Mrs. Jackson was born in the late 1920’s and was a daughter of the South, who moved to the North seeking greater opportunities for her family and resided in Queens, New York throughout the majority of her life. Mrs. Jackson was a pioneer in the health care industry having been one of the first African-American vocational nurses trained to care for premature babies in the 1950’s.

She was a joyful woman who was loved by many and who had a compassion for helping others in any way she could. Her family deeply mourns her passing. Funeral arrangements are pending and more information will be forthcoming.

For More Information:
Contact: Linda K. Brown
Advantage Communications @ (713) 737-8321

I am deeply grateful to the constituents for their faith in me which was exercised with their vote for my re-election. I will continue to work hard to both empower them and improve the quality of life for all residents of the 18th Congressional District.

“Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is a tireless champion for Houston’s working families,” said President Obama. “That’s why we need her back in Congress to help my efforts to bring real jobs back to Houston and the nation. I need you to cast your vote for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.”

“I am grateful and humbled to receive this endorsement from President Obama,” said Jackson Lee. “When he asked me to campaign for him, I found it so rewarding to see the outpouring of support for the change he represented and now he is the change agent that America and Houston needs today. I am proud to be working with President Barack Obama as we work to change lives for the better.

“Now that he is in office, it is exciting to work with President Obama on the many important issues facing our country,” the Congresswoman continued. “Now more than ever, I am grateful for the President’s trust and confidence in me.”

President Obama joins a long list of individuals and organizations endorsing Congresswoman Jackson Lee for re-election. See a complete list on her Endorsements page.

Attending a news conference at Jackson Lee’s Campaign Headquarters were State Representatives Alma Allen and Sylvester Turner, State Senator Mario Gallegos, Constable May Walker, Houston Community College Trustee Chris Oliver and Houston School District Trustees Paula Harris and Lawrence Marshall. State Senator Rodney Ellis was unable to attend but sent a representative.

“These elected officials here today are just a small fraction of those who are supporting the Congresswoman,” said Rep. Turner. “At our Acres Homes seniors meeting yesterday, our seniors just lit up when they saw the Congresswoman, she has done so much for them.”

Harris pointed out that Houston needs a representative in Washington who knows her way around. “I know that when we call on Congresswoman Jackson Lee to help our school districts that she is always there for our children,” said Harris.

“In Precinct 7, Congresswoman Jackson Lee has done what no one else ever did,” explained Constable Walker. “She helped to put more officers on the streets and they’re working to stop drugs and sex offenders.”

Marshall said Jackson Lee is “certified, qualified and capable. This is not the time to trade in a 747 for a Piper Cub.”

“Congresswoman Jackson Lee has been nothing short of tireless, dedicated and hardworking,” said Oliver. “We need experience at the helm.”

“She has always been there for us,” said Rep. Allen. “Now we are there for her.”

All the elected officials at the news conference today represent different jurisdictions and she works with all of them, Jackson Lee pointed out. For example, she worked with Oliver to help HCC create a small business incubator. And she worked with Turner to create a park in Acres Homes with baseball fields. Gallegos pointed out that he and Jackson Lee had just left a meeting with officials of the Rodeo Houston working with them to offer minorities more scholarships and business opportunities.

Those projects are in addition to the $351 million Jackson Lee brought to Congressional District 18 from the federal stimulus bill.

The news conference today follows an event Thursday with Congressman Al Green and three dozen ministers, including the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity, offering their strong support for Jackson Lee.

Others endorsing Jackson Lee include the Houston Chronicle, Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia; Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia; State Senator John Whitmire; State Representatives Carol Alvarado, Garnet Coleman, Ellen Cohen, Harold Dutton; Jessica Farrar, Senfronia Thompson and Armando Walle; City Controller Ron Green; City Councilmembers C.O. Bradford and Ed Gonzales; Constable Victor Trevino; HISD Trustee Carol Mims Galloway; Houston Community College Trustees Eva Loredo and Mary Ann Perez; Vice Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Lenora Sorola-Pohlman; Alison Leland and former State Representatives Debra Danburg and Col. Rick Noriega; the Tejano Democrats, Houston-Black American Democrats, AFL-CIO Council, the Latino Labor Leadership Council, Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas Action Fund, Inc., GLBT Caucus, Harris County Democrats, Momentum PAC, Asian American Democrats of Texas, Houston Area Stonewall Democrats and Houston Young Stonewall Democrats.

Photo ID for Elected Officials: (L to R) St. Rep. Sylvester Turner, Dallas Jones representing State Senator Rodney Ellis, St. Rep. Alma Allen, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, HCC Trustee Chris Oliver, HISD Trustee Lawrence Marshall, HISD Trustee Paula Harris, Constable May Walker, St. Senator Mario Gallegos.

