Congressman Mike Johnson is a Republican member of Congress proudly serving Louisiana’s Fourth District. He represents the nearly 760,000 residents of 15 parishes in the northwest and western regions of the state. Mike was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on December 10, 2016, by the largest margin of victory in his region in more than 50 years and is currently serving his third term in Congress.
In January 2021, Mike was elected by his colleagues to serve as Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference, one of the seven elected leadership positions for Republicans in the House of Representatives. In this leadership role, Mike helps guide his Republican colleagues to fight for core conservative principles and policies.
Because government has refused to live within its means, America is facing an unprecedented debt and spending crisis. Federal debt now exceeds $26 trillion, and our current fiscal path is unsustainable and dangerous, jeopardizing our nation's economic growth, stability and the security of future generations. Congress has a moral and constitutional duty to resolve the crisis, bring spending under control, balance the federal budget, reform and modernize entitlement programs, eliminate fraud, waste and abuse, pursue continued pro-growth tax reforms and permanent tax reductions, and restore regular order and accountability in the budget and appropriations processes.
Government often stands as the greatest obstacle to the progress and prosperity of free people. Free markets and free trade agreements allow for innovation, improvement and economic expansion as risk-takers, entrepreneurs and business owners are given the liberty to pursue the American dream and create more jobs and upward mobility for more people. We believe competition should be encouraged, and government intervention and regulation should be limited. The people are better qualified to make decisions about their own lives and finances than bureaucrats, and the private sector will outperform the public sector in virtually every scenario. The free enterprise system rewards hard work and self-sacrifice and is the basis and genius of the American economy.
Because all men are created equal and in the image of God, every human life has inestimable dignity and value, and every person should be measured only by the content of their character. A just government protects life, honors marriage and family as the primary institutions of a healthy society, and embraces the vital cultural influences of religion and morality. Public policy should always encourage education and emphasize the virtue of hard work as a pathway out of-poverty, while public assistance programs should be reserved only for those who are truly in need. In America, everyone who plays by the rules should get a fair shot. By preserving these ideals, we will maintain the goodness of America that has been the secret to our greatness.
The birth of our great nation was inspired by the bold declaration that our individual, God-given liberties should be preserved against government intrusion. That same conviction informs our conservative policy decisions still today.
In America, we proclaim the self-evident truths that all of us are created equal and granted by God the same inherent freedoms, such as the natural and unalienable rights to life, liberty, conscience, free speech and the free exercise of religion, and the ability to pursue happiness, own property, build wealth and defend ourselves and our families. The purpose of government is to secure these rights, and the ideas we advance should always aim to maintain and increase the liberty of the American people.
For individual liberty to be championed, government must be reduced. We believe, as our founders did, that legitimate government operates only by the consent of the governed and is more efficient and less corrupt when it is limited in its size and scope. When applied as written, our incomparable Constitution provides important safeguards against government encroachment, a vital separation of powers, and a necessary system of checks and balances. Federalism, decentralized authority, and the elimination of unnecessary regulations and bureaucracy help ensure that government serves the people, and not the other way around. The best protection against government largesse is an engaged and informed electorate.
The first obligation of the federal government is to provide for the "common defense" of the United States by protecting our homeland and our strategic interests abroad. Because America serves in a natural role of moral leadership in an increasingly dangerous world, and weakness invites aggression, we must remain the strongest military power on earth fully prepared and capable of defeating any adversaries, tyrants or terrorists, under any circumstances, at any time. Adequate investment is necessary to maintain the air, land, sea, nuclear and cyber warfare.
Ours is "a government of laws and not of men," and the rule of law is our foundation. To maintain ordered liberty and a civilized society, public and private virtue should be encouraged, and justice must be administered equally and impartially to all. Each branch of government must adhere to the Constitution, and the judicial branch must not be allowed to assume or exercise legislative or executive powers. Transparency and accountability are keys to good government, and Congress must faithfully perform its constitutional responsibility of oversight.
Among the top priorities for this Congress and the administration have been resolving America's illegal immigration crisis and securing our borders. Due to years of lax enforcement, nearly 11 million illegal aliens now reside in the United States, and misguided efforts to ignore and even reward those who have broken our immigration laws have created serious problems for our economy, the safety of our communities and our national security.
In an effort to help address the growing crisis, I helped lead the passage of the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act and Kate’s Law to provide more tools to fight so-called “sanctuary city” policies and impose harsher penalties for illegal immigrants who are repeat offenders. To address the problem at the source, the 115th Congress appropriated the largest increase for border security technologies and infrastructure in more than a decade.
Illegal immigration is also having serious negative consequences for the U.S. economy and has led to substantial abuses in government assistance programs. That is why I introduced legislation reforming our asylum laws to prevent fraud and abuse of the system. America is a truly compassionate nation, and this bill reflects our values by repairing our broken system while still providing lifesaving protection to people legitimately fleeing violence and persecution.
I have already supported many initiatives to ensure our lawful path to citizenship is respected and followed by future immigrants, and I will continue to advocate for policies that further secure our borders and halt illegal immigration.
America is on the brink of an economic boom. We are experiencing record highs in the stock market, historically low unemployment rates and extraordinary numbers of new jobs. Much of this is due to the hard work we have done in Congress, including passing the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and dramatically reducing burdensome and duplicative regulations.
