Lauren Underwood

As a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Lauren made addressing the veteran suicide crisis a top priority. More than 7,300 veterans, servicemembers, reservists, and members of the National Guard die by suicide each year. 

To address the veterans suicide crisis, Lauren wrote the Veterans Care Quality Transparency Act to ensure high quality mental health and suicide prevention care for veterans.  This bipartisan legislation was signed into law by President Trump in October 2020. 

Lauren secured $25 million to study gun violence as a public health issue, the first federal research into gun violence in more than two decades.

Lauren supported House passage of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act to establish universal background checks for all gun sales and close loopholes that make it easy for criminals to buy guns. As a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, she is committed to getting gun safety legislation signed into law.

As part of her work to eliminate cost barriers to health care, Lauren wrote the Health Care Affordability Act with her constituents top of mind.  Signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan, and later extended through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Health Care Affordability Act limits the cost of health care coverage for people who choose Marketplace plans to eight and a half percent or less of their income.  This law has proven to be so popular, over 16 million Americans signed up for health care coverage in 2022, with 4 in 5 enrollees finding a plan for $10 or less per month.