Sheila Jackson Lee, 74, has died. She represented the 18th Congressional District of Texas in the United States House of Representatives. Her family announced her death in a statement shared on X.
“A fierce champion of the people, she was affectionately and simply known as ‘Congresswoman’ by her constituents in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and service to their daily lives for more than 30 years,” the statement read.
Lee, a Democrat who served 14 terms advocating for her Houston-centered district and the Constitutional rights of all people, will be remembered as the “Voice of Reason” in Congress’ halls. Upon her death, she was on three Congressional Committees: a senior member of the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and the crucial Budget Committee. She was appointed the first female Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee for Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, of which she served as Chair during the 117th Congress.
Rep. Jackson Lee orchestrated major legislative initiatives related to police-community interaction, including the Sentencing Reform Act, the George Floyd Law Enforcement Trust and Kalief’s Law. She also established the Integrity Act, the RAISE Act, the Fair Chance for Youth Act, the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act and the American RISING Act.
A champion for the rights of women and children, Rep. Jackson Lee supported the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. She introduced an amendment to funding bills that provides for outreach to minority- and women-owned businesses concerning business opportunities in the commercial space industry. She was behind the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Reauthorization, the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act and the Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act. She also authored the Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Research and Education Act.
Rep. Jackson Lee was the founder, member and chair of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus and the Congressional Children’s Caucus. She also chaired the Congressional Black Caucus Energy Braintrust and co-chaired the Justice Reform Task Force. She was a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and The Links organization.
Rep Jackson Lee is survived by her husband, Elwyn Lee, her two children, Jason Lee and Erica Lee and two grandchildren, granddaughter Ellison Bennett Carter and grandson Roy Lee Carter III. EBONY sends our deepest condolences to her family.