Bill Text: TX HR30 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: In memory of U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-14 - Filed [HR30 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HR30-Introduced.html
| 89R5053 KRT-D | ||
| By: Morales Shaw | H.R. No. 30 | |
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| WHEREAS, Residents of Houston lost a political icon and | ||
| fierce champion of social justice with the passing of | ||
| U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee on July 19, 2024, at the age | ||
| of 74; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The daughter of Ezra Jackson and Ivalita Bennett | ||
| Jackson, the former Sheila Jackson was born in New York City on | ||
| January 12, 1950, and grew up in the borough of Queens; she earned a | ||
| bachelor's degree in political science as a member of Yale | ||
| University's first co-ed class and went on to complete her law | ||
| degree at the University of Virginia; following her marriage to | ||
| Elwyn Lee, a Houston native, she became the proud mother of two | ||
| children, Jason and Erica; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1978, Congresswoman Jackson Lee moved to the | ||
| Bayou City with her husband and began working for the Fulbright & | ||
| Jaworski law firm; appointed as a municipal judge in 1987, she later | ||
| became a highly effective member of the city council; she won her | ||
| first congressional race in 1994 and was reelected 14 times, never | ||
| with less than 70 percent of the vote; known for her formidable work | ||
| ethic, she filed scores of bills addressing the needs of the most | ||
| vulnerable, and she did not hesitate to work across the aisle to | ||
| pass them; after the Violence Against Women Act expired in 2019, she | ||
| fought for its reenactment and authored the legislation that | ||
| achieved that goal; she was also the author and lead sponsor of the | ||
| Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which established the | ||
| first new federal holiday in nearly four decades; her many other | ||
| major initiatives included the Sentencing Reform Act, Paycheck | ||
| Fairness Act, and George Floyd Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity | ||
| Act; known for her passionate speeches on the House floor, she | ||
| advocated for gay rights long before mainstream acceptance of the | ||
| movement and continued to serve as a powerful voice for progressive | ||
| causes, including Black Lives Matter and gun control; she took her | ||
| message to innumerable media outlets as well; most recently, she | ||
| lent her support to a federal version of the CROWN Act to prevent | ||
| discrimination based on hairstyles favored by people of color; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Congresswoman Jackson Lee held numerous leadership | ||
| roles, including chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee for Crime, | ||
| Terrorism, and Homeland Security and senior member of the | ||
| Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget Committees; she was the | ||
| House Democrats' chief deputy whip, chair of the Congressional | ||
| Black Caucus Energy Braintrust, co-chair of the Justice Reform Task | ||
| Force, and a founder and chair of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus | ||
| and the Congressional Children's Caucus; Congressional Quarterly | ||
| ranked her among the 50 most effective members of Congress; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Devoted to her constituents, Congresswoman Jackson | ||
| Lee was instrumental in directing billions of federal dollars to | ||
| under-resourced communities; she helped her city recover from | ||
| numerous natural disasters and other crises, even personally | ||
| directing traffic to a COVID-19 testing site at the height of the | ||
| pandemic and unloading food and supplies for residents during the | ||
| 2021 freeze; over the years, she appeared at countless local | ||
| meetings and events, and she demonstrated deep compassion to those | ||
| suffering loss, attending funerals, extending words of comfort, and | ||
| connecting the bereaved with support services; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Sheila Jackson Lee was a fearless warrior in behalf | ||
| of freedom, democracy, and positive change, and although she will | ||
| be greatly missed, her exceptional contributions will continue to | ||
| resonate in the years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Sheila Jackson Lee and | ||
| extend sincere condolences to the members of her family: to her | ||
| husband, Elwyn Lee; to her children, Jason and Erica Lee; to her | ||
| grandchildren, Ellison Bennett Carter and Roy Lee Carter III; and | ||
| to her other relatives, her many friends, and all who mourn her | ||
| passing; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of | ||
| Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Sheila | ||
| Jackson Lee. | ||
