Congresswoman Louise Slaughter died early this morning at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. She was 88.
Slaughter served the 25th District in the House of Representatives. The district had many numbers and many different shapes over the years, but always the same push for women’s rights, families and anything she thought was likely to bring jobs to her constituents. Among her most recent accomplishments were helping bring high-tech companies to Eastman Business Park, helping launch the AIM Photonics Institute and support for Rochester’s new train and bus station. She constantly pushed for legislation she believed would preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics, and in 2006 headed a year-long effort that successfully pushed to improve body armor for U.S. Troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. She was the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 which helped reduce cases of domestic violence by nearly 70 percent.
Slaughter is also known for the STOCK Act, which outlawed members of Congress trading on their insider knowledge in financial transactions. She was the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee and was currently the ranking Democratic member.
Slaughter was in her 16th term in the House and was running for a 17th. She was hospitalized last week after a fall in her Washington D.C. home and was being treated for a possible concussion. Her husband of 57 years, Robert Slaughter, died in 2014.
Slaughter was born to a coal mining family in Harlan County, Kentucky. She never lost the “ol’ Kentucky Home” accent. In a varied career, she was a country music singer (and would demonstrate that skill at union picnics), a microbiologist and public health nurse. She served as Upstate Coordinator for Mario Cuomo while he was Lt. Governor of New York, served in the Monroe County Legislature and two terms in the New York State Assembly before being elected to Congress in 1986.
Slaughter’s chief of staff described her in a statement today as “a force of nature.”
Tributes to her have come in today from both political parties, the entire New York Congressional Delegation and figures including former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
She’s survived by three children, plus several grandchildren and great grandchildren.