{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://underwood.house.gov/media/press-releases/underwood-supports-historic-investment-lowering-costs-illinois-families", "Underwood Supports\u202fHistoric Investment in\u202fLowering Costs for\u202fIllinois Families with\u202fPassage of the Build Back Better Act", "2021-11-19", "2021", "2021-11", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Lauren Underwood", "U000040", "underwood.house.gov", "underwood", "https://underwood.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) supported the historic passage of the Build Back Better Act, once-in-a-generation legislation to meet the urgent needs of Illinois families by delivering affordable child care, universal Pre-K, lower health care and prescription drug costs, climate and clean energy solutions, lower taxes for families, and more.\n\nAmong the key provisions are three Underwood-drafted pieces of legislation. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act will combat the U.S. maternal mortality crisis and the Health Care Affordability Act will reduce out-of-pocket health costs by making tax credits for Health Insurance Marketplace plans more generous and available to more Americans. The Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN) Act will address the crisis of nurse staffing shortages that has impacted communities across the United States throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nThe legislation is fully paid for and will reduce the deficit by ensuring large corporations and the wealthiest pay their fair share.\n\n\"Illinois families have been put through the wringer in the last two years and now, more than ever, we need to ensure a strong economic recovery by lowering the cost of health care and of raising a family, invest in combatting the climate crisis, and do this responsibly by ensuring large corporations and the wealthiest pay their fair share,\" Rep. Lauren Underwood said.\n\n\"I'm especially proud that my legislation, the Health Care Affordability Act, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, and the Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN) Act were included in this life-changing and life-saving package. This legislation brings us one step closer to giving Americans access to the equitable and affordable health care they deserve,\" she concluded.\n\nThe legislation will be transformative for every Illinois family: delivering historic investments and ensuring that all Americans can share in the benefits of a growing economy now, and for generations to come.\n\nThe Build Back Better Act:\n\nInvests in affordable child care: The average annual cost for child care in Illinois is $9,876. The Build Back Better framework will expand access to childcare for 755,080 young Illinoisians and ensure no family pays more than seven percent of their income on child care.\n\nImproves Medicare to cover hearing costs: Adds a new, comprehensive hearing benefit to Medicare Part B, including coverage of hearing aids and services from audiologists and hearing aid professionals.\n\nEnsures paid family and medical leave: The program will ensure workers receive partial wage replacement to take time to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, deal with a loved one's military deployment, find safety from sexual assault, stalking, or domestic violence, heal from their own serious illness, or take time to deal with the death of a loved one. It will guarantee four weeks of paid parental, family, and personal illness/safe leave.\n\nCombats climate change: Creates clean energy jobs and provides resources to farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners, supporting their efforts to reduce emissions.\n\nExpands early education: The Build Back Better Act will expand access to free, high-quality pre-K to more than 254,000 Illinois students \u2013 setting up children for lifelong success and saving their parents thousands of dollars.\n\nLowers prescription drug prices: Lowers out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors and families by finally negotiating lower drug costs, halting outrageous price hikes, creating an out-of-pocket cap on drug spending for seniors under Medicare Part D, and ensuring Americans with diabetes pay no more than $35 per month for their insulin.\n\nFixes the State and Local Tax Deduction: Since the Republican Tax Law, places like the 14th District have been disproportionally burdened by changes to the State and Local Tax deduction (SALT) which was capped at $10,000 per year. This legislation repeals that unfair double-tax on Illinois families for five years.\n\nExtends the Child Tax Credit: The legislation will provide monthly payments to the parents of nearly 90 percent of American children for 2022 \u2013 $300 per month per child under six and $250 per month per child ages 6 to 17.\n\nThe Build Back Better Act also makes generational investments in higher education, workforce training, affordable housing, nutrition assistance and more.\n\nUnderwood's Health Care Affordability Act (H.R. 369) was included in the American Rescue Plan and has already lowered out-of-pocket premium and deductible costs for Illinoisans and families across the United States. 2.8 million Americans have newly enrolled in coverage, many for the first time in their adult lives; out-of-pocket premium costs have dropped by 40 percent; and 4 in 5 enrollees can now find a plan for $10 or less per month. The Build Back Better Act extends these historic gains in coverage and lower costs \u2013 the most significant expansion of affordable health care in more than a decade.\n\nAs a co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Black Maternal Health Caucus, Underwood introduced the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act (H.R. 959) in February 2021, a sweeping package of 12 bills to end the U.S. maternal health crisis. Every eligible provision of Underwood's Momnibus legislation was included in the Build Back Better Act, along with a permanent expansion of yearlong postpartum Medicaid coverage in every state\u2014the largest investment in American history to eliminate preventable maternal mortality, end racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes, and advance birth equity across the country. The Momnibus provisions of the Build Back Better Act led by Underwood will grow and diversify the perinatal workforce, including midwives and doulas; invest in community-based organizations working to promote maternal health equity; address social determinants of health like housing, nutrition, and environmental conditions; and expand access to maternal mental health care to ensure that every family in America can thrive.\n\nThe full fact sheet from is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://underwood.house.gov/media/press-releases/underwood-supports-historic-investment-lowering-costs-illinois-families"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 6.017928011715412, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}