Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Representative for Texas’s 18th District
pronounced SHEE-luh // JAK-sun lee
![Photo of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee [D-TX18]](/static/legislator-photos/400199-200px.jpeg)
Misconduct
In July 2021, Jackson Lee was arrested at a protest. In September 2021, the House Committee on Ethics reported that a fine was paid and closed the investigation.
| Sep. 28, 2021 | House Committee on Ethics reported the arrest and that a fine was paid, and closed the investigation |
Earmarks
Jackson Lee proposed $110 million in earmarks for fiscal year 2024, including:
- $20 million to Harris County Flood Control District for “P118-08-00 Conveyance and Detention Improvements”
- $12 million to Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation for “Fifth Ward Economic Impact Initiative”
- $12 million to for “Community Economic Engagement Initiative”
View all requests and justifications on Jackson Lee’s website »
View analysis and download spreadsheet from Demand Progress Education Fund »
These are earmark requests which may or may not survive the legislative process to becoming law. Most representatives from both parties requested earmarks for fiscal year 2024. Across representatives who requested earmarks, the median total amount requested for this fiscal year was $39 million.
Earmarks are federal expenditures, tax benefits, or tariff benefits requested by a legislator for a specific entity. Rather than being distributed through a formula or competitive process administered by the executive branch, earmarks may direct spending where it is most needed for the legislator's district. All earmark requests in the House of Representatives are published online for the public to review. We don’t have earmark requests for senators. The fiscal year begins on October 1 of the prior calendar year. Source: Appropriations.house.gov. Background: Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for Jackson Lee.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Jackson Lee is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Jackson Lee has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Sep 26, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Sheila Jackson Lee sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
Jackson Lee was the primary sponsor of 10 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 2980 (117th): Cybersecurity Vulnerability Remediation Act
- H.R. 6100 (116th): STOP FGM Act of 2020
- H.R. 835 (116th): Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019
- H.R. 434 (116th): Emancipation National Historic Trail Study Act
- H.R. 710 (114th): To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to prepare a comprehensive security assessment of the transportation security card program, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 78 (113th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4110 Almeda Road in Houston, Texas, as the “George Thomas ‘Mickey’ Leland Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 6510 (111th): To direct the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Houston, Texas, to the Military Museum of Texas, and for other purposes.
Does 10 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Jackson Lee sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Crime and Law Enforcement (41%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (14%) Government Operations and Politics (11%) Health (9%) Emergency Management (7%) International Affairs (7%) Armed Forces and National Security (6%) Arts, Culture, Religion (6%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Jackson Lee recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 5800: To authorize the imposition of sanctions to combat the mass abduction of Ukrainian …
- H.R. 4965: Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act
- H.R. 4960: Chyna Gibson Stop the Transgender Murder Epidemic Act of 2023
- H.R. 4696: Foreign Extortion Prevention Act
- H.R. 4272: Stop Fentanyl Now Act of 2023
- H.Res. 505: Recognizing June 19, 2023, as this year’s observance of the historical significance of …
- H.R. 3570: Comprehensive Response to Fentanyl-Related Substances and Fentanyl-Laced Substances Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1995 to Sep 2023, Jackson Lee missed 1,050 of 18,455 roll call votes, which is 5.7%. This is much worse than the median of 1.8% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
