Hello, and welcome to KnowThis Live. I'm Zinhle Essamuah.
Joining me today is Rep. Lauren Underwood. When she was sworn in,
in 2019, she became the youngest Black woman to serve in Congress.
Rep Underwood. Thank you so much for being here with us.
Well, thank you, Lee. I'm so excited to be with you this morning.
Yes, and I'm glad we get to talk to you, especially amid COVID-19,
because I know that you are a registered nurse and you bring a very unique
perspective and needed perspective to Congress.
You've created a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the pandemic,
and I understand that you wrote president Biden this week.
What are you asking he does to combat this pandemic?
Yes, so we know that we've had almost a year of this coronavirus response,
and unfortunately the Trump administration didn't take a science-based approach.
We have an opportunity with President Biden to center public health measures
that will help us crush the virus and protect the American people.
So I've asked the president to prioritize robust testing and contact
tracing,
making sure that every community has access to the treatments that we know help
save lives. And as we continue to ramp up vaccine distribution,
I'm asking him to help flood the zone,
make sure that folks who were the hardest hit communities have access to the
vaccine. You know, when we center the science and the evidence,
we have an opportunity to save lives, but also,
we have an opportunity to lower out-of-pocket costs for the American people,
which have been, you know, telling me and my colleagues in Congress,
they couldn't afford their health care to begin with.
So we have an opportunity to do both in this next COVID relief pack.
Yeah. And you talked about COVID treatment and making that accessible.
I'm mindful that the New York Times vaccine tracker put Illinois at the bottom
of the list for States rollout under 5% of residents of your state have
received one shot of the vaccine. What are you hearing from your constituents?
Well, there's a lot of enthusiasm for the vaccine,
but we just entered what they call phase 1-B here in our state,
which is those 65 and older becoming eligible to be vaccinated.
So there's all this interest and people don't know where they can go because
their primary care providers don't have it. Their health departments are out,
and so we are very anxious to get our next allotment of the vaccine that
will become available across the country.
We just heard from the Biden administration that they have secured,
an additional, I think 200 million doses over the next several months,
and we're certainly anxious to see that here in Northern Illinois.
The key for me is that we've overcome or are overcoming this
hurdle of convincing people that the vaccine is safe and effective. Right?
They want it. We just need to get the shots and arms now.
Yeah,
and it's interesting to see how much you are pushing for this to be implemented
and rolled out well. I'm mindful that, uh, you stated that never did.
I imagine I would be a Congresswoman and talked about how you got emotional
during your inauguration. Why were you emotional?
And what was that experience like for you?
You know, being sworn into the United States,
Congress as the youngest Black woman ever to serve in this body,
I was elected when I was 32 and to have an opportunity
to work on issues that impact so many people,
who've not had a voice, .
Who've not had real representation is something that I certainly
don't take for granted. You know,
I am now in my second term and have the opportunity to continue to lead on
health care issues, to continue to lead on issues, to save mom's lives.
You know, Black women continue to die at rates that are, you know,
three and four times higher than white women in this country just because we
have babies. And that is something that is unacceptable and can't continue for,
right? To have the opportunity to lead and advocate for change is something
that is so meaningful to me. And, you know, it's,
it's the beauty of our system in our country that a regular woman,
a nurse from the middle of the country could get herself on the ballot and get
elected.
And I'm glad you mentioned, uh, black maternal mortality.
I know that that statistic, right,
the Black women are three to four times more likely to die than their white
counterparts.
And I know you've advocated for maternal health care and mental health care.
What are we missing right now?
Yes. So I've introduced comprehensive legislation. It's called the Momnibus.
And last year we introduced it with Senator, then Senator Kamala Harris. And,
uh, this year we'll be introducing it with Senator Cory Booker. Uh,
and this is comprehensive.
So everything from climate change impacts on maternal health of which we know
there are many, and COVID-19, you know,
pregnant people who are getting infected with COVID-19 are having some pretty
bad outcomes. They're not participating in the vaccine trials.
And so we need to continue to offer additional resources there.
