Bill Text: TX HR232 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: In memory of U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-02-19 - Referred to Local & Consent Calendars [HR232 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HR232-Introduced.html
| 89R13766 KSM-D | ||
| By: Morales Shaw | H.R. No. 232 | |
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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; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The daughter of Ezra Jackson and Ivalita Bennett | ||
| Jackson, the former Sheila Jackson was born in New York City and | ||
| grew up in Jamaica, Queens; she earned a bachelor's degree in | ||
| political science as a member of Yale University's first coed 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, and she | ||
| further served as a deputy agriculture commissioner for the State | ||
| of Texas; 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; in 2021, she sponsored H.R. 40, a resolution to | ||
| establish the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals | ||
| for African Americans, and she succeeded in shepherding it through | ||
| to a committee vote; 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. | ||
