A Dignified, Determined Doer, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, 1937

A Dignified, Determined Doer, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, 1937 – 2025

Tuesday, 25 March 2025 08:34

Last Updated: Tuesday, 25 March 2025 08:48

Published: Tuesday, 25 March 2025 08:34

Diane Greenwald

NitaLowey Hillary Clinton, Diane Greenwald and Nita LoweyNita Lowey died March 15, 2025 of breast cancer in her Harrison home at 87 surrounded by her family. A compassionate yet fierce stateswoman, she served in the US Congress for 16 terms. Lowey won her first-ever race in 1988, a 3-person Democratic primary and then the general election, defeating a Republican incumbent. When she joined the 101st Congress, she was 51 years old.

Congress was her significant second act, but she had always been a leader. Born in the Bronx, Nita Sue Melnikoff graduated from Bronx Science High School as valedictorian, and then Mount Holyoke College, with a BA in political science. After two years working for a NYC ad agency, she married Steven Lowey, a name partner of a White Plains law firm. The couple have 3 children and eight grandchildren.

A PTA president and active community member, Lowey volunteered for her neighbor, Mario Cuomo, on his 1974 campaign for lieutenant governor which eventually led her to a position in his administration, as an Assistant Secretary of State. She served in that role for thirteen years, traveling New York as the eyes and ears of the governor, and building her skills as a public servant to a diverse population. Lowey described herself for her alumnae magazine as a “person who gets things done.”

In Congress, Lowey was known for her warm smile and grandmotherly demeanor, but she was in fact a powerhouse, sponsoring over 500 pieces of legislation and co-sponsored thousands more. Over 400 became law, an impressive rate. She was the first woman to chair the DCCC, and in her final term, Lowey became the first woman to chair the important appropriations committee. And Lowey showed up. Over her tenure, she attended 18,657 of 19,168 roll call votes.

Lowey successfully navigated the impact of 3 New York redistricting plans, shifting her from NY-20 to NY-16 and her final 8 years were for NY-17. She represented parts of Westchester, some of Northern Bronx and all of Rockland County, where she was well-known and well-liked for her focus on including and meeting her constituents’ needs.

Her legacy could be summed up as, don’t underestimate older women, or, as her long-time colleague Nancy Pelosi offered, Nita was “gracious and tenacious.”

Only 441 women have served in the US Congress, a mere 3.3% of the total office holders. For 32 years, Lowey was one of these pacesetting women – and women’s issues and equity were always among her priorities. In 1993, she co-sponsored a bill to ensure women and people of color were included in NIH clinical trials, about which she said, “even the lab rats were all male.”

Two years prior, in October 1991, Lowey joined 6 other women lawmakers to march across the US Capitol building to demand the Senate allow Anita Hill to publicly defend herself during Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings.

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Lowey sponsored or co-sponsored many other important pieces of legislation to improve life for the most vulnerable, like the International Violence Against Women Act, Protect Access to Birth Control Act, Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2014, The Heroes Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and Further Continuing Appropriations Act. When Ms. Lowey served on the Select Committee on Homeland Security, she fought to secure over $20 million for New York’s recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Lowey championed the Public Broadcasting System, especially the quality educational children’s programming, like Sesame Street. She brought Burt and Ernie puppets to press conferences to make her point.

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Proud of her Jewish life and roots, Lowey was a steadfast supporter of the US-Israel special relationship. With independence and integrity, she worked across the political spectrum, sure of both her love of Israel and her criticisms of the Israeli government. Her lengthy efforts toward peace were acknowledged when the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act Fund was named in her honor. It took years, but with bi-partisan support, up to $250 Million could be allocated for peace-building efforts, a significant investment in Isreal-Palestinian civil society. At the time of her death, Lowey’s peacemaker legacy is in jeopardy, as the Trump administration tries to slash civilian foreign aid and services. It is unclear how or if USAID will be restored, so that the humanitarian good works so many support (and Congress passed) can proceed.

In her last term, Nita Lowey joined in solidarity with her colleagues, wearing all white to the floor of the House for the 2019 State of the Union. Harkening the powerful suffragists who championed women’s rights a century earlier, these lawmakers stood up for policies important to women that were and remain under attack, like healthcare and equal pay.

The first woman was elected to Congress in 1919, and since 1925, the number of women elected has slowly but steadily increased. Until now. This year, for the first time in 100 years, fewer women are serving in Congress than the term before. Is our glass ceiling a mere 28.7% of the House, and only 25% of the Senate? For Nita’s sake, for all she achieved and advanced, let’s hope not.

On a personal note, I had the good fortune to know the Congresswoman. I lobbied her to support allocations for hunger eradication, I supported pro-choice women candidates with her, and I frequently saw her at the golf club where we both belonged. It was there, maybe at a mother’s day bar-b-que or a fourth of July celebration, that I observed her walk through the large dining room, graciously greeting her adoring community, but tenaciously focused on the table in the corner, where her devoted husband and lovely family gathered.
I hope all of Scarsdale will join me with heartfelt condolences to Nita’s family, as we honor her service and legacy.

Submitted by Diane Greenwald, by request of Joanne Wallenstein