WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is scheduled to attend the wake of longtime Congressman Eddie Bernice Johnson, who died Dec. 31 at age 89, in Dallas on Monday night.
Biden's visit to Dallas will be his first since taking office. Presidents rarely attend the funerals of former members of Congress, and this visit reflects both Johnson's prominence and accomplishments and Biden's fondness for him. White House aides confirmed Friday night that Biden would travel to Dallas to pay his respects.
“Throughout her life and as the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, she was an icon and leader for generations of public servants, and her legacy of resilience and purpose will continue,” the president said in a statement on the day of her death. It will also be inherited.” . She told Congress, “As the first Black American elected to Congress from Dallas, I fought to expand civil rights, create jobs, fight the climate crisis, and more.”
Mr. Johnson, who retired a year ago, focused on climate policy and NASA and sought to expand America's high-tech sector, ending his 30-year legislative career as chairman of the House science committee.
Biden signs bipartisan infrastructure legislation into law in 2022, two of his signature accomplishments, providing funding to jump-start investment in clean energy technology and restore the U.S. semiconductor industry He praised her leadership in helping to pass two major achievements: the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act.
“Eddie Bernice turned a childhood dream of working in health care into a lifetime of service, fighting to give millions of Americans access to health care, education, and opportunity,” he said. Stated.
Johnson is scheduled to lie in court Monday at the state building in Fair Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A wake is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Concord Church, and a funeral will be held Tuesday morning. She will be buried Wednesday at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
It is unusual for Biden to be absent from Dallas as president, in his third year in office.
The region is rich in donors from both parties and regularly attracts presidents. Many stumbled through Dallas for themselves and allies seeking seats in the Senate or House, or sought platforms to speak at trade groups and other conventions.
Mr. Johnson, who was elected in 1992 after serving as a Texas state senator, served in Congress with Mr. Biden for 16 years before giving up his Senate seat to become vice president.
“She and I have worked together throughout my 30 years in Congress,” Biden recalled in a statement. He expressed his condolences to her family and said voters in Texas' 30th Congressional District, based in southern Dallas County, were “very fortunate to have had her as their advocate for so long.” said.
He praised her as a “dedicated nurse, state legislator, and longtime American lawmaker of immense courage and dedication to America's promise.” She had an unwavering dedication to the people of North Texas…. I will always be grateful for her friendship and partnership. ”
Johnson faced racial discrimination when she began her career as a nurse at a Veterans Administration hospital in Dallas, but rose to become chief psychiatric nurse. “She helped us fulfill her most sacred duty: to care for the troops our country sends into harm's way,” Biden said.