But then we also know that many States like mine,
suicide and substance use are huge contributing factors
to maternal death.
We need to offer targeted resources to address these issues.
Incarcerated people are having tremendous challenges when it comes
to maternal mortality, you know,
we have a lot of opportunities to increase the number of healthcare providers
and resources to not just say Black moms, but all women of color.
And when you do that, you improve outcomes for all pregnant people.
So we call it the Black maternal health Momnibus,
but this is an intervention that will improve healthcare quality and save lives
for women and pregnant people all across this country.
And I'm mindful as you speak that there has been a lot of vaccine hesitancy
among the black community, specifically, given the history of medical racism.
We know that's existed in the United States.
What are you telling people who might be hesitant to get a COVID vaccine?
You know,
what I am telling people is I understand how we came to this place and,
and some of the doubts and concerns and worries. I share with them,
my experience being vaccinated with the COVID vaccine, I got the Pfizer vaccine,
and only it had you know, a little sore arm at the end of the injection site,
which is normal. And I remind folks that vaccines are safe and they work,
and we have the opportunity to not only protect ourselves, but our families,
those people that are closest to us, the most important people in our lives,
when we get vaccinated, we have the chance to help protect them.
I think that that is such a powerful message,
particularly for us as women of color who have, you know,
inter intergenerational families, right. We're often either living with,
or supporting people who are older and younger than us.
And we want to make sure to keep everybody safe.
Yeah. And in your party,
you've been described as a moderate Democrat in a party that needs moderates
with star quality. And as I understand it,
you're not necessarily a member of the house's far left.
Do you self identify as a moderate?
And why do you think your unique perspective is needed in Congress?
I'm a Democrat.
People like to have these labels and I don't subscribe to any of them.
What I can tell you is this,
I bring the full weight of my lived experiences to my role in Congress, as a,
now 34 year old Black woman,
I represent a suburban and rural community outside of Chicago.
And the ideology of my constituents spans the gamut
from the far,
far right to the most progressive that you could ever imagine.
And so this gives me flexibility to represent their
interests. I am not beholden to anyone ideology or point of view,
and I am here to best serve the 720,000 people that I represent.
I think that this perspective gives me the opportunity to work well with
colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
They know that I bring real credibility when I say let's work together.
They know I meet it. Um, and we've gotten a lot of things done. You know,
president Trump signed several pieces of my legislation into law and just my
first term.
And I think that that track record shows that I can be an independent voice
for my constituents and also be effective,
being effective to getting things done,
which I think is really what's on the minds of people right now.
"What are you going to do for me today? We need help." Right.
Cause I hear that over and over and it lets us deliver.
Yeah. And I think your impact has already been seen.
I understand you're being groomed as a member of the Big Six,
which for those not familiar,
it's when freshmen who serve as liaisons to house leadership and attend
democratic strategy meetings and the like.
What strategy do you think the democratic party needs to be successful
moving forward? And in the present?
You know, I, I think that we're at an really a point of opportunity. Uh,
we have a House majority, a new Senate, majority,
and a visionary president and president Biden and the Biden-Harris
administration that have, um, such an inclusive vision for our country,
centering equity and justice. Right.
And so what I am hoping to see is that we are bringing people into
the conversation. You know,
so many folks have been left-feeling left out of politics for so long,
whether you're a young person of color and you might've voted in this past
election. And really aren't sure what to expect, right? Let's,
let's continue that conversation or whether you're a rural American
and, you know,
are wondering if there's a place for you and your ideas and you know,
the way that you support your family in this government right now. We,
I hope that, uh, leadership in the house,
the Senate and the White House continue to take the opportunity to talk to the
American people, to show up for all Americans,
not just the ones who may share their point of view or maybe the loudest
and most frequent, uh, folks writing or calling in.
Well Rep.
Underwood Thank you so much for sharing your perspective with us and making the
time.
Well Zinhle it's been an honor. Thank you.
Absolutely.
And thanks everyone for tuning in this has been Zinhle Essamuah and we'll see
you next time.