Nita Lowey (D-NY, 17th Congressional District) is retiring after 32 years in Congress. Lowey says her Jewish identity as a lawmaker has been defined by membership on the Appropriations Committee, where she became the senior Democrat in 2013, and the committee chair since the beginning of this year.

Upon taking the helm, Lowey had the option of chairing a subcommittee she narrowed to Labor, Health and Human Services, which controls $150 billion, including spending on many of the women’s issues she favors, or Foreign Operations, which deals with just over a third of that amount. She chose the latter. “I took that committee because I felt that it was important to make sure that the partnership between Israel and the United States remains strong,” she said.

Lowey says she is leaving Congress because she wants more time with her husband of 58 years, Stephen, her three children, and her eight grandchildren.