That is not to say she has not sparked controversy and drawn criticism from various media and a minority of her constituents. Issues included her penchant for using public events like Michael Jackson’s funeral for photo ops, her support for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary in 2008, and a high-handed management style that regularly contributed to one of the highest staff turnover rates on Capitol Hill.

This year, two Democratic challengers, Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson and attorney Sean Roberts, are campaigning hard against Jackson Lee on her home turf, forcing the incumbent to wage a serious re-election effort for the first time. While they differ with her on few issues, both accuse Jackson Lee of losing focus and placing higher priorities on political appearances rather than substantial legislative achievements.

The congresswoman counters that she has been a hardworking advocate for the interests of her liberal district that ranges from gentrifying inner-city areas like the Heights to solidly African-American precincts in Third Ward and southeast Houston. Over time, and with the Democratic takeover of the House, Jackson Lee has accumulated seniority and influence on a number of congressional committees and says she has used that added influence to help bring billions of federal dollars to the Houston area. She serves on the House Judiciary, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees. She cites her role in winning federal funding for veterans’ services in the 18th, including a grant for a post-traumatic stress disorder center at Riverside Hospital.

According to Jackson Lee, she has been a member of Congress who has “both acted in the district on behalf of constituents and internationally.” The congresswoman recently accompanied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a visit to quake-devastated Haiti.

Although Jackson Lee is a strong supporter of President Obama, she disagrees with his plan to eliminate NASA’s Constellation program that would favor developing new rockets and spacecraft to return to the moon.

“I support human spaceflight,” says the incumbent, who promises to work to get more congressional funding for NASA and to convince the administration that the Constellation program has merit.

The Chronicle urges primary voters to nominate Jackson Lee for a ninth term.

The story failed to point out that Jackson Lee has brought hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in federal aid to her district and to Houston, especially in support of children, seniors and veterans. Her job fairs have attracted nearly 10,000 people. The federal stimulus bill she championed is bringing $6 billion and 269,000 jobs to Houston and Texas. In just the past few months, the Congresswoman has secured more than $102 million in federal funding for the Houston area, including $75 million for METRO’s North Corridor light rail project with up to a billion more to come for METRO rail.

A critical accomplishment by Jackson Lee for Texas Southern University was to convince the government to forgive $11 million TSU owed. Out from under that debt, the university can now thrive.

Jackson Lee cares about children. As the chair of the Congressional Children’s Caucus, she has fought for bills to make our children and schools safer. In fact, it was the Congresswoman who brought the Centers for Disease Control to Houston when something at Key Middle School was making teachers and students sick.

Jackson Lee has received a perfect 100% rating from the Alliance for Retired Americans, a nationwide organization of more than 2.5 million union retirees. The Congresswoman initiated the re-start of the local senior home repair program and spoke out about the backlog of thousands of requests for repairs. She has brought in $2.5 million for that program, along with millions more for a weatherization program. She also authored amendments to bills protecting the elderly that will help local law enforcement find seniors lost because of Alzheimer’s and other illnesses.

The Congresswoman has won a million dollars for Riverside Hospital to set up a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment center for our veterans, the first one in a predominantly African American community. And when 66-year-old Houstonian C.B. Black asked Jackson Lee for help replacing the medals he had won while serving in Viet Nam, the Congresswoman got him those medals, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Hurricanes Ike, Katrina and Rita affected the Houston area severely but Jackson Lee was there, getting supplies distributed to her district and bringing millions in federal assistance to the community. Just last month, the Congresswoman brought to Houston the FEMA director and asked him to extend relief to 20,000 local residents still recovering from Ike.

Jackson Lee has risen to senior positions on powerful committees, including Judiciary, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security and chairs Homeland Security’s Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Sub-Committee.

Sheila Jackson Lee is also a protector of humanity worldwide. She has been in the forefront of efforts to bring relief to those devastated by the earthquake in Haiti, just as she took the lead in helping the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. She is deeply committed to working to remedy the humanitarian crisis which is consuming the Darfur region of Sudan.

And she is active fighting the War on Terror while preserving our constitutional freedoms. She has co-sponsored bills that will make our ports safer.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has received endorsements from many prominent leaders and organizations in our community. They include: Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia; Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia; State Senators Rodney Ellis, Mario Gallegos and John Whitmire; State Representatives Alma Allen, Carol Alvarado, Garnet Coleman, Ellen Cohen, Harold Dutton; Jessica Farrar, Senfronia Thompson, Sylvester Turner and Armando Walle; City Controller Ron Green; City Councilmembers C.O. Bradford and Ed Gonzales; Constables Victor Trevino and May Walker; HISD Trustees Carol Mims Galloway and Paula Harris; Houston Community College Trustees Eva Loredo and Mary Ann Perez; Vice Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Lenora Sorola-Pohlman; Alison Leland, former State Representatives Debra Danburg and Col. Rick Noriega; the Tejano Democrats, Houston-Black American Democrats, AFL-CIO Council, the Latino Labor Leadership Council, Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas Action Fund, Inc., GLBT Caucus, Harris County Democrats, Momentum PAC and Houston Area Stonewall Democrats.

