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Sheila Jackson-Lee (born January 12, 1950 in Queens, New York), an American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. She represents Texas' 18th Congressional District (map), which was once the domain of her role model, former congresswoman Barbara Jordan.

Biography

Early life

Jackson-Lee graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens, New York. She went on to earn 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. 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 at the University of Houston System and the University of Houston, respectively.

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 push through a gun safety ordinance that punished parents who did not keep their guns away from children. She also worked for expanded summer hours at city parks and recreation centers as a way to combat gang violence.

In 1994, Jackson-Lee (serving her third term as a member of the Houston City Council) defeated incumbent Congressman Craig Washington in the Democratic primary for the 18th Congressional District of Texas; a victory which assured her the seat itself, as the district is overwhelmingly Democratic.

As a federal legislator, Jackson-Lee is an outspoken advocate for her liberal views, which range from supporting affirmative action to immigrant and women's rights.

Jackson-Lee's role model is the famed black legislator 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. Within the past few years she has traveled to South Africa to decry racism and has backed sanctions against Sudan. She is the first vice-chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

When it comes to the residents of her district — who are overwhelmingly poor and black — 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.

Jackson-Lee currently serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection in the House Committee on Homeland Security. In that role, she has worked on bills to strengthen the security of the nation's rail and mass transit systems, as well as aviation asset. She has also conducted oversight of the protection of the nation's critical infrastructures, such as the electric grid, nuclear plants, and chemical plants.

Darfur

On 28 April 2006, Jackson-Lee, along with four other members of Congress and six other activists, was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington. They were protesting the role of Sudan's government in ethnic cleansing in Darfur.

Controversy

Jackson-Lee volunteered herself as an unsolicited advocate for the father of Elián González in the international custody controversy. She also attracted controversy in 2003 by meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and offering to sponsor a visit for the controversial leader to come to the United States.

Other criticism

The Houston Chronicle interviewed two illegal immigrants who claimed to have worked for a day in Jackson-Lee's campaign office moving furniture. Jackson-Lee denied the allegation.

The Weekly Standard has published criticism of her travel arrangements, and alleged that she has been banned by Continental Airlines from flying with them after allegedly repeatedly badgering and bullying airline staff and flight attendants.

World Net Daily ran an article in August 2003 on Jackson-Lee's statements regarding hurricane names. Jackson-Lee argued that the current hurricane names are too Caucasian sounding, using the term "lily white", and that hurricane names should "have better representation for names reflecting African-Americans and other ethnic groups."

Jackson-Lee also has been accused of grandstanding and self-aggrandizement, along with being a brusque and imperious boss. In her first two years in Congress, her staff reportedly had a 180% turnover rate, which was attributed by the Houston Press to overwork and bullying by the congresswoman. Accordingly, House staffers unofficially voted her the second meanest member of the body in a Washingtonian article.

Venezuela

Jackson Lee has urged better relations between the U.S. and Venezuela, which she describes as a a friendly nation. She also seeks an end to the ban on selling F-16 fighter jets and spare parts to that country. The State Department bans such sales due to Venezuela's close ties to unfriendly regimes in Iran and Cuba, and its lack of support for counterterrorism.

Trivia

In the television series The West Wing, Jackson-Lee's 18th District was represented by Matt Santos, a fictional Democrat, who went on to be elected President during the show's seventh and final season.

She is listed as #98 in Bernard Goldberg's 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.

On a visit to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lee, a member of the House Science Committee's space subcommittee, asked if Mars Pathfinder had taken an image of the flag planted there in 1969 by Neil Armstrong.

References

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

1. Jim Doyle, Five members of Congress arrested over Sudan protest, San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 2006. Accessed 25 September 2006.

External links

• U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee official House site
• United States Congress. "Sheila Jackson Lee (id: j000032)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Federal Election Commission - Sheila Jackson Lee campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues - Sheila Jackson Lee issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Sheila Jackson Lee campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Sheila Jackson Lee profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Sheila Jackson-Lee voting record
• Sheila Jackson-Lee for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Tim Fleck, What's Driving Miss Sheila? Houston Press, February 20, 2007
• Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: Immigration is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time Democracy Now, April 4, 2006
• Sheila Jackson Lee, Accountable Corporations The Nation, January 19, 2006

• 1950 births
• African American politicians
• African Americans in the United States Congress
• Current members of the United States House of Representatives
• Living people
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
• People from Queens
• People from New York City
• People from Houston
• Seventh-day Adventist politicians
• Texas state court judges
• Texas politicians
• University of Virginia alumni
• Yale University alumni