ref> He alternated as chairman with the other three co-founders in the late 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|title=The NEA's Uphill Battle|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/04/10/the-neas-uphill-battle/086192ef-b3be-4daf-a81f-8bbe6dc4d97e/|first=Jacqueline|last=Trescott|date=May 25, 2020|access-date=May 25, 2020|newspaper=April 10, 1997}}</ref>

In November 1997, Johnson was one of eighteen Republicans in the House to co-sponsor [[1997 impeachment resolution by Bob Barr|a resolution]] by [[Bob Barr]] that sought to launch an [[Impeachment inquiry in the United States|impeachment inquiry]] against President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="pace1">{{cite web |last1=Pace |first1=David |title=17 in House seek probe to impeach president |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/498562556 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Record | agency= The Associated Press |access-date=4 March 2021 |language=en |date=6 Nov 1997 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="hutcheson"/> The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations.<ref name="hutcheson">{{cite web |last1=Hutcheson |first1=Ron |title=Some House Republicans can't wait for elections |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/197738955 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Asheville Citizen-Times |agency= Knight-Rider Newspapers |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=17 Nov 1997}}</ref> This was an early effort to [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeach]] Clinton, predating the eruption of the [[Clinton–Lewinsky scandal]]. The eruption of that scandal would ultimately lead to a more serious effort to impeach Clinton in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barkham |first1=Patrick |title=Clinton impeachment timeline |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1998/nov/18/clinton.usa |website=The Guardian |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=18 November 1998}}</ref> On October 8, 1998, Johnson voted in favor of legislation that was passed to open [[Impeachment inquiry against Bill Clinton|an impeachment inquiry]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 498 Roll Call 498, Bill Number: H. Res. 581, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998498 |website=clerk.house.gov |publisher=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=1 March 2021 |language=en |date=8 October 1998}}</ref> [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|On December 19, 1998]], Johnson voted in favor of all four proposed [[articles of impeachment]] against Clinton (only two of which received the needed majority of votes needed to be adopted).<ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 546 Roll Call 546, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998546 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 545 Roll Call 545, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998545 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Roll Call 544 Roll Call 544, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998544 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Washington |first1=U. S. Capitol Room H154 |last2=p:225-7000 |first2=DC 20515-6601 |title=Roll Call 543 Roll Call 543, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1998543 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=6 March 2021 |language=en |date=19 December 1998}}</ref>

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 (United States)|Social Security]] recipients. He proposed the Good Samaritan Tax Act to allow corporations to take a tax deduction for charitable giving of food. He chaired the [https://web.archive.org/web/20050624182242/http://edworkforce.house.gov/members/109th/mem-eer.htm Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations], where he encouraged small business owners to expand their [https://web.archive.org/web/20050624173626/http://edworkforce.house.gov/press/press109/first/06jun/pensionintro060905.htm pension] and<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.00525:health |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719105212/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.00525:health |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |title=Bill Summary & Status – 109th Congress (2005–2006) – H.R.525 – THOMAS (Library of Congress) |publisher=Thomas.loc.gov |date=July 27, 2005 |access-date=August 29, 2010 }}</ref> benefits for employees. In December 2016, Johnson introduced [https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/6489?r=37 H.R. 6489], a bill that would increase [[Social Security (United States)#Benefits|Social Security payments]] to low-income beneficiaries while reducing payments to high-income beneficiaries and would gradually add two years to the [[Retirement Insurance Benefits#Full retirement age|minimum age]] for receiving full retirement payments.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Richard W. |last2=Smith |first2=Karen E. |title=Comparing Democratic and Republican Approaches to Fixing Social Security: An Analysis of the Larson and Johnson Bills |url=https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103288/comparing-democratic-and-republican-approaches-to-fixing-social-security_0.pdf |publisher=Urban Institute |date=December 2020 |access-date=24 April 2023}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/6489?r=37 H.R.6489: To preserve Social Security for generations to come, reward work, and improve retirement security]". ''United States Congress''. December 8, 2016; retrieved December 12, 2016.</ref>

