Nita Lowey

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Nita Lowey
Chair of the House Appropriations Committee
In office
January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021
Preceded byRodney Frelinghuysen
Succeeded byRosa DeLauro
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 2021
Preceded byJoe DioGuardi
Succeeded byMondaire Jones
Constituency20th district (1989–1993)
18th district (1993–2013)
17th district (2013–2021)
Personal details
Born
Nita Sue Melnikoff

(1937-07-05)July 5, 1937
The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
DiedMarch 15, 2025(2025-03-15) (aged 87)
Harrison, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Stephen Lowey
​
(m. 1961)​
Children3
EducationMount Holyoke College (BA)
Lowey's voice
Lowey supporting a resolution condemning the imprisonment of Bangladeshi journalist Salah Choudhury
Recorded March 13, 2007

Nita Sue Lowey (/ˈloʊi/ LOH-ee; née Melnikoff; July 5, 1937 – March 15, 2025) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1989 until 2021. She was a member of the Democratic Party. Lowey also served as co-dean of the New York congressional delegation, along with former U.S. Representative Eliot Engel. Lowey's district was numbered as the 20th from 1989 to 1993, as the 18th from 1993 to 2013, and as the 17th beginning in 2013. The district included many of New York City's inner northern suburbs, such as White Plains, Purchase, Tarrytown, Mount Kisco, and Armonk.

In 2018, Lowey became the first woman to chair the

House Appropriations Committee. She announced on October 10, 2019 that she would retire and not run for re-election to Congress in 2020.[1]

Early life, education, and early political career

Lowey was born in the Bronx in New York City on July 5, 1937, the daughter of Beatrice (Fleisher) and Jack Melnikoff.[2] She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science as valedictorian of the class of 1955, and then from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor's degree.[3]

Lowey worked for

lieutenant governor of New York. She then served as an assistant secretary of state of New York for 13 years.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Lowey ran for the

2000 Census removed the New York City portion of her district.[citation needed
]

Lowey considered

running for the United States Senate in 2000, but stepped aside when First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy.[5] Lowey was considered a top contender for appointment to Clinton's Senate seat after Clinton was nominated to be Secretary of State, but in a December 1, 2008, phone interview with the Associated Press, she stated that she was not interested in giving up her senior seat on the House Appropriations Committee.[6]

Tenure

Lowey was known for her advocacy for women's health, environmental protection, foreign aid to developing nations, and efforts to fight AIDS,[7] as well as her support for Israel.[8]

Early in her congressional career, Lowey sponsored an

Mamaroneck Harbor."[9] According to the local newspaper, The Journal News, the dredging was proposed because "the harbor was becoming too shallow 'to accommodate the larger yachts.'"[9]

Lowey supported the Public Broadcasting Service. During the 1990s, she appeared at a congressional hearing accompanied by Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie.[10]

In 2001–2002, Lowey served as the first female chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[11]

Congresswoman Lowey, with Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison and Senator Hillary Clinton, during 2007 floods in New York.

In early 2009, Lowey introduced the Transportation Security Workforce Enhancement Act, which calls for collective bargaining rights for federal workers at the TSA and Department of Homeland Security.[12]

Lowey was critical of the

Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which placed limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Because of the rancor and disruptions which marked many of the town hall meetings held in the summer of 2009 to discuss health care reform, Lowey chose to present her point of view on health care reform in a telephone conference call. Some constituents questioned the effectiveness of this approach.[13]

In 2015, Lowey expressed her disappointment at Congress's failure to address Puerto Rico's budget problems.[14]

Lowey announced her opposition to President Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, stating the following:

In my judgment, sufficient safeguards are not in place to address the risks associated with the agreement. Relieving UN sanctions on conventional arms and

IAEA's satisfaction before sanctions relief is provided, and inspectors will not have immediate access to the most suspicious facilities. There are no clear accountability measures regarding punishment for minor violations, which could encourage Iran to cheat.[15]

The Democrats won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. Subsequently, Lowey became the first Chairwoman of the House Committee on Appropriations. In 2019, Lowey helped negotiate an end to a 35-day government shutdown.[1]

On October 10, 2019, two months after Democrat Mondaire Jones announced his intention to challenge her in a 2020 primary, Lowey announced she would not run for reelection in 2020.[16][17][18]

