A REGISTERED NURSE AND PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT, CONGRESSWOMAN UNDERWOOD BRINGS A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE TO CONGRESS
She has made access to high-quality, affordable health care a signature issue. Her bill, the Healthcare Affordability Act, was signed into law as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, and extended in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Congresswoman Underwood co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus to combat America’s unacceptably high maternal death rates and the significant disparities experienced by Black mothers. In 2020, alongside colleagues in the House and Senate, she first introduced the Momnibus, a package of evidence-based bills to save moms’ lives. Congresswoman Underwood is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Prior to her election to Congress, she worked to implement the Affordable Care Act as a career civil servant in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She was later appointed by President Obama to serve as a Senior Advisor at HHS, where she helped communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to public health emergencies, bioterror threats, and other disasters.
Congresswoman Underwood received her Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Science in Nursing and Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.