Nita M. Lowey Elected to House of Representatives

November 8, 1988

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New York Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey was the first woman and the first New Yorker to chair the Democratic Congressional Committee.

Institution: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

On November 8, 1988, Nita M. Lowey was elected to Congress. In 2008, she was re-elected for her 11th term representing parts of Westchester and Rockland counties in New York. She is a leading proponent of educational opportunity, health care reform and biomedical research, stricter gun control and public safety laws, environmental protection, and women's issues. She is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and chairwoman of its State and Foreign Operations subcommittee. As a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, she has been a strong advocate for distributing homeland security funds on the basis of risk.

Lowey was the first woman to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, leading the organization from 2001 to 2002. She has served as Chair of the Congressional Women’s Caucus and the House Pro-Choice Caucus, and has been called “the most prominent abortion rights advocate in Congress” by the Washington Post. Before being elected to Congress, Lowey served as Assistant Secretary of State for the State of New York.

To learn more about Nita M. Lowey, visit her encyclopedia article.

See also: Jewish Women in Politics.

Source: lowey.house.gov.