Congresswoman made history in her long career
LOUISE SLAUGHTER /
WASHINGTON — Veteran U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Kentucky blacksmith’s daughter who went on to chair one of Congress’ most-important committees, died Friday at a Washington hospital, her top aide said. She was 88.
The New York Democrat died at George Washington University Hospital a week after a fall at home in which she sustained a concussion, said Liam Fitzsimmons, her chief of staff.
Slaughter was the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee, doing so from 2007 through 2010, and was serving her 16th term in the House. Her 31 years in the chamber made her its third longest-serving woman.
A special election will be held to elect someone to serve out the rest of Slaughter’s term, which expires Dec. 31. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo will set the date for the election in the 25th Congressional District, which includes Rochester.
Slaughter had a degree in microbiology and was originally from Harlan County, Kentucky. Her soft, twangy accent always seemed out of place for someone representing a western New York district, but she was repeatedly re-elected.
“She brought the grace and grit of her Southern background to her leadership in the Congress, building bridges and breaking down barriers, all with her beautiful accent,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.
House Speaker Paul Ryan called Slaughter “a giant in the people’s House” and said she was “unrelenting” in working for her ideals and constituents.
Slaughter was the chief force behind a 2012 law to ban insider stock trading based on congressional knowledge and require disclosure of market activities by lawmakers. She also helped write the Violence Against Women Act and a 2008 law designed to protect people with genetic predispositions to health conditions from facing discrimination.
Slaughter married Ohio native Robert “Bob” Slaughter in 1957. He died in 2014 at age 82. The Slaughters are survived by three daughters, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.