Louise Slaughter, a pioneering Democratic US lawmaker who rose to become the first female chair of the House Rules Committee, died Friday after suffering a concussion in a fall, her office announced. She was 88. First elected to Congress in 1986 in western New York, Slaughter was the oldest sitting member in the House of Representatives, a tough-as-nails legislator and an influential voice within her party.
She used her background as a microbiologist to press for health legislation. But she was also instrumental on women's issues, co-authoring the Violence Against Women Act. She wrote the legislation that bars members of Congress from using privileged information for insider trading, and was a passionate advocate for the arts.
Her role as Rules chair - and since the Republicans regained control of the House in 2010, as the committee's senior Democrat - gave her immense power over the terms of debate on the House floor.
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