Announcing their endorsements are the Harris County AFL-CIO Council and Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas Action Fund, Inc.

“Sheila Jackson Lee is a true friend of all working families,” said Richard Shaw, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO Council. “She works hard in representing her District and is always in touch, visible and accessible. Our concerns are her concerns.” The Harris County AFL-CIO Council represents 77 affiliated Unions – Industrial, Building Trades, Public Sector (Federal, State and Local government).

The Planned Parenthood ACTION FUND is the political and advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, Inc. The mission of PPHSET ACTION FUND is to foster and preserve a social and political climate favorable to helping women and men manage their sexual and reproductive health.

These organizations join a host of other groups and individuals who have endorsed Congresswoman Jackson Lee. Other organizations include the Tejano Democrats, Houston-Black American Democrats and the Latino Labor Leadership Council. Among the many individuals supporting Jackson Lee are Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, State Senators Rodney Ellis and Mario Gallegos, State Representatives Carol Alvarado, Ellen Cohen, Garnet Coleman, Jessica Farrar, Senfronia Thompson, Sylvester Turner and Armando Walle, City Councilmember Ed Gonzales, Alison Leland, Constable Victor Trevino, Houston Community College Trustees Eva Loredo and Mary Ann Perez, Vice Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Lenora Sorola-Pohlman and former State Representative Col. Rick Noriega.

“The 7.0 earthquake in Haiti is an unimaginable disaster and requires a 50-state relief effort,” said the Congresswoman. “The need is overwhelming and this is the worst natural disaster to hit Haiti in 200 years,” Jackson Lee said.  “I am meeting with the Houston Haitian community, churches, and the medical community this weekend to develop relief plans.” The goal of Texans helping Haitians is to provide aid to 100,000 families who are victims of the earthquake.

The projects Congresswoman Jackson Lee got included in the bill were:

• $1 million for the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at Houston’s Riverside General Hospital
• $1 million for the Center for Research on Minority Heath Prostate Cancer Outreach Project
• $2 million for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Initiative, and
• $1 million for High Efficiency Solar Energy Generation and Storage

“This bill is about helping my constituents and keeping a promise to our troops and putting their needs first,” said Congresswoman Jackson Lee. “We made a commitment to give them and their families the best possible care for their service to this country. With this bill, we are keeping that commitment and protecting them as they go into battle in defense of our nation.”

The Defense Appropriations Act includes a 3.4% pay raise for the military. It also continues to pay troops an additional $500 for every month their term of service is involuntarily extended by the practice of stop loss. It invests more than $29 billion in the Defense Health Program and boosts funding to support our military families with programs like child care, job training for spouses, and expanded counseling services.

The legislation provides the military with first class equipment to protect our troops on the battlefield and make sure that our soldiers are well-prepared for any challenge that comes their way. It gives them the weapons they need to fight the wars of today and prepare for the battles of tomorrow.

To help Americans hit hardest by this recession, the bill also provides emergency relief by extending unemployment insurance, helping with health insurance premiums through the COBRA program, and funding for nutrition assistance programs to help families in need put food on their table.

“For eight years, President Bush and his Republican allies looked the other way as Wall Street and big banks exploited loopholes and gambled with our money – compromising our savings, our future, and the American Dream,” said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. “Risky and irresponsible behavior, and the failure to regulate the financial industry led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But it stops now. This bill will hold Wall Street and the big banks accountable. We are ending taxpayer bailouts once and for all.”

The legislation will create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to protect families and small businesses by ensuring bank loans, mortgages, and credit cards are fair, affordable, and understandable. “Consumers should have the peace-of-mind of knowing that they are not going to be tricked by their banks and credit card companies,” said Congresswoman Jackson Lee. “We don’t let companies sell faulty toasters that can burn down our homes, and we shouldn’t let the financial industry offer mortgage loans to people who can’t afford repayment.”

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ends “too big to fail” financial firms before risky and irresponsible behavior threatens to bring down the entire economy. It also strengthens government oversight over large banks and financial firms – including new regulation of credit rating agencies and riskier hedge funds, derivatives, and other complex financial deals.

This bill gives the Securities and Exchange Commission new enforcement powers. It enhances oversight and transparency of the credit rating agencies whose seal of approval gave way to many of the excessively risky practices that led to a financial collapse. It addresses egregious executive compensation and limits the risky pay practices of bank executives that jeopardized banks’ soundness.

“Wall Street reform is the next critical step to create jobs and grow our economy,” said the Congresswoman “As we rebuild our economy, we must put in place common-sense rules to ensure big banks and Wall Street can’t jeopardize our recovery and hurt hard-working families and small businesses. Wall Street may be bouncing back, but we know from experience they’re not going to police themselves.”