NEW YORK -- Former U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, a long serving New York Democrat who was the first woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has died. She was 87.

Nita M. Lowey, a veteran legislator from New York who served 16 terms until her retirement after the 116th Congress, died on Saturday.

Former Rep. Nita Lowey, who represented New York in Congress for 32 years and became the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee, died at 87, her family said. The Democrat – a