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.

Longtime New York congresswoman Nita Lowey, 87, has died from metastatic breast cancer, her family announced Sunday.