Former representative · Texas's 18th district

Sheila Jackson Lee

Sheila Jackson Lee served in Congress from 1995 to 2024, last as a Democratic representative for Texas's 18th district. In the 118th Congress, 1,060 roll calls were held while they served; they missed 410, and cast 432 of 440 party-unity votes with the majority of their caucus.

Party
Democrat
Chamber
House
Former
In Congress since
Jan 4, 1995
Last term ended
Jul 19, 2024
Open in the Congress explorerOfficial record
Photo: Government Publishing Office (public domain)

Record by Congress

Counts with their denominators for each Congress and chamber served. Ranks are among members who served most of that Congress (100 or more roll calls): rank 1 did it most often. A description, not a grade.

CongressRoll callsMissedVotes with partySponsoredCosponsored across the aisle
118th CongressHouse of Representatives1,06038.7%410 of 1,060 · rank 2 of 44298%432 of 440 · rank 178 of 442550 became law13%73 of 564
117th CongressHouse of Representatives9971.0%10 of 997 · rank 221 of 443100%568 of 570 · rank 61 of 443590 became law4%32 of 801

Ideology (DW-NOMINATE)

Voteview's DW-NOMINATE first dimension estimates where members sit from all their roll calls: liberal (−1) to conservative (+1). It describes voting patterns, not views. Shown for the 118th Congress (House), with each party's median and the chamber's range.

Liberal −1−0.46+1 Conservative

Source: Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/

Votes against their party

The latest party-unity votes on bills and amendments where the member voted yea or nay against most of their caucus.

  1. H.R. 4691: Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act of 2023Yea
    Apr 17, 2024· House· Passage· On Passage· Passed 278–141· Against party
  2. H.R. 4639: Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale ActYea
    Apr 17, 2024· House· Passage· On Passage· Passed 219–199· Against party
  3. H.R. 7888: Reforming Intelligence and Securing America ActYea
    Apr 12, 2024· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Failed 212–212· Against party
  4. H.R. 277: Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2023Nay
    Jun 14, 2023· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Failed 151–285· Against party
  5. H.Con.Res. 40: Expressing support for local law enforcement officers and condemning efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies.Yea
    May 18, 2023· House· Passage· On Agreeing to the Resolution· Passed 301–119· Against party
  6. H.Con.Res. 40: Expressing support for local law enforcement officers and condemning efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies.Yea
    May 18, 2023· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Agreed to 268–156· Against party
  7. H.R. 21: Strategic Production Response ActNay
    Jan 27, 2023· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Failed 199–231· Against party
  8. H.R. 7900: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023Nay
    Jul 13, 2022· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Failed 118–309· Against party

Recent votes

The latest roll calls on bills and amendments, with the member's recorded position.

  1. H.J.Res. 109: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to "Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121".Not voting
    Jul 11, 2024· House· Passage· Passage, Objections of the President To The Contrary Notwithstanding· Failed 228–184
  2. H.J.Res. 165: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance".Not voting
    Jul 11, 2024· House· Passage· On Passage· Passed 210–205
  3. H.Res. 1344: Finding that Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the United States, is in contempt of the House of Representatives for disobeying a certain subpoena.Not voting
    Jul 11, 2024· House· Passage· On Agreeing to the Resolution· Failed 204–210
  4. H.R. 8772: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025Not voting
    Jul 11, 2024· House· Passage· On Passage· Failed 205–213
  5. H.R. 8772: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025Not voting
    Jul 11, 2024· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Failed 128–289
  6. H.R. 8772: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025Not voting
    Jul 11, 2024· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Failed 149–262
  7. H.R. 8772: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025Not voting
    Jul 11, 2024· House· Amendments· On Agreeing to the Amendment· Failed 169–240
  8. H.R. 8281: SAVE ActNot voting
    Jul 10, 2024· House· Passage· On Passage· Passed 221–198
  9. H.R. 7700: Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards ActNot voting
    Jul 9, 2024· House· Passage· On Passage· Passed 214–192
  10. H.R. 7637: Refrigerator Freedom ActNot voting
    Jul 9, 2024· House· Passage· On Passage· Passed 212–192
  11. H.R. 5441: Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Reauthorization Act of 2023Not voting
    Jul 8, 2024· House· Passage· On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass· Passed 333–51
  12. H.R. 897: Alabama Underwater Forest National Marine Sanctuary and Protection ActNot voting
    Jul 8, 2024· House· Passage· On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended· Passed 349–19

Sponsored bills

Bills and resolutions the member introduced as sponsor in the loaded Congresses. Volume is not quality: most measures never leave committee.

114 sponsored · 0 became law

How far they got

  1. Introduced10794%
  2. Passed one chamber76.1%

Policy areas

  1. Crime and Law Enforcement44
  2. Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues13
  3. Government Operations and Politics8
  4. Health8
  5. International Affairs7
  6. Arts, Culture, Religion6
  7. Armed Forces and National Security4
  8. Congress4

Latest activity

  1. H.R. 3208 DHS Cybersecurity On-the-Job Training Program Act
    Passed one chamber· Government Operations and Politics· Dec 17, 2024
  2. H.R. 282 Infant Protection and Baby Switching Prevention Act of 2023
    Introduced· Health· Dec 17, 2024
  3. H.R. 7840 ProTECT Act of 2024
    Introduced· Animals· Dec 12, 2024
  4. H.R. 9044 To provide for citizen engagement on the development and adoption of Federal civilian agency use of artificial intelligence, and for other purposes.
    Introduced· Government Operations and Politics· Jul 15, 2024
  5. H.R. 9043 To provide for Federal civilian agency laboratory development for testing and certification of artificial intelligence for civilian agency use, and for other purposes.
    Introduced· Science, Technology, Communications· Jul 15, 2024
  6. H.R. 9042 Civilian Agency AI Watermark Act
    Introduced· Commerce· Jul 15, 2024
  7. H.Res. 1308 Recognizing June 19, 2024, as this year's observance of the historical significance of Juneteenth Independence Day.
    Introduced· Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues· Jun 18, 2024
  8. H.R. 8525 George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2024
    Introduced· Crime and Law Enforcement· May 31, 2024

Committees

Seats as published by the congress-legislators project. Past seats are those no longer listed since Analisa began recording them.

