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ABOUT CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is serving her sixth term as a member of the United States House of Representatives. She represents the 18th Congressional District of Texas, centered in Houston, which is the energy capital of the world. Congresswoman Jackson Lee earned a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University with honors, followed by a J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School.
 Congresswoman Jackson Lee sits on three Congressional Committees - the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Science. In the Committee on the Judiciary, she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims – the only female to serve as a Ranking Member of a Judiciary Subcommittee.
The Congresswoman has authored several immigration bills, such as H.R. 2092, the “Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2005”, which sets forth a comprehensive and humane solution to the immigration problem.
In the Committee on Science, Rep. Jackson Lee serves as a senior member on the Subcommittees on Energy and on Space and Aeronautics.
In addition, Congresswoman Jackson Lee is a founder, member, and co-chair of the Congressional Children’s Caucus, the Afghan Caucus, Pakistan Caucus, and newly formed Algerian Caucus. Rep. Jackson Lee recently received the 2006 Award for Policy at the 16th Annual Phillip Burton Immigration & Civil Rights Awards.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee has been hailed by “Congressional Quarterly” as one of the 50 most effective members of Congress and by “U.S. News and World Report” as one of the 10 most influential legislators in the House of Representatives.
Before her election to Congress, Congresswoman Jackson Lee served two terms as one of the first African American women At-Large members of the Houston City Council, where she chaired the first Human Relations Committee, along with the Airport and Cable Committees. Prior to her Council service, she was an Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Houston.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee is married to Dr. Elwyn C. Lee, who holds a dual position of Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Houston System and the University of Houston, respectively. They have two children Erica, who is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Duke University, and Jason, who is a second year student at Harvard University.
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BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
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Hailed by EBONY magazine as one of the "100 Most Fascinating Black Women of the Century," and "Congressional Quarterly," as one of the 50 most effective members in Congress.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1994 to represent the 18th Congressional District of Houston, Texas.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee's swearing-in as a Member of the 109th Congress marks her sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives where she continues to be an active member of Congress, pursuing and successfully achieving a number of legislative objectives.
She has distinguished herself as a staunch defender of the Constitution and a champion of civil and human rights. She is a forceful advocacte on behalf of children, working families, the elderly. She fights every day for economic, educational, and environmental policies that will make our nation more competitive, more secure, and more just.
In addition, the Congresswoman has passed legislation that instructs the National Science Foundation to donate surplus computers and scientific equipment to elementary and secondary schools.
The Congresswoman also increased funding for the Sims Bayou flood control by $3.5 million which assisted in ending the flooding of residential communities in Harris County, Texas.
During the 106th Congress, Congresswoman Jackson Lee successfully spearheaded the passage of two major pieces of legislation, House Joint Resolution 98, a bill that she authored with Senator Kennedy which honors all minority veterans who fought or served in World War II and declares May 25, 2000 as a Day of Honor in their memory, and H.R. 2130, the "Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date Rape Prevention Drug Act, named for two women (one of which was from the Congresswoman's home state of Texas) who died after ingesting the date rape drug Gamma Hydroxy-butyrate ("GHB") which was also signed into law by the President.
C ongresswoman Jackson Lee has also successfully worked to establish an Office of Special populations within the Agency for Health Research and Quality to gather statistical information to establish health needs for minorities, women, children and the elderly living in inner-cities and rural areas. In addition, the Congresswoman has recently attached over sixteen amendments to several major pieces of legislation, thus making her one of the leading legislators in Congress.
C ongresswoman Jackson Lee, a veteran of both corporate and private law practice, is a member of the House Committee on the Judiciary where she is a member of the Subcommittee on Crime and was selected as the first African-American woman to serve as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims. In this leadership role, Congresswoman Jackson Lee has worked to reform the nation's immigration laws to make the system more effective and more humane.
T he Congresswoman is also a member of the House Committee on Science, where she sits on the subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. A supporter of NASA and its contribution to American science and medical research Congresswoman Jackson Lee offered an amendment in 2005 to create the Dr. Mae C. Jemison Grant Program, which will lead to a substantial increase in minorities and women pursuing careers in math, science, and astronautics.
T he Congresswoman has also been a strong advocate for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She has worked to ensure that part of NASA's funding is used for the recruitment and training of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She also advocates for Hispanic students and Hispanic serving institutions. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to Science, in 1998 the National Technical Association (NTA) of Scientists and Engineers honored the Congresswoman with its Top Women in the Sciences Award.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee is also a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security. She serves on the Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity; Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assesment; and Management Integration and Oversight.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee is a founder and Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Children's Caucus, which is responsible for legislation that strengthened adoption laws.
C ongresswoman Jackson Lee also served on the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law where she spearheaded legislation that ensured that all priority payments like child support and alimony would be paid before any unsecured creditors, and would strike provisions that made unsecured or credit card debt competitive with child support and alimony payments. As a result of the Congresswoman's hard work she was selected by the Democratic Leader as a House conferee on the Bankruptcy Bill.
In the 104th Congress, the Congresswoman was elected President of the Democratic Freshman Class, and was appointed to serve as the freshman member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.
A lso during the 104th Congress, the Speaker of the House appointed Congresswoman Jackson Lee to the Telecommunications Reform bill. This bill, which was one of the major bills to have been considered during the 104th Congress, created new opportunities for regional telephone, long distance, broadcast and cable industries.
D uring her tenure in Congress, Congresswoman Jackson Lee has served as Co-Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, Co-Chair of the Democratic Caucus's Children's Taskforce, Speaker on the Bi-Partisan Taskforce on Youth Violence, member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, the Congressional Black Caucus where she has served as the Whip for two terms, the Internet Caucus, and the Aeronautics and the Space Caucus.
C ongresswoman Jackson Lee is also a member of the House Democratic Caucus Task Forces on Hunger, Entertainment Caucus, Welfare Reform, Economic Renewal, Affirmative Action and Travel and Tourism.
C ongresswoman Jackson Lee was also awarded for her outstanding work on mental health legislation in 1998.
Before her election to Congress, Congresswoman Jackson Lee served two terms as one of the first African American women At-Large members of the Houston City Council where she also chaired the first Human Relations Committee. Prior to her Council service, she was an Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Houston.
W hile a member of the city council, Congresswoman Jackson Lee was instrumental in the passage of legislation dealing with human rights.
She also concentrated on issues such as homelessness, gun safety and responsibility, cable television regulations, and the revision of the Traffic Modification Ordinance.
Her Council service also involved major efforts related to aviation, and urban redevelopment and revitalization.
Her commitment to community issues and problems led her to lend her efforts to numerous civic and professional organizations.
She was an active member of the State Bar of Texas, and is only one of three African-American women to have served as a Director of the State Bar of Texas. From 1987 to 1988, she chaired the Justice Court Subcommittee of the Texas Bar. Congresswoman Jackson Lee is also a former Director of the Texas Young Lawyer's Association, and was Chair of its Minority Affairs Committee.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, graduating from the Honors Program in Political Science. She went on to receive her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee is married to Dr. Elwyn C. Lee, Vice Chancellor of the University of Houston System and Special Assistant to the Chancellor of the University of Houston System. She is the mother of Erica Shelwyn, and Jason Cornelius Bennett Lee. |
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