Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress President and CEO Neera Tanden released the following statement today after news that Rep. Louise Slaughter (D), who represented Rochester, New York in Congress for more than 30 years, has died at the age of 88:
Rep. Slaughter was a great champion for women and worked tirelessly for her constituents for decades. She was the first woman to represent her district in Congress, and later the first woman to lead the House Committee on Rules. She will be remembered for her strength, tenacity, and vision. This led her to fight for policies to protect the most vulnerable of families, such as raising the minimum wage, an issue disproportionately affecting women and women of color. She also championed economic investments to help local companies compete on a global scale so they could keep and protect local jobs. With everything she worked on, she was thoughtful in helping find solutions to fight poverty in a dynamic way that simultaneously fueled the economy to the benefit of women, families, businesses, and local economic development—proving our lawmakers can make the most impact when they truly work on behalf of all those they serve. She will be missed.
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