[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 105 (Monday, July 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                IN RECOGNITION OF JOURNALIST JESSICA LEE

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2002

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Jessica Lee for her 
efforts and success in the field of journalism. Jessica Lee has had a 
long and illustrious career as a journalist. She was one of the first 
African American women to cover the White House for a major daily 
newspaper, and she was one of the first journalists to give a voice in 
print to those not normally covered in many daily newspapers.
  She has traveled all over the world as a White House correspondent 
for USA Today: from China to Russia, Europe and to South Africa where 
she covered the election of Nelson Mandela. She has witnessed many 
major current events and written about them in what has often been 
called the ``first draft'' of history.
  Jessica joined USA Today in 1985 as a congressional correspondent. 
She was assigned to the White House in 1986 at the height of the Iran-
contra scandal, reporting on President Reagan's final two years and 
President Bush's full term in office.
  Jessica, a fluent Spanish speaker, has worked for Gannett Co., Inc., 
since 1978, when she was hired at the El Paso Times in Texas. She 
worked five years as a regional and congressional correspondent with 
Gannett News Service.
  Jessica got her first taste of journalism at high school in 
Washington, D.C., where she grew up. She began her career with the 
Daily Journal, an English-language daily published in Caracas, 
Venezuela. She is a graduate of Western College for Women.
  Due to her courage and tenacity as a trailblazer, she will remain a 
role model for many women now joining the ranks of journalists.

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