Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Democrat who represented the Rochester, N.Y., area for more than 30 years, died on Friday. She was 88.
The former chair of the Rules Committee _ and the oldest member of the House _ suffered a head injury after a fall, her office said.
Slaughter fell while at her Washington home last week, her chief of staff said.
"To have met Louise Slaughter is to have known a force of nature," Liam Fitzsimmons, Slaughter's chief of staff, said in a statement. "She was a relentless advocate for Western New York whose visionary leadership brought infrastructure upgrades, technology and research investments, and two federal manufacturing institutes to Rochester that will transform the local economy for generations to come."
Slaughter was born Dorothy McIntosh in Kentucky in 1929. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in microbiology and later received a Master's in public health after writing a thesis on the problem of bacterial drug resistance.
After graduate school, she and her husband, Bob Slaughter, moved to Western New York, settling in the village of Fairport, near Rochester.
They were married for 57 years. Bob Slaughter, who worked as a legal administrator for the Eastman Kodak Co., passed away in 2014 at the age of 82.
Together the couple had three daughters and seven grandchildren.
Slaughter was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1986 after first serving in the State Assembly for two terms.
"I'm sending condolences to Congresswoman Slaughter's family and loved ones from all of us here _ this is a huge loss of a truly kind and fierce woman," Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez tweeted. "We're holding you in our hearts."
Slaughter was a founding member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, working to promote reproductive health and protect women's right to choice.
She also co-authored the Violence Against Women Act and fought for the passage of legislation that guarantees women and minorities are included in all federal health trials.
As the first female head of the House Committee on Rules, Slaughter helped shepherd the Affordable Care Act, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act to passage.
"In her lifetime of public service and unwavering commitment to working families, Congresswoman Slaughter embodied the very best of the American spirit," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. " ... The Congressional community has lost a beloved leader and a cherished friend."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered his condolences and paid tribute to the longtime lawmaker who once worked for his father, Mario Cuomo.
"She was trailblazer, a partner and friend ever since we worked together for my father more than four decades ago," Cuomo said. "She will be missed greatly by all who knew her, but she will not be forgotten anytime soon by all those she served."
Slaughter was planning to run for re-election for a 17th term.
Cuomo has the power to call a special election, but if he does not do so by July the seat will be filled through the general election.
Republicans hold the majority in the House, 238 to 192, with five vacancies.
The Democrats need to pick up 25 seats to retake the House.
At least 38 House Republicans are resigning, retiring or running for another office.
