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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Houston lost a political icon and |
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fierce champion of social justice with the passing of |
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U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee on July 19, 2024, at the age |
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of 74; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of Ezra Jackson and Ivalita Bennett |
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Jackson, the former Sheila Jackson was born in New York City on |
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January 12, 1950, and grew up in the borough of Queens; she earned a |
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bachelor's degree in political science as a member of Yale |
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University's first co-ed class and went on to complete her law |
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degree at the University of Virginia; following her marriage to |
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Elwyn Lee, a Houston native, she became the proud mother of two |
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children, Jason and Erica; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1978, Congresswoman Jackson Lee moved to the |
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Bayou City with her husband and began working for the Fulbright & |
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Jaworski law firm; appointed as a municipal judge in 1987, she later |
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became a highly effective member of the city council; she won her |
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first congressional race in 1994 and was reelected 14 times, never |
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with less than 70 percent of the vote; known for her formidable work |
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ethic, she filed scores of bills addressing the needs of the most |
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vulnerable, and she did not hesitate to work across the aisle to |
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pass them; after the Violence Against Women Act expired in 2019, she |
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fought for its reenactment and authored the legislation that |
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achieved that goal; she was also the author and lead sponsor of the |
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Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which established the |
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first new federal holiday in nearly four decades; her many other |
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major initiatives included the Sentencing Reform Act, Paycheck |
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Fairness Act, and George Floyd Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity |
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Act; known for her passionate speeches on the House floor, she |
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advocated for gay rights long before mainstream acceptance of the |
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movement and continued to serve as a powerful voice for progressive |
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causes, including Black Lives Matter and gun control; she took her |
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message to innumerable media outlets as well; most recently, she |
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lent her support to a federal version of the CROWN Act to prevent |
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discrimination based on hairstyles favored by people of color; and |
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WHEREAS, Congresswoman Jackson Lee held numerous leadership |
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roles, including chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee for Crime, |
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Terrorism, and Homeland Security and senior member of the |
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Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget Committees; she was the |
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House Democrats' chief deputy whip, chair of the Congressional |
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Black Caucus Energy Braintrust, co-chair of the Justice Reform Task |
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Force, and a founder and chair of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus |
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and the Congressional Children's Caucus; Congressional Quarterly |
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ranked her among the 50 most effective members of Congress; and |
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WHEREAS, Devoted to her constituents, Congresswoman Jackson |
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Lee was instrumental in directing billions of federal dollars to |
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under-resourced communities; she helped her city recover from |
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numerous natural disasters and other crises, even personally |
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directing traffic to a COVID-19 testing site at the height of the |
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pandemic and unloading food and supplies for residents during the |
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2021 freeze; over the years, she appeared at countless local |
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meetings and events, and she demonstrated deep compassion to those |
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suffering loss, attending funerals, extending words of comfort, and |
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connecting the bereaved with support services; and |
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WHEREAS, Sheila Jackson Lee was a fearless warrior in behalf |
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of freedom, democracy, and positive change, and although she will |
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be greatly missed, her exceptional contributions will continue to |
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resonate in the years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Sheila Jackson Lee and |
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extend sincere condolences to the members of her family: to her |
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husband, Elwyn Lee; to her children, Jason and Erica Lee; to her |
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grandchildren, Ellison Bennett Carter and Roy Lee Carter III; and |
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to her other relatives, her many friends, and all who mourn her |
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passing; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Sheila |
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Jackson Lee. |