Women & Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century
August 8, 2002
New Britain, CT

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Congresswoman Nancy Johnson
Connecticut - 6th District

Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson was first elected in 1982 to represent Connecticut’s Sixth Congressional District. In 2000, the voters of the Sixth District overwhelmingly re-elected Johnson to serve a tenth term.

Hailed by the Almanac of American Politics as "one of the most active and productive members of the House," Johnson’s chief legislative priorities for the 107^th Congress are strengthening Medicare with a prescription drug benefit, expanding coverage for the uninsured, long-term care insurance affordability, reducing taxes, and improving public education. She also will continue to work for environmental protection, affordable housing and fair trade policy on behalf of her constituents.

In 1988, Johnson became the first Republican woman ever named to the powerful Ways and Means Committee, and is now the committee’s fourth-ranking Republican. In 1995, she became the first woman to chair a Ways and Means Subcommittee with her appointment as Chairwoman of the Oversight Subcommittee. During her tenure, Johnson steered the development and passage of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights II, which provided more than 30 new protections for taxpayers. She has voted for a number of middle-class tax relief measures including eliminating the earnings limit on working seniors; increasing the child care tax credit and expanding it to stay-at-home moms; and the development of pension reform to make it easier for small businesses to offer pensions and for people to enjoy retirement security.

In January 1999, Johnson was appointed Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Human Resources, which oversees the nation’s welfare laws. Her bills to improve job placement in the new welfare system and to help children in foster care make a successful transition to adulthood were signed into law. In addition, she developed the first fatherhood initiative to help fathers of children on welfare get jobs and become more effective parents, and legislation to improve the child support system to make the transition from welfare-to-work more secure.

In January 2001, Johnson was named Chairwoman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. Through her previous work on the subcommittee, Johnson became a nationally recognized leader in health care reform. She successfully sponsored legislation to guarantee health insurance to millions of American children and helped write the law that saved Medicare from bankruptcy. She has been an active co-author of reimbursement reforms to strengthen community hospitals, home health agencies and other providers, and extend Medicare coverage to cancer clinical trials. She also has introduced legislation to assure universal access to affordable care and to address the looming long-term care crisis.

Johnson’s political career began when she ran for the Connecticut State Senate in 1976, becoming the first Republican elected to the New Britain seat in 30 years — a seat she held for three terms. Prior to seeking elective office, she was active in community affairs in New Britain. A native of Chicago and a Radcliffe College graduate, Johnson and her husband Ted have three married daughters and wonderful grandchildren.