Former Jewish New York Congresswoman Nita Lowey passed away on Saturday at the age of 87, her family confirmed to CBS News.
“With great sadness, we announce that former Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey died peacefully on March 15 at the age of 87, surrounded by her loving husband, children, and grandchildren, in her home in Harrison, NY,” the family stated.
“Nita’s family was central to her life as she was to all of ours. We will miss her more than words can say and take great comfort knowing that she lived a full and purposeful life,” her family said.
Lowey, a longtime Democratic representative, made history as the first woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee. In recent years, she had been battling metastatic breast cancer.
Her tenure in Congress began in 1988, following her service as an assistant secretary of state in New York. She joined the Appropriations Committee in 1993, later becoming the ranking Democrat in 2013. When Democrats regained control of the House in 2019, she was named chairwoman—the first woman to hold the position.
Lowey played a key role in securing funding for hurricane recovery efforts, strengthening laws against drunk driving, and advancing US-Israel relations through foreign aid initiatives.
In 2015, she was among a group of bipartisan lawmakers who introduced a resolution decrying the EU decision to label Jewish products from Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Also that year, she and fellow congressman Ted Deutch urged the US ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to block the Palestinian Authority’s draft resolution claiming the Western Wall (Kotel) as its own.
Lowey opposed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which was signed during the Obama administration. In 2016, she was among a group of American lawmakers who called on Obama to sanction Iran in response to its tests of ballistic missiles.
She announced her retirement from Congress in 2019, closing out more than three decades of dedicated public service.
Lowey is survived by her husband Stephen Lowey, three children, and eight grandchildren.