2016 DNC superdelegate

Like all Democratic members of Congress, Lowey was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Lowey pledged to support Hillary Clinton. When asked by the New York Daily News whether Lowey might switch her support to candidate Bernie Sanders if Sanders were to win the New York State Democratic presidential primary, Lowey's chief of staff responded, "absolutely not... Hillary Clinton is Congresswoman Lowey's friend, colleague and her constituent, and she is behind her 100%."[19]

Committee assignments (116th Congress)

  • Committee on Appropriations (Chairwoman)
    • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
      (Chairwoman)
    • As Chairwoman of the full committee, Lowey may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Lowey was married to Stephen Lowey, a named partner in the

antitrust law, and consumer protection.The Loweys have three children and eight grandchildren.[citation needed
]

An estimate of Lowey's personal assets, based on financial disclosures members of Congress are required to provide (aside from that of personal residences and non-interest-bearing bank accounts), put her wealth at $41.2 million in 2010, based largely on her husband's investments.[23] This figure was derived from a special investigative series of asset wealth of all U.S. Congressional Representatives conducted by The Washington Post.[23]

Lowey was Jewish.[24][25] She died from breast cancer at her home in Harrison, New York, on March 15, 2025, at the age of 87.[26]

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of Nita Lowey

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bowman, Bridget (October 10, 2019). "Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey announces retirement". Roll Call. Washington, DC. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  2. ISBN 9780810877382
    .
  3. ^ "Lowey, Nita M. 1937–2025". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Feron, James (May 1, 1988). "Former State Official Joins Race for DioGuardi's Seat". The New York Times.
  5. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Archived copy". hosted.ap.org. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Ex-US Rep. Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat who chaired powerful House Appropriations Committee, dies". AP News. March 16, 2025.
  8. ^ Kane, Alex (November 25, 2019). "Washington's Right-Wing Consensus on Israel Faces a Reckoning in Three New York Congressional Races". The Intercept.
  9. ^ a b Carney, Timothy (March 16, 2011) Government for the Yachters. Washington Examiner.
  10. ^ Bresnahan, John; McCaskill, Nolan D. (November 7, 2018). "Meet the Democrats poised to torment Trump". Politico. Retrieved March 18, 2025. In the 1990s, Lowey appeared at a congressional hearing with Bert and Ernie of "Sesame Street" after Republican leaders had threatened to kill the Public Broadcasting Service.
  11. ^ Brufke, Juliegrace (October 10, 2019). "House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey to retire". The Hill. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  12. ^ "Federal Eye – Eye Opener: TSA Collective Bargaining Rights". Voices.washingtonpost.com. July 9, 2009. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  13. ^ "Are telephone Town Hall meetings Democratic?". Polhudson.lohudblogs.com. August 7, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  14. ^ "Lowey and Hoyer Say That Puerto Rico Must Remain a Priority for Congress". puertoricoreport.com. December 23, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  15. ^ "Lowey Opposes P5+1 Iran Agreement". Representative Nita Lowey. August 4, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  16. ^ "Prominent House Democrat Nita Lowey announces she will not run for reelection". www.cbsnews.com. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  17. ^ Coltin, Jeff (October 7, 2019). "The black, gay Harvard grad taking on Nita Lowey". CSNY. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  18. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  19. ^ "New York superdelegates largely back Clinton over Sanders". NY Daily News. March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  20. ^ "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  21. ^ "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  22. ^ "Members". Afterschool Alliance. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  23. ^ a b Fallis, David S.; Higham, Scott; Kindy, Kimberly (2012). "Special Report: Capitol Assets: Nita Lowey". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  24. ^ "Nita Lowey looks back on more than 30 years in Congress". Jewish Insider. July 7, 2020.
  25. ^ Kampeas, Ron (November 6, 2019). "Congresswoman Nita Lowey gets teary recalling her Jewish legacy". The Jerusalem Post.
  26. ^ Rubinton, Noel (March 16, 2025). "Nita Lowey, first woman to chair House appropriations panel, dies at 87". Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Joseph DioGuardi
 Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th congressional district

1989–1993 		Succeeded by
Benjamin Gilman
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 18th congressional district

1993–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 17th congressional district

2013–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee
2013–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the House Appropriations Committee
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
2001–2003 		Succeeded by
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