Johnson opposed 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sam Johnson on Energy & Oil|url=https://www.ontheissues.org/TX/Sam_Johnson_Energy_+_Oil.htm|access-date=May 27, 2020|work=On the Issues|publisher=Snopes}}</ref> He called for allowing additional drilling for oil in [[Alaska]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Moderate Republicans balk at refuge drilling|url=https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Moderate-Republicans-balk-at-refuge-drilling-1921184.php|first=Bennett|last=Roth|date=November 9, 2005|access-date=May 27, 2020|newspaper=Houston Chronicle}}</ref>

After the death of [[John McCain]], Johnson became the only Vietnam-era prisoner of war serving in Congress.<ref>{{cite news|title=McCain marks 40th anniversary of POW release|author=Catalina Camia|agency=USA Today|url=http://www.armytimes.com/mobile/news/2013/03/gannett-mccain-marks-40th-anninversary-pow-release-031413|newspaper=Army Times|date=March 14, 2013|access-date=March 15, 2013}}</ref>

In December 2017, Johnson signed a letter from Congress (along with 106 other Congress members) to [[FCC]] Chairman [[Ajit Pai]] supporting his plan to repeal [[net neutrality]] ahead of the commission's vote.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://energycommerce.house.gov/news/letter/letter-fcc-restoring-internet-freedom/|title=Letter to the FCC on Restoring Internet Freedom|date=December 13, 2017|work=ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE|access-date=December 14, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=December 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214144732/https://energycommerce.house.gov/news/letter/letter-fcc-restoring-internet-freedom/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Committee assignments===
* [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|Committee on Ways and Means]] (Interim Chair)<ref name=Neal>{{cite web|title=Neal Statement on the Passing of Former Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson|url=https://waysandmeans.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/neal-statement-passing-former-ways-and-means-subcommittee-chairman-sam|date=May 27, 2020|access-date=May 27, 2020|work=House Committee on Ways and Means|publisher=US House of Representatives|archive-date=June 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619170712/https://waysandmeans.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/neal-statement-passing-former-ways-and-means-subcommittee-chairman-sam|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** [[United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health|Subcommittee on Health]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Joint Hearing on Statutorily Required Audits of Medicare Advantage Plan Bids|url=https://waysandmeans.house.gov/legislation/hearings/joint-hearing-statutorily-required-audits-medicare-advantage-plan-bids|date=October 16, 2009|access-date=May 27, 2020|work=House Committee on Ways and Means|publisher=US House of Representatives|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808045735/https://waysandmeans.house.gov/legislation/hearings/joint-hearing-statutorily-required-audits-medicare-advantage-plan-bids|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** [[United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security|Subcommittee on Social Security]] (Chairman)<ref name=Neal/>
* [[Joint Committee on Taxation]]<ref>{{cite web|title=General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in 2015 (Joint Committee Blue Book)|url=http://www.mtc.gov/getattachment/Uniformity/Project-Teams/Partnership-Informational-Project/Joint-Committee-Blue-Book.pdf.aspx|date=March 2016|access-date=May 27, 2020|work=Joint Committee on Taxation|publisher=US House of Representatives}}</ref>

===Caucus memberships===
* Immigration Reform Caucus<ref>{{cite news|title=Dangerous Liaisons: Congressmen to Join Nativist Hate Group Today|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2009/11/06/dangerous-liaisons-congressmen-join-nativist-hate-group-today|date=November 6, 2009|access-date=May 27, 2020|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center}}</ref>
* [[United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus|International Conservation Caucus]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Members|url=https://royce.house.gov/internationalconservation/members.html|publisher=U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus|access-date=August 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801155201/https://royce.house.gov/internationalconservation/members.html|archive-date=August 1, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Public Pension Reform Caucus
* Republican Study Committee
* Sportsmen's Caucus<ref>{{cite web|title=Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Membership in the 115th Congress|url=http://congressionalsportsmen.org/uploads/home/115th_CSC_Roster.pdf|date=December 5, 2018|access-date=May 27, 2020|publisher=Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus|archive-date=February 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219123018/http://congressionalsportsmen.org/uploads/home/115th_CSC_Roster.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>