Press Releases
WEST CHICAGO – Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced Audree Hall as her virtual guest for President Biden's Joint Session of Congress address on Wednesday, April 28. Hall is a mother from Lake County, who was laid off in August 2020 and had to choose between affording her mortgage and paying for COBRA premiums which left her family to make the hard choice to go without health insurance.
WEST CHICAGO— Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Member Designated Projects selected for the 14th District of Illinois. Member Designated Projects is a new initiative for Fiscal Year 2022 that allows Members of Congress to request direct funding for projects that benefit the communities they represent. This new initiative is coupled with stringent eligibility, ethics, and transparency requirements.
WEST CHICAGO– Today, Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced that more help is here for Illinois businesses and jobs as the Small Business Administration's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program is accepting applications. Underwood helped secure additional funding for the program as part of the American Rescue Plan's support for small businesses. The program includes a total of over $16 billion in grants for shuttered venues. Underwood recently met with Ron Onesti, Owner of ArcadaTheatre in St.
WASHINGTON—Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) led 30 Sophomore and Freshmen House Democratic Members in an effort urging President Biden to prioritize health care coverage and affordability policies in upcoming recovery legislation, including a permanent expansion of advance premium tax credits (APTCs) used to purchase Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act.
WASHINGTON— Today, Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Chairs Julie Brownley (CA-26), Frank Mrvan (IN-01), Mike Levin (CA-49), and Chris Pappas (NH-01) reintroduced legislation to address the veteran suicide crisis. The Lethal Means Safety Training Act would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand its evidence-based lethal means safety training to all VA employees regularly interacting with veterans, as well as community care providers and family caregivers.
WASHINGTON—In a hearing with the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) advocated for programs to support nutrition assistance and improve maternal health. In the hearing with Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Underwood discussed her recent visit to the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva, Illinois which has helped keep Illinois families fed throughout the pandemic.
Bipartisan legislation supported by Veterans Service Organizations including the Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans, and Minority Veterans of America
WASHINGTON– This week, Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) advocated for 14th District transportation and infrastructure needs before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Underwood highlighted projects that would benefit the district including the expansion of Metra mass transit services to Kendall County, expansion of rural broadband access in McHenry County, and upgraded water treatment facilities throughout the district, including in Spring Grove, IL.
West Chicago—Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced new financial assistance available to Illinoisans through the American Rescue Plan. As of April 12, 2021, FEMA is accepting applications to help pay for funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020, for deaths related to COVID-19 to help Illinois families who have been financially burdened during the pandemic. In December 2020, Underwood supported the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act that provided $2 billion in federal resources for funeral assistance through FEMA.
WASHINGTON— Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Congressman Mike Gallagher (WI-08) introduced bipartisan climate change legislation to support farmers and ranchers on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is well-positioned to support agricultural producers' efforts to address climate change through existing voluntary, incentives-based programs, like the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).