Texas SR 106: Recognizing Rodney H. Mabry on the occasion of his retirement.

Bill Text

89(R) SR 106 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

  

  

  

   

 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 106

  

  

   

 In Memory

   

 of

   

 Sheila Jackson Lee

  

   

        WHEREAS, Residents of Houston lost a political icon and 

  

 fierce champion of social justice with the passing of U.S. 

  

 Representative Sheila Jackson Lee on July 19, 2024, at the age of 

  

 74; and

  

  

        WHEREAS, The daughter of Ezra Jackson and Ivalita Bennett 

  

 Jackson, the former Sheila Jackson was born in New York City on 

  

 January 12, 1950, and grew up in the borough of Queens; she earned 

  

 a bachelor's degree in political science as a member of Yale 

  

 University's first coed class and went on to complete her law 

  

 degree at the University of Virginia; following her marriage to 

  

 Elwyn Lee, a Houston native, she became the proud mother of two 

  

 children, Jason and Erica; and

  

  

        WHEREAS, In 1978, Congresswoman Jackson Lee moved to the 

  

 Bayou City with her husband and began working for the Fulbright & 

  

 Jaworski law firm; appointed as a municipal judge in 1987, she 

  

 later became a highly effective member of the city council; she 

  

 won her first congressional race in 1994 and was reelected 14 

  

 times, never with less than 70 percent of the vote; known for her 

  

 formidable work ethic, she filed scores of bills addressing the 

  

 needs of the most vulnerable, and she did not hesitate to work 

  

 across the aisle to pass them; after the Violence Against Women 

  

 Act expired in 2019, she fought for its reenactment and authored 

  

 the legislation that achieved that goal; she was also the author 

  

 and lead sponsor of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, 

  

 which established the first new federal holiday in nearly four 

  

 decades; her many other major initiatives included the 

  

 Sentencing Reform Act, Paycheck Fairness Act, and George Floyd 

  

 Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act; known for her passionate 

  

 speeches on the House floor, she advocated for gay rights long 

  

 before mainstream acceptance of the movement and continued to 

  

 serve as a powerful voice for progressive causes, including Black 

  

 Lives Matter and gun control; she took her message to innumerable 

  

 media outlets as well; most recently, she lent her support to a 

  

 federal version of the CROWN Act to prevent discrimination based 

  

 on hairstyles favored by people of color; and

  

  

        WHEREAS, Congresswoman Jackson Lee held numerous 

  

 leadership roles, including chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee 

  

 for Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security and senior member of 

  

 the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget Committees; she was 

  

 the House Democrats' chief deputy whip, chair of the 

  

 Congressional Black Caucus Energy Braintrust, co-chair of the 

  

 Justice Reform Task Force, and a founder and chair of the 

  

 Congressional Pakistan Caucus and the Congressional Children's 

  

 Caucus; Congressional Quarterly ranked her among the 50 most 

  

 effective members of Congress; and

  

  

        WHEREAS, Devoted to her constituents, Congresswoman 

  

 Jackson Lee was instrumental in directing billions of federal 

  

 dollars to under-resourced communities; she helped her city 

  

 recover fromnumerousnaturaldisastersandothercrises,even

  

 personally directing traffic to a COVID-19 testing site at the 

  

 height of the pandemic and unloading food and supplies for 

  

 residents during the 2021 freeze; over the years, she appeared at 

  

 countless local meetings and events, and she demonstrated deep 

  

 compassion to those suffering loss, attending funerals, 

  

 extending words of comfort, and connecting the bereaved with 

  

 support services; and

  

  

        WHEREAS, Sheila Jackson Lee was a fearless warrior in 

  

 behalf of freedom, democracy, and positive change, and although 

  

 she will be greatly missed, her exceptional contributions will 

  

 continue to resonate in the years to come; now, therefore, be it

  

  

        RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 89th 

  

 Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the life of Sheila Jackson Lee 

  

 and extend sincere condolences to