WASHINGTON After a protracted fight with pancreatic cancer, Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Houston and one of the longest-serving members of Texas’ congressional delegation, passed away on Friday. She was seventy-four. In the 1994 Democratic primary, Jackson Lee overcame four-term U.S. Representative Craig Washington despite being the underdog. She went on to become a mainstay in Congress and Houston, with connections to the highest levels of the Democratic Party.
President Joe Biden stated in a statement issued on Saturday that “she was unrelenting in her leadership, no matter the issue—from delivering racial justice to building an economy for working people.” “Always fearless, she spoke truth to power and gracefully and dignifiedly represented the power of her district’s residents in Houston.”
For many years, Jackson Lee was a progressive Capitol Hill lobbyist. She was an early supporter of homosexual rights and an opponent of the Iraq War. Jackson Lee was detained in 2021 for exercising civil disobedience in opposition to a federal voting rights law. She was a senior member of the House Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget committees at the time of her death. Speaking about subjects she cared about in front of the cameras or on the House floor, she never shied away from speaking. “In a statement, former President Bill Clinton, who supported her in races as recently as last year, stated that Hillary always said what she meant and backed up her words with action. Above all, she had a knack for finishing tasks. We simply adored her.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that Jackson Lee was a tireless fighter for fairness, equity and justice for all. “In a testament to her relentless determination, Congresswoman Jackson Lee was the author and lead sponsor of legislation that established Juneteenth as the first new federal holiday in 38 years. And as an author of the Violence Against Women Act, she was a champion for the rights of women,” Pelosi said.
On Friday, March 24, 2023, Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Houston, speaks during a rally in support of the Senate’s passage of a nationwide assault weapons ban in Washington, D.C. For The Texas Tribune, Julia Nikhinson is credited. In the 18th Congressional District, which covers Downtown Houston, Jackson Lee was also well-known. She was well-known for frequently showing up at baby showers, food drives, funerals, and graduations of constituents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she distributed masks and urged constituents to get immunized.
She often used her trademark chutzpah to fight for federal funds to be sent to Houston. In 2009, she secured $1 billion for the city’s light rail system after cornering then-Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ahead of then-President Barack Obama’s first joint address to Congress. She could reliably be found in the aisle ahead of the State of the Union address, among the few members to directly meet with the president on his way to the dais.
Jackson Lee expressed remorse after the audio of her verbally abusing staff leaked last year, saying in a statement at the time that “in my zeal to do everything possible to deliver for my constituents I have in the past fallen short of my own standards and there is no excuse for that.”
But she has also noted that her white, male colleagues often escape the criticisms regarding how they treat staff that have followed her through her career.
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