No committee seats are listed.

Federal contracts in the district

Contract obligations attributed to Texas's 18th district by each action's county and its award's ZIP code (land shares through census tracts); an estimate where ZIP codes cross district lines. Shown next to the member's record: neither explains the other.

Obligations · FY2026
$654M
Per resident
$823
Rank in Texas
23 of 38
Contract actions
34K
New awards: 32.2K

By fiscal year

  1. 981.9MFY2017
  2. 1.2BFY2018
  3. 928.1MFY2019
  4. 808.7MFY2020
  5. 1.4BFY2021
  6. 1.9BFY2022
  7. 799.1MFY2023
  8. 899.8MFY2024
  9. 1.4BFY2025
  10. 654MFY2026

Top buyers

  1. Department of Veterans Affairs$330.8M51%
  2. Defense Logistics Agency$134.1M21%
    Department of Defense
  3. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$38.6M5.9%
    Department of Homeland Security
  4. Food and Nutrition Service$30.6M4.7%
    Department of Agriculture
  5. Office of Procurement Operations$29.4M4.5%
    Department of Homeland Security
  6. Department of the Air Force$26.8M4.1%
    Department of Defense
  7. Federal Acquisition Service$19.9M3.0%
    General Services Administration
  8. Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$9.5M1.5%
    Department of Justice

Top recipients

  1. VETERANS EVALUATION SERVICES, INC$328.7M50%
    22 awards
  2. LAZARUS ENERGY HOLDINGS LLC$96.4M15%
    315 awards
  3. CORECIVIC, INC.$36.8M5.6%
    3 awards
  4. MCLANE GROUP INTERNATIONAL, L.P.$30.6M4.7%
    1 award
  5. PARAGON SYSTEMS INC$28.5M4.4%
    16 awards
  6. HOUSTON FREIGHTLINER, INC.$19.4M3.0%
    278 awards
  7. DON INDUSTRIAL GROUP LLC$16.1M2.5%
    711 awards
  8. KBR SERVICES, LLC$8.5M1.3%
    13 awards
  9. ACADEMY MEDICAL INC.$6.5M1.0%
    319 awards
  10. FIREFLY AEROSPACE INC.$5.6M0.9%
    1 award
Open the district page

Campaign money

What the member's campaigns reported receiving, per FEC two-year cycle, and the federal contracts of the organizations that sponsor the giving PACs (each sponsor matched to a contract recipient by AI, with its probability). Comparisons of public records: neither explains the other.

2026 cycle

Raised
$0
through Jun 30, 2026
Cash on hand
-$17.9K
From committees
-$5,000
0 committees
From contractor PACs
$0
0 PACs · — of committee money

By cycle

CycleRaised (FEC summary)From committeesFrom contractor PACs
2026$0-$5,000$00 PACs · — of committee money
2024$553.3K$190.6K$14.5K6 PACs · 8% of committee money
2022$977.7K$249K$25.5K14 PACs · 10% of committee money

Raised is the FEC's cumulative summary of the candidacy; committee money counts each contribution reported, so the two cover slightly different dates.

Terms

Every term in the House or Senate, as published by the congress-legislators project.

  1. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 3, 2023 – Jul 19, 2024
  2. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 3, 2021 – Jan 3, 2023
  3. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 3, 2019 – Jan 3, 2021
  4. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 3, 2017 – Jan 3, 2019
  5. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 6, 2015 – Jan 3, 2017
  6. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2015
  7. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 5, 2011 – Jan 3, 2013
  8. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 6, 2009 – Jan 3, 2011
  9. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 4, 2007 – Jan 3, 2009
  10. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 4, 2005 – Jan 3, 2007
  11. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 7, 2003 – Jan 3, 2005
  12. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 3, 2001 – Jan 3, 2003
  13. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 6, 1999 – Jan 3, 2001
  14. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 7, 1997 – Jan 3, 1999
  15. House · Texas's 18th districtJan 4, 1995 – Jan 3, 1997

Identifiers

The same member in other public records.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Congressional district boundaries and relationship files (U.S. Census Bureau)U.S. Census Bureau, Cartographic Boundary Files (congressional districts) and 2020 relationship files · release cd116+cd118+cd119 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • ZIP code (ZCTA) to congressional district crosswalk (U.S. Census Bureau)U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 relationship files (ZCTAs, tracts and congressional districts); shares computed by Analisa · release 2020 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov)USAspending.gov, prime award contract transactions (FPDS) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Committees, candidates and committee contributions to candidates (Federal Election Commission)FEC bulk data: committee master, candidate master (candidates' names, no addresses), linkages, PAC summaries, all-candidates summaries and contributions from committees (no individual contributors) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Activity counts describe volume and attendance; they are not a measure of quality.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.