Sheila Jackson Lee

Sheila Jackson Lee
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 18th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Craig Washington
Member of the Houston City Council from the At-large #4 District
In office January 2, 1990 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Anthony Hall
Succeeded by	John Peavy
Personal details
Born	(1950-01-12) January 12, 1950 Queens, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Dr. Elwyn C. Lee
Residence(s)	Houston, Texas
Alma mater	Yale University University of Virginia Law School
Profession	Attorney
Website	jacksonlee.house.gov

Sheila Jackson Lee (born January 12, 1950) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 18th congressional district, serving since 1995. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Jackson Lee graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens. She earned a B.A. in political science from Yale University in 1972, followed by a J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School in 1975. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Early political career

Jackson Lee made three unsuccessful attempts at local judgeships before becoming a municipal judge from 1987 to 1990. Jackson Lee, along with Sylvia Garcia, were appointed by then Mayor of Houston Kathy Whitmire. In 1989 she won the at-large position for a seat on the Houston City Council, serving until 1994. While on the city council, Jackson Lee helped pass an ordinance that punished parents who did not keep their guns away from children, which was framed as a gun safety issue. She also worked for expanded summer hours at city parks and recreation centers as a way to combat gang violence.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism
  • Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection (Chairwoman)
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy
  • Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
  • Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
  • Task Force on Judicial Impeachment

Caucuses

• 9-11 Commission Caucus
• Bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus
• Building a Better America Caucus (BABAC)
• Congressional Algeria Caucus – co-chair
• Congressional Arts Caucus
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues
• Congressional Caucus on Ethiopia and Ethiopian-Americans
• Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Affairs
• Congressional Caucus on Nigeria
• Congressional Caucus on the Judicial Branch
• Congressional Caucus to Fight & Control Methamphetamine
• Congressional Children’s Caucus
• Congressional Coastal Caucus
• Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety
• Congressional Diabetes Caucus
• Congressional Entertainment Industries Caucus
• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional French Caucus
• Congressional Gulf of Mexico Caucus
• Congressional Human Rights Caucus
• Congressional Internet Caucus
• Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus
• Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus
• Congressional Native American Caucus
• Congressional Pakistan Caucus – co-chair
• Congressional Port Security Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Recycling Caucus
• Congressional Tri-Caucus
• Congressional Urban Caucus
• Congressional USO Caucus
• Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus
• Congressional Vision Caucus
• Congressional Wireless Caucus
• Friends of Norway Caucus
• High Tech Caucus
• House Democratic Caucus
• Children and Families Task Force
• Democratic Outreach Task Force – co-chair
• Faith and Values in Politics Task Force
• Homeland Security Task Force
• Immigration Task Force
• Katrina Task Force
• House Democratic Steering Committee
• House Hunger Caucus
• Interstate 69 Caucus
• Law Enforcement Caucus
• National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus
• Out of Iraq Caucus
• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus
• Songwriters Caucus
• TEX-21 Congressional Caucus
• US-Afghan Caucus – co-chair

Prior to the 110th Congress, Jackson Lee served on the House Science Committee and on the Subcommittee that oversees space policy and NASA.

Jackson Lee is one of the most liberal members of the Texas delegation, and one of the most liberal members ever to represent the state. She is a staunch supporter of affirmative action, immigrant and women's rights. Jackson Lee's role model is Barbara Jordan, who represented the same congressional district from 1973 to 1979. Like Jordan before her, Jackson Lee uses her seat on the Judiciary Committee to focus attention on civil rights, abortion rights and other liberal causes.

Minority issues are at the forefront of Jackson Lee's political concerns. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Jackson Lee has traveled to South Africa to decry racism and has backed sanctions against Sudan. On April 28, 2006, Jackson Lee, along with four other members of Congress and six other activists, was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of Sudan's embassy in Washington. They were protesting the role of Sudan's government in ethnic cleansing in Darfur.

Jackson Lee on occasion has partnered with Republicans in Congress, for instance backing President George W. Bush's energy plan, which was strongly criticized by environmentalists. In 2000, she favored permanently normalizing trade status for China, arguing that it would aid both human rights and Houston's economy.

She was one of the 31 who voted in the House not to count the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 Presidential election.

In July 2003 Jackson Lee stated that the 2003 list of hurricanes was too "lily white" and sought to have more African-American sounding names on the list. Jackson Lee said that she hoped federal weather officials would "try to be inclusive of African-American sounding names".

Jackson Lee is one of the cosponsors of the 2007 Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act.

Venezuela

Jackson Lee has urged better relations between the U.S. and Venezuela, which she describes as a friendly nation. She said the U.S. should reconsider its ban on selling F-16 fighter jets and spare parts to that country. The U.S. State Department bans such sales due to "lack of support" for counter-terrorist operations and Venezuela's relations with Iran and Cuba.

Controversies

In 2010, Jackson Lee stated that, "...victory had been achieved" by the United States in Vietnam. She went on to state, "Today, we have two Vietnams; side-by-side, North and South, exchanging and working. We may not agree with all that North Vietnam is doing, but they are living in peace. I would look for a better human rights record for North Vietnam, but they are living side by side. Because that was a civil war, and because the leadership of this nation did not listen to the mothers and fathers who beared...bore the burden of 58,000 dead and did not declare victory; the mounting deaths; the violence continued going up and up, rather than understanding the political nature of the war in Vietnam, we did not listen to those families." In fact, the territories of North and South Vietnam were united under communist rule after the withdrawal of the United States in the 1970s.

In 2009, Jackson Lee reintroduced a proposal to amend the Constitution to guarantee the rights of women. "Twenty-seven other countries, including Rwanda, Afghanistan, Algeria and China have equality provisions," Lee said. It is generally recognized that countries such as Afghanistan refuse to respect the rights of women.

In 1997, during a subcommittee briefing, Jackson Lee asked a NASA scientist if the Mars Pathfinder had photographed the flag that Neil Armstrong had left on the moon.

Congresswoman Jackson Lee has had multiple incidents as a passenger on Continental Airlines in the past. In 1998, she allegedly caused an incident with flight attendants when she was not given the in-flight meal she had requested, reportedly saying, "I'm Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee! Where is my seafood meal? I know it was ordered!" In 1999, on another Continental flight departing Reagan National Airport, the Congresswoman got off the plane to retrieve her purse from the terminal; when the plane left without her - and with her purse onboard - she demanded airline employees get the plane to return to the gate. When told by Continental workers that FAA regulations would not allow that, Jackson Lee accused them of being racist.

Political campaigns

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2010 § District 18

In 1994, Jackson Lee, then serving her third term as a member of the Houston City Council, defeated incumbent Congressman Craig Washington in the Democratic primary for the 18th District of Texas. The victory was tantamount to election in this heavily Democratic district. She was handily reelected in November and has been reelected seven times with no substantive opposition, usually winning over 70 percent of the vote. The Republicans did not run a candidate against her in 1998 or 2004.

In 2008, she endorsed Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.

Personal life

Jackson Lee moved to Houston after her husband, Dr. Elwyn C. Lee, took a job at the University of Houston. Her husband now holds a dual position of Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Student Affairs of the University of Houston System ("UHS") and the University of Houston ("UH"), respectively.

References

Alison Cook, Alison Cook looks back at 1997: The Year That Bit, Houston Press, May 2, 2007.

External links

• Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, official U.S. House site
• Sheila Jackson Lee for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Sheila Jackson Lee, Accountable Corporations The Nation, January 19, 2006
• Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: Immigration is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time Democracy Now, April 4, 2006
• Tim Fleck, What's Driving Miss Sheila? Houston Press, February 20, 2007