{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-cruz-bill-to-rename-plano-va-clinic-in-honor-of-congressman-sam-johnson-heads-to-presidents-desk/", "Cornyn, Cruz Bill to Rename Plano VA Clinic in Honor of Congressman Sam Johnson Heads to President\u2019s Desk", "2024-12-21", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "TX", "John Cornyn", "C001056", "www.cornyn.senate.gov", "cornyn", "https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 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 \u201cU.S. Congressman Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic,\u201d passed the Senate and now heads to the President\u2019s desk:\n\n\u201cSam Johnson was an American hero, a statesman, a loving husband and father, and a friend,\u201d said Sen. Cornyn. \u201cWith more than five decades of service to our nation in the Air Force and Congress, Sam\u2019s 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud to have worked with Senator Cornyn to rename this facility the Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic, honoring Congressman Johnson\u2019s unwavering service to our nation, our veterans, and Texas military families,\u201dsaid Sen. Cruz.\u201cThe renaming of this facility reflects our commitment to deepening and embodying those values.\u201d\n\nThe legislation was led in the House of Representatives by Congressman Keith Self (TX-03).\n\nBackground:\n\nBorn 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 25th 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.\n\nRep. 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.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-cruz-bill-to-rename-plano-va-clinic-in-honor-of-congressman-sam-johnson-heads-to-presidents-desk/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5347960870712996, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}