At this pivotal moment, we should be doing everything within our power to encourage additional business investments and production to create even more job growth, economic opportunity and mobility for all Americans. The best way to continue on this trajectory is to get government out of the way so the free market can flourish again, and entrepreneurs and small business owners can expand even further. Small businesses are the backbone of the economy in Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District, as well as the country at large.
Our constant challenge is the nation’s crushing debt, which has now surpassed $20 trillion and increases with each passing moment. If we do not address the debt crisis quickly and responsibly, continued economic growth will be hindered and we will create a problem for our children and grandchildren that is insurmountable.
We must put an end to the excessive and wasteful spending of Washington by passing a balanced budget amendment to ensure the federal government cannot spend more revenue than it takes in. American families make hard choices every day to ensure they live within their means, and government should be held to the same standard.
Our dramatically simplified federal tax code and drastic reductions in federal red tape have been important achievements in the 115th Congress so far, and we can accomplish much more if we will insist upon good stewardship of taxpayer resources and the application of common sense.
The first responsibility of any just government is to protect the safety and security of its people. America remains the beacon of freedom and “the last great hope of man on the earth,” as Ronald Reagan used to say, precisely because we maintain peace through our strength. Freedom is never free.
Every minute of every day, the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces make extraordinary sacrifices to ensure that we remain the greatest military power the world has ever known. With the constant threat of tyrants and terrorists, that power is as important today as it has ever been.
To be successful in its critical mission, our military must be supplied with all the resources it needs. Our readiness and capabilities suffered greatly under the previous eight years of the Obama administration, as repeated cuts to our military budget resulted in aging equipment and scarce training resources. This Congress and the Trump administration have taken many important steps to rebuild our military by restoring and increasing vital budgets and supplying for the needs of our warfighters. Investing in our military must remain our first priority.
Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District is the proud home of two of the nation’s most vital and strategic military installations – Fort Polk Army Base and Barksdale Air Force Base. I will continue to work every day in Congress to advocate for our bases and the thousands of soldiers and airmen who serve here, and to preserve their existing missions and add new ones. I am proud of what we have accomplished already in securing funding and authorizations for our various installation needs, and there is much more work to be done.
It has been said that America really has four branches of government. Our Constitution outlines the executive, legislative and judicial branches, but over the years, a fourth branch has gradually evolved. It is known as the bureaucracy, and it is filled with federal agencies, divisions, bureaucrats and regulators who are constantly expanding the size and scope of big government.
At various times in our history, the bureaucracy has grown at a faster rate. During the Obama administration, volumes of new and unnecessary regulations were created that negatively impacted the daily lives of Americans, often with little or no regard to the enormous costs of implementing all that red tape.
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows new rules and regulations to be reexamined after a president leaves office but, until this year, it had only been used successfully on one occasion. In the first few months of 2017, however, the 115th Congress passed 14 CRA resolutions to roll back harmful and duplicative regulations so the America people could continue to build and prosper without government obstruction.
One example of our ongoing reform efforts is my legislation, the Streamlining Environmental Approvals Act of 2017 (SEA Act), which has already passed in the Natural Resources Committee. The SEA Act sets firm permitting deadlines and reduces duplicative and burdensome regulations that have hampered energy exploration off our coast, as well as stymied Louisiana’s coastal restoration projects.
In a republic, government should never set itself up as an adversary of the people. Scaling back the bloated regulatory state created by past administrations is imperative to the continued success of our economy. This Congress will remain focused on our regulatory reform efforts so we can continue expanding American business and entrepreneurship—instead of government.
Before I was elected to Congress, I practiced in the area of constitutional law for nearly two decades, defending our fundamental freedoms and tackling some of the most difficult legal questions facing our nation.
Given that background, I was appointed to serve in Congress on the powerful House Judiciary Committee. Often referred to as “the lawyer for the House of Representatives,” the Judiciary Committee is one of the oldest and most historic committees, and it has broad jurisdiction over many important areas and issues, including two of the largest federal agencies of the United States government—the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
Also included in the scope of responsibility of the Judiciary Committee are all matters pertaining to America’s criminal justice system, immigration laws, civil liberties and privacy, the balance between constitutional rights and national security, espionage, terrorism, the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and much more. Of particular importance to Louisiana’s Fourth District is our committee’s role in reining in burdensome regulation that harms America’s economy and stifles job growth.
I am thankful to have been appointed to a coveted seat on the Judiciary Committee, and I will remain an active and engaged member to represent the Fourth District’s concerns on these important matters.
Much of my work in Congress thus far has been associated with my role on the strategic House Natural Resources Committee. Because Louisiana is distinguished among all other states for its abundant natural resources, the jurisdiction of this committee is of great importance to our Fourth Congressional District.
I am grateful to have been appointed to a leadership role, serving as vice chairman of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and on the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
Because Louisiana is a primary producer of our nation’s oil and natural gas, among other resources, our state will play a key role in meeting America’s new goal of energy dominance. We currently lead the nation in energy production and the advancement of new production technologies can solidify that position. To ensure continued innovation and additional investment, I and my colleagues have worked to cut burdensome and duplicative government red tape, and encourage projects that will generate even more clean, renewable energy and add more jobs in Louisiana.
I look forward to continuing these efforts so we can maximize Louisiana’s many natural resources to promote economic growth and ensure the safety and security of our nation.