CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF H. ROSS PEROT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Robin K. Chand
July 12, 2019 202-225-3816
Press Statement
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Statement on the Passing of H. Ross Perot
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, senior Member of the House Committees on Budget, Judiciary and Homeland Security released this statement following news on the passing of H. Ross Perot:
"I mourn the death of H. Ross Perot, who passed away after a battle with Leukemia. He was 89.
"A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Perot was a self-made businessman. He would sell the company he founded, Electronic Data Systems, to General Motors and would go on to become a billionaire. But business was not his only passion. Perot also cared a great deal about our nation's military, its veterans and our nation's countless prisoners of war. Beginning in the 1970s, Perot began his effort to raise awareness of prisoners of war not freed by the Paris Peace Accords, which presaged the end of the American conflict in Vietnam, and which enabled the general release of American servicemen who were held as prisoners of war. Indeed, through activism which stretched into the eve of his own independent campaign for president in 1992, Perot maintained a public spotlight on this issue and in the process, reminded Americans of the horror, cost, and inequities of war. In the process, he ensured that those left behind were never forgotten, and shaped public attitudes about the Vietnam war and underscored to many—even those weary of our effort there—that our country had a moral and patriotic imperative to ensure that our prisoners of war returned home. For those of us who call the Lone Star State home, Perot was also neighbor and we will miss him for his love of our home state. At this time, my thoughts are with the family and those who survive this proud patriot and proud Texan."
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Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is a Democrat from Texas's 18th Congressional District. She is a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security.