COSSA Remembers Science Champion Eddie Bernice Johnson
On New Year’s Eve, the scientific community lost one of its most dedicated champions. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) represented the people of Dallas in Congress for 30 years, retiring at the end of 2022. Over those 15 terms in Congress, Johnson served as a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, most recently serving as Chair.
Johnson began her career as a nurse after being told that women could not be doctors. She rose through the ranks of the Veterans Administration hospital in Dallas, ultimately becoming chief psychiatric nurse. She became active in civil rights efforts and ran successfully for a seat in the Texas State Legislature in 1972. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, Johnson became the first woman and the first African American to serve on the House Science Committee.
Johnson played important roles in the development of major science legislation throughout her tenure as a member of the Science Committee, including passage of the America COMETES Act of 2010 which paved the way for new investment in federal science funding and put a spotlight on the need to make science more inclusive by expanding opportunities for women and people of color. More recently, Johnson is credited with leading efforts to enact the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022, sweeping legislation that included ambitious funding targets and other policy proposals for shoring up U.S. science agencies, including the National Science Foundation.
“The scientific community lost one of its greatest supporters with the passing of Congresswoman Johnson,” said COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus. “She left an indelible mark on the U.S. science enterprise as we know it today, especially through her dedication to diversity and representation in science. COSSA is dedicated to seeing that her work lives on.”
COSSA awarded Johnson its Distinguished Service Award in 2016 for her unwavering support for social and behavioral science research and steadfast leadership on behalf of the U.S. scientific enterprise.
Read more about Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s contributions to science in the Winter 2023 edition of Issues in Science & Technology.