Nita Lowey

Nita Sue Lowey ( Melnikoff; born July 5, 1937) is an American politician who formerly served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1989 until 2021.

She is 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 worked for Mario Cuomo's 1974 campaign for lieutenant governor of New York.

She then served as the assistant secretary of state of New York for 13 years.

Lowey ran for the United States House of Representatives from New York's 20th congressional district in the 1988 election against incumbent Joe DioGuardi.

She defeated DioGuardi.

Lowey's district was numbered as the 20th from 1989 to 1993, as the 18th from 1993 to 2013, and as the NY's 17th congressional district beginning in 2013.

The district includes many of New York City's inner northern suburbs, such as White Plains, Purchase, Tarrytown, Mount Kisco, and Armonk.

She was succeeded by fellow Democrat Mondaire Jones.

Her district was renumbered as the 18th district after the 1990 census and became the 17th after the 2010 census.

For her entire tenure, Lowey represented a large slice of New York City's northern suburbs, including most of Westchester County and all of Rockland County.

She used to represent some of the far northern portions of Queens and the Bronx until redistricting after the 2000 Census removed the New York City portion of her district.

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.

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

One of the notable causes she supports is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in support of which she appeared at a congressional hearing accompanied by Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie.

Lowey has been a vocal advocate for a Security Council Resolution on the conflict in Darfur.

She is responsible for the $500 million in the Emergency Spending Bill for Aid in Darfur.

Lowey voted for HR 2454, the "Cap and Trade" legislation.

In 2004, Lowey received 69% of the vote against political newcomer Richard A. Hoffman, a Wall Street investor and largely self-funded candidate who ran on a platform of opposing special interests and cutting federal taxes.

Lowey emphasized her track record on homeland security issues, notably her work to reform the formula for distributing homeland security grants to states.

Lowey received an "A" on the liberal Drum Major Institute's 2005 scorecard.

In 2006, also against Hoffman, Lowey won with 70%.

She received 12% on the Club for Growth's 2007 congressional scorecard.

According to the conservative Heritage Foundation, Lowey consistently votes in support of the policies of the Democratic Party, and is seen as a strong and effective progressive voice in that legislative body.

Her voting record on mass surveillance earned her a "D" on the Stand Against Spying Congressional Scorecard, which was created by a coalition of organizations and individuals from across the political spectrum advocating for transparency and an end to mass surveillance.

Early in her Congressional career, Lowey sponsored an earmark for the purpose of "dredging the Mamaroneck Harbor."

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

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.

Lowey was re-elected to an eleventh term in 2008, with 68% of the vote against James C. Russell.

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.

However, some statements from the TSA dispute the necessity of collective bargaining.

She was strongly critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009, 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, the effectiveness of which was questioned by some of her constituents.

In 2018, Lowey became the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee.

In 2018, the Democrats won the majority in the U.S House of Representatives and subsequently Congresswoman Lowey became the first Chairwoman of the House Committee on Appropriations.

She announced on October 10, 2019, that she would retire and not run for re-election to Congress in 2020.

Lowey was born in the Bronx in New York City to Beatrice (Fleisher) and Jack Melnikoff.

She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and then Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor's degree in liberal studies.

After she became chair, she negotiated a border security bill with Senator Richard Shelby that funded the government through 2020.