[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 2, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2138-S2139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING NITA M. LOWEY

  Mrs. ROSEN. Mr. President, today I rise to honor the legacy of 
Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, who passed away on March 15 at the age of 
87. For 32 years, Congresswoman Lowey proudly served her district in 
the House of Representatives, fighting on behalf of women, children, 
and families not just here in America, but also around the world. She 
served on the prestigious House Appropriations Committee for 28 years, 
ultimately becoming the first woman to serve as the committee's chair. 
She was a tireless advocate to help those society often overlooked. She 
was also someone I was lucky to call a friend. She was kind, funny, and 
a master legislator that I was lucky to learn from.
  In Judaism, the term ``tikkun olam'' refers to the concept that Jews 
are commanded to repair and improve the world. Few people have embodied 
this concept more beautifully than Nita. Throughout her time in 
Congress, she championed issues of importance to the Jewish people, 
creating the House Bipartisan Taskforce to Combat Antisemitism and 
advancing legislation to protect Jewish communities in America and 
abroad. She was a lifelong supporter of the US-Israel relationship, 
using her powerful role on the House State and Foreign Operations 
Appropriations Subcommittee to ensure Israel's defense needs were 
supported. Yet she never gave up hope for a future two-state solution 
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pushing through the Nita M. Lowey 
Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA), landmark legislation 
that established a fund supporting joint Israeli-Palestinian economic 
projects and people-to-people peacebuilding efforts, in her final years 
in Congress.
  But Nita's call to repair the world was far reaching, and she was 
driven to help all people, especially women and girls. When she first 
got to Congress and learned that NIH clinical trials weren't required 
to include women or people of color--remarking that ``even the lab rats 
were male''--she spearheaded a bill that changed that. She fought 
fiercely for women's reproductive rights and services in the U.S. and 
abroad, believing that when women have control over their own bodies, 
they are able to control their own destinies. And as a former PTA 
president in the Bronx, Nita knew the transformative impact education 
has for all children, particularly girls. An advocate for all forms of 
foreign assistance, Nita believed that U.S. international development 
hinged on education, often referring to it as ``the single greatest 
force multiplier in foreign aid.'' Through her leadership, she turned 
the United States into the global leader for international basic 
education, working for more than a decade to pass the Reinforcing 
Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act and push funding for 
these programs to an all time high. Thanks to

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Nita's legacy, millions of children around the world have the chance at 
a better future.
  Nita was beloved by legislators on both sides of the aisle, as 
evidenced by the many bipartisan statements after she passed. But this 
love could not match that of her family, including her three children, 
her eight grandchildren, and her devoted husband Stephen Lowey. No 
matter how pressing her responsibilities were in DC, Nita's family 
remained the center of her life, and her commitment was an example to 
us all.
  Nita was a force to be reckoned with, and her legacy will long 
outlive her. Her memory will be a blessing to the millions of lives 
that have benefited from her work, and she will continue to be an 
inspiration to me and all those who are compelled to repair the world.

                          ____________________