Nita Lowey is the US House of Representatives Congress member for the 17th district in New York. Her constituency lies in Rockland County along with parts of Westchester County.
Lowey grew up in the Bronx, attending Bronx Science High School, then attended Mount Holyoke College where she got her degree in political science. She currently lives in Harrison, New York.
Nita Lowey is an oldtimer on the Hill, currently serving her thirteenth term in Congress. Since 1988 she has been a member of the House of Representatives. Prior to this position she served as the Assistant Secretary of State for New York. Lowey allies with the Democratic party.
Lowey’s most important role in the House is her ranking in the House Appropriations Committee, which focuses on US expenditures in all senses. Only one person holds a higher role in the committee than Lowey, Hal Rodgers, the chairman, and this is because she is in the minority party in the House. Within the Appropriations Committee she is the ranking member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee. She is also involved in two other subcommittees under the Committee on Appropriations: the Subcommittee on Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
Not only is Lowey involved in these committees, but she is also a member of many caucuses, including the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Terror Financing.
Based on her Caucus involvement, it is evident that Lowey is involved in women's rights campaigns; most recently on the issue of abortion in 2011, Lowey voted no on a rule that would stop federal health care from allowing abortion. Along the same lines, in February 2013 Lowey voted yes to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and in 2007 voted yes to stop discrimination based on sexual orientation in the work force. Based on the same ideals, in 2009 Lowey voted yes to have four weeks of paid leave, for parents for federal employment.
In terms of foreign affairs Lowey feels that it is important to stay involved throughout the globe. On her website it is written that “she is a leading proponent of all three elements of a strong national security strategy: defense, diplomacy, and development. She supports a strong relationship between the United States and Israel; she also would like a safe and speedy withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Another important issue that she focuses on is healthcare. She has consistently made sure to protect women’s rights in terms of health services. She makes sure that funding for biomedical research exists (she helped in a campaign that tripled the budget for the National Insititutes of Health). She believes in strong initiatives to stop childhood obesity. Finally, she is a supporter of the Affordable Care Act which helps New York in a myriad of ways, one being that children can stay on parents’ health insurance until the age of twenty-six.
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