Qualifications & Education
I have served more than 25 years in public office. I served as an alderman, mayor and state representative. I served 12 years in the United States Marine Corps. I have more than 20 years experience as a television news broadcaster and coordinating director. I have a BA in Mass Communications from Rust College and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administrations from Jackson State University.
Campaign Phone
(662)205-5902
I will work for the following priorities:
1. - Lowering the high cost of living.
2. - Making public safety a top priority.
3. - Ensuring our national security is supported by a robust national defense.
4. - Improving healthcare delivery and affordability.
5. - Enhancing all aspects of education to ensure Americans’ competitiveness in a global economy.
6. - Reducing the tax burden on working families.
7. - Addressing the pressing challenges of climate change.
8. - Increasing the national minimum wage and supporting worker bargaining power.
9. - Reducing the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs.
10. - Assisting veterans in obtaining all the benefits they are entitled to promptly.
11. Helping families with affordable housing.
12. Helping families with the high cost of childcare.
13. Helping families with the challenges they face when they reach retirement age.
14. Working to make prescription drugs more affordable.
My prior public service as an alderman, state representative and mayor has made me uniquely qualified for this position. Also my service in the United States Marine Corps as a noncommissioned officer gave me valuable experience. Finally my 20 plus years in television news broadcasting broaden my understanding of many issues relating to government and the press.
My focus on healthcare policy would center on the affordability of healthcare and prescription drugs. I would also seek ways to lower the cost of insurance premiums while at the same time simplifying healthcare access and delivery.
Our existing laws which center around the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), defines visa categories, admission rules, grounds of inadmissibility and deportability, and many enforcement powers. Humanitarian programs such as Asylum, refugee status, and other protections included in the Refugee Act of 1980 are solid foundations to build upon with the ultimate goal, being to ensure our immigration policy is humane, fair and comprehensive.
America cannot be the police for the entire world. Our foreign policy should reflect supporting and maintaining the alliances with allies when there policies are complementary to ours. We should seek peace both economically and militarily through diplomacy while making sure our defense capabilities are always ready to keep our country safe. As a military veteran I understand the importance of a strong military, but I also recognize the power of diplomacy and mutual respect for the sovereignty of other countries.
Qualifications & Education
J.D. Columbia University School of Law; B.A. Mississippi College
Links - Social Media, Other
facebook.com/cliffjohnsonforcongress
My goals are to address the needs of people in the First District who are struggling to make ends meet, to resist the dangerous anti-Democratic efforts of the current administration, and be accessible to my constituents.
I am a civil rights lawyer who has practiced law in Mississippi for 33 years. I'm also a former Assistant United States Attorney who prosecuted large health care corporations and their executives. I know how to stand up to bullies, and I am not afraid of a fight. My work has focused on the criminalization of poverty, and I am committed to protecting those who are struggling and too often are treated unfairly.
I would make the ACA subsidies permanent and vote to repeal the Trump Administration's budget bill. I would provide incentives for Medicaid expansion in Mississippi and use my office to encourage Mississippi to at long last expand Medicaid benefits. It is critical that we protect rural hospitals and make certain provider reimbursement rates for primary care services properly incentivize rural care. We must view health care as a basic human right and not use it as a political tool.
We must end the current Administration's inhumane enforcement efforts and provide a common-sense path to permanent status for immigrants who have lived here and not committed serious crimes. Our immigration efforts should focus on modern and effective border security. It is vital that we stop dehumanizing immigrants and recognize the substantial contributions they make to our country.
The United States must take seriously its relationship with allies and reverse this administration's destructive alienation of countries that have long been critical to our global security and economic growth. We must speak truth to those allies who are committing atrocities and not be complicit to their wrongdoing. Diplomacy should be more than threats of military and economic sanctions, and we should renew USAID. At all times, we must guard against our enemies gaining access to nuclear arsenals that pose legitimate threats to the United States and others.
