MoveOn is proud to endorse Rep. Lauren Underwood for reelection in Illinois’s 14th Congressional District!

Leadership and Experience

A registered nurse and public health expert, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood brings a critical frontline perspective to Washington. She made history in 2018 when she flipped Illinois’s 14th district from red to blue, defeating a four-term Republican incumbent to become the first person of color and first millennial to represent her district, as well as the youngest Black woman ever elected to Congress. Her colleagues recognize her effective leadership; she currently serves as Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and is the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee.

Before her historic election, Lauren served as a career civil servant in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), working directly to implement the Affordable Care Act. She was later appointed by President Obama as a Senior Advisor at HHS, where she helped communities nationwide prepare for and respond to public health emergencies, disasters, and bioterror threats. Lauren holds a Bachelor’s in Nursing from the University of Michigan and dual Master’s degrees in Nursing and Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

How she’ll help your community:

• Lowering Healthcare Costs: As a nurse and a woman living with a pre-existing heart condition, Lauren’s absolute priority is expanding access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. Her landmark legislation, the Healthcare Affordability Act, was successfully signed into law to significantly lower insurance premiums for American families.

• Saving Moms’ Lives: Lauren co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus to address the nation’s maternal mortality crisis. She introduced the Momnibus Act, a comprehensive package of evidence-based bills specifically designed to eliminate maternal health disparities and save mothers’ lives.

• Preventing Gun Violence: Lauren approaches gun violence as a critical public health crisis. She advocates for data-driven, evidence-based gun safety policies to ensure that no child has to fear for their life at school and no worker faces violence on the job.

• Effective Bipartisan Governance: Focused on delivering real results rather than partisan bickering, Lauren has successfully had 18 pieces of legislation signed into law by both Democratic and Republican presidents.

Her position on key issues

• Reproductive Freedom: Lauren is a fierce defender of reproductive rights, supporting access to the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare services—including safe, legal, and affordable abortion care—without government restrictions.

• Climate Change & Clean Energy: She supports robust federal action to combat climate change, protect public health, and transition the country to a clean energy economy that creates good-paying local jobs.

• Supporting Our Veterans: She is deeply committed to ensuring that our nation’s veterans receive the high-quality medical care, mental health resources, and economic benefits they earned through their service.

• Economic Growth for Working Families: Lauren is focused on building a resilient economy from the middle out by strengthening local infrastructure, supporting small businesses, and eliminating cost barriers on everyday essentials.

To learn more about Lauren, visit her website: https://underwoodforcongress.com