[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E47-E48]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE 20TH 
                                CENTURY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 1, 2000

  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that I greatly 
admire President Lyndon B. Johnson. Beginning last year, I have 
submitted, for the Congressional Record, several well written articles 
regarding the accomplishments of this historic Texan. Even today, his 
domestic agenda still influences our lives.
  On December 31, 1999, the Houston Chronicle published an article 
written by Stuart Lutz in which he makes the case that President 
Johnson should be considered the most influential American of the past 
50 years. In his article, Mr. Lutz writes that ``the 36th president, in 
his 62-month term, radically advanced civil rights, initiated dozens of 
progressive federal programs to eradicate poverty and train new 
workers, expanded a small war in Southeast Asia and caused Americans to 
question the integrity of the presidency.'' He concludes by stating 
that ``it is hard, however, to see that anyone has had a greater 
influence on Americans' everyday lives over the past 50 years than the 
Texas giant, Lyndon Johnson.''
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude my remarks by including, in its 
entirety, this very important article

         The Case for a Texas Giant as Man of the Half Century

                            (By Stuart Lutz)

       The Great Society, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Gulf 
     of Tonkin, Medicaid, the credibility gap, Vietnam and the War 
     on Poverty. These actions and events are among the most 
     powerful of the second half of the 20th century. They also 
     all have the indelible stamp of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 
     most influential American of the past 50 years.
       The 36th president, in his 62-month term, radically 
     advanced civil rights, initiated dozens of progressive 
     federal programs to eradicate poverty and train new worker, 
     expanded a small war in Southeast Asia and caused Americans 
     to question the integrity of the presidency. His forceful 
     actions that greatly changed America for the better and worse 
     came in four distinct areas: civil rights; Vietnam; 
     governmental lying; and progressive domestic legislation. 
     Let's examine them one by one:
       Civil rights. Johnson desperately wanted to be remembered 
     as the president who did more for African-Americans than 
     anyone since Abraham Lincoln. Using his trademark legislative 
     maneuvering in the wake of the Kennedy assassination, he 
     secured passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In a few pen 
     strokes, he outlawed segregation in employment and public 
     accommodations, thus giving Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's goal 
     of racial equality a legislative framework.
       To further his commitment to civil rights, LBJ signed the 
     1965 Voting Rights Act that banned literacy tests, encouraged 
     minority voter registration and empowered the federal 
     government to enforce its provisions. He also appointed 
     Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American Supreme Court 
     justice. Johnson's actions changed voting blocs and paved the 
     way for minority Cabinet members, mayors and governors. Most 
     importantly, to America's youth today, ``Colored'' signs and 
     segregated accommodations are antiques of the foggy past.
       Vietnam. This was the most important and influential 
     American event in the second half of the 20th century. 
     Johnson turned a small conflict into a war involving over 
     500,000 American troops. After the manufactured Gulf of 
     Tonkin ``incident'' in August 1964, Johnson secured the right 
     to wage virtually unlimited war on North Vietnam and 
     knowingly lied about the war's failing results. Vietnam 
     assumes such overriding importance in the second half of the 
     century because it is the defining and dividing event for the 
     baby boom generation, since virtually all males needed to 
     decide whether to be drafted, evade the military either 
     legally or illegally, or flee to Canada.
       Since Lyndon Johnson's war, the American public has been 
     reluctant to allow presidents

[[Page E48]]

     to send troops abroad--whether to Grenada, Iraq or Bosnia. 
     Vietnam caused American foreign policy to become more 
     isolationist and made Americans reconsider Teddy Roosevelt's 
     vision of our role as the world's policeman.
       Government lying. When Johnson was inaugurated at Dallas' 
     Love Field following John Kennedy's assassination, Americans 
     respected and generally believed their presidents. By early 
     1968, LBJ's self-created ``credibility gap'' forced him to 
     give speeches only at military bases, and he chose not to run 
     for re-election. Johnson's falsehoods about Vietnam led Sen. 
     Robert Kennedy of New York, his challenger for the Democratic 
     nomination, to state that Johnson ``tells so many lies that 
     he convinces himself he's telling the truth.''
       Although Richard Nixon was the only president to resign, 
     LBJ's administration set the stage. Since Johnson's term in 
     office, the American public has never fully believed the 
     statements of succeeding presidents, whether it was Ronald 
     Reagan's poor recollection of the Iran-contra scandal or Bill 
     Clinton's ``I didn't inhale'' statement.
       Progressive legislation. Lyndon Johnson wanted to be best 
     remembered as ``the president who educated young children . . 
     . helped to feed the hungry . . . and helped the poor to find 
     their own way.'' Johnson's progressive domestic legislation, 
     popularly known as the Great Society, included Medicare and 
     Medicaid, the Job Corps, Head Start, the Water Quality Act, 
     the Clean Air Act, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and 
     the Highway Safety Act. These laws not only increased the 
     power of the federal government and made it a watchdog for 
     citizens, they provided a safety net for all, particularly 
     the poor, elderly and disadvantaged.
       With the exception of Franklin Roosevelt, no other 20th-
     century president has passed so much influential domestic 
     legislation. Today, Johnson's three-decade-old vision is 
     hotly debated on Capitol Hill as Congress tries to 
     decentralize welfare and keep Medicare afloat.
       Many Americans have had a profound effect over the past 
     half century. It is hard, however, to see that anyone has had 
     a greater influence on Americans' everyday lives over the 
     past 50 yeas than the Texas giant, Lyndon Johnson.

     

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