Dallas-area U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn introduced a bill to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas after the late Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, the pair announced Thursday.
The bill would rename the facility to the “Eddie Bernice Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center” in honor of the congresswoman's 30 years representing Texas' 30th Congressional District following a decade in the Texas Legislature.
Crockett said Johnson’s legacy is in every corner of the district she represents.
"Throughout her 30 years of service to the people of North Texas, Congresswoman Johnson was guided by her service-driven heart and compassion for Texans in need,” Crockett said in a press release.
Johnson was first sworn in to Congress in 1992 and was the dean of the Texas Congressional delegation before retiring from office in 2022. Crockett later replaced her as the district’s representative.
Johnson died at the age of 89 on New Year’s Eve 2023, and was remembered as a trailblazer: she was the first Black woman elected to public office in Dallas County.
Days after Johnson’s death, an attorney sent a pre-lawsuit notice to the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation on behalf of her son, Kirk Johnson, who alleged negligence from the nursing staff while she was recovering from back surgery.
Those claims were later settled with the hospital renaming a nursing scholarship in Johnson’s honor and contributing to a nonprofit dedicated to furthering causes she was passionate about while in office.
During her time in public office, Johnson introduced the Department of Energy Veterans’ Health Initiative Act in 2019 and the Strengthening Mental Health Supports for BIPOC Communities Act in 2020.
Before that, she worked as the chief psychiatric nurse and psychotherapist at the Dallas Veterans Administration Hospital for nearly 20 years. Johnson was the first Black female psychiatric nurse at the hospital.
“Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson was a trailblazer and longtime advocate for veterans,” Cornyn said in the release. “This legislation to rename the VA Medical Center in Dallas in Congresswoman Johnson’s honor—nearly 70 years after she was hired as a nurse at this very hospital—would ensure her legacy of service is forever preserved.”
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