U.S. Congresswoman Introduces Bill to Honor Michael Jackson

Just when you thought the Michael Jackson phenomena was over with, U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee introduces a bill to honor the pop legend.

As a consistent sign to show how inept, irrelevant and incompetent the federal government is, a bill, put forth by Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, was introduced into the United States House of Representatives H. Res. 600: A Tribute to an American Legend and Musical Icon. For some odd reason the bill was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Rep. Jackson-Lee’s bill is supposed to be a tribute to the “American legend and musical icon,” Michael Jackson. The recently deceased entertainer was also a “noted humanitarian” who supported the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, Make a Wish Foundation, Give For Life and also donated $500,000 to Elizabeth’s Taylor AIDS Foundation and gave away more than 200 turkey dinners to families in Los Angeles. The bill would recognize the following (Please note that I am summarizing the bill because this piece of legislation is massive but for more of the bill click here): “A tribute to an American legend and musical icon. Whereas Michael Jackson was not only an accomplished recording and performing artist, he was a noted humanitarian; Whereas Michael Jackson began his stellar recording career as the featured member of ‘The Jackson 5’, which was the first act in recorded history to have their first four major label singles ‘I Want You Back’,‘ABC’,‘The Love You Save’, and ‘I’ll Be There’, reached the top of the American charts; Whereas the internationally recognized ‘Thriller’ released in 1982, which became a smash hit yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide. It was a monumental moment in music history; Whereas Michael Jackson was labeled ‘The King of Pop’, Jackson’s music is internationally recognized and critically acclaimed; Whereas Michael Jackson was one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; Whereas in the early 1980s, Michael Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as ‘Beat It’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Thriller’--widely credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool into an art form--helped bring the relatively new channel to fame; Whereas, on January 10, 1984, Michael Jackson visited the unit for burn victims at Brotman-Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, and demonstrated his concern with people suffering from grievous injuries; Whereas, on April 9, 1984, David Smithee, a 14-year-old boy suffering from cystic fibroses was invited to Michael’s home, in response to a dying request to meet Michael. David passed away 7 weeks later.”