Only hours into her new job as chairwoman of the very powerful Appropriations Committee, Hudson Valley Rep. Nita Lowey has hit the ground running.

She's already working on introducing two bills: one to immediately reopen the government and the other to fully restore the state and local tax deductions that were nearly eliminated in the 2017 tax bill.

News 12 reached Lowey by phone Thursday in Washington. She insists these two pieces of legislation are the first of many she's working on

"We are ready to get to work. To raise wages, lower health care costs, to protect Social Security and Medicare and the Appropriations Committee will lead the way,” she says.

Lowey is the first woman to lead the committee.

She’s not the only Hudson Valley representative who’s moving up the ranks in the new Congress. Rep. Eliot Engel will lead the House Foreign Relations Committee. News 12 talked to him shortly after the November election about his priorities in his new role.

“I think we're going to be more inclined to say what we think should be done and do the kinds of checks and balances that our forefathers envisioned for us,” he said.