Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois highlighted two bills she introduced as House lawmakers left Washington earlier than originally scheduled ahead of the November midterms.
Underwood used the moment to promote legislation addressing veterans’ suicide prevention and the nursing workforce, while criticizing Speaker Mike Johnson for shortening the House’s pre-election schedule.
In the video, Underwood says it is lawmakers’ last day in Washington before the November election but insists, “we’re not done legislating,” before announcing two bills.
The first, the Lethal Means Safety and Suicide Prevention Training Act, would expand suicide-prevention training to VA employees who regularly interact with veterans, certain community-care providers and family caregivers. It would also require compliance reporting and make training resources publicly available.
Underwood also introduced the bipartisan Educating Future Nurses Act, saying it would help “grow our nursing workforce.”
Since the video was posted, both measures have entered the House committee process. The veterans bill, H.R. 10409, was referred to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, while the nursing proposal, H.R. 10410, was referred to the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees. Neither has advanced beyond the committee stage so far.
Underwood’s post also criticized Speaker Mike Johnson for canceling votes and sending lawmakers home early. Republican leadership had already removed the final two weeks of September voting days before Johnson canceled the House’s final scheduled voting day. Members are not expected to return for regular legislative business until after the Nov. 3 midterms.
Johnson defended the shortened schedule, saying, “The House has done its work,” while lawmakers from both parties pointed to unfinished business that would now wait until after the election.
Underwood’s Last-Minute Bills Spark Debate Over Timing
On X, supporters praised Underwood for continuing to work as lawmakers left Washington. One called her “one of the hardest working reps we’ve got,” while another simply wrote, “Doing the work.”
Others questioned the timing. One commenter called introducing bills “on the literal day Congress goes out of session” the “ultimate performative political theater” and claimed the measures had “a zero percent chance of passing.”
The timing does not mean the bills are automatically dead. Neither received a floor vote before lawmakers left Washington, but both have entered the House committee process.
Underwood’s bills now enter the legislative process as House members spend the weeks before the midterms away from Washington. Neither measure received a floor vote before the recess, and lawmakers are scheduled to return after the Nov. 3 election.
Johnson has defended the shortened schedule by saying the House completed its work, while Underwood and other lawmakers have pointed to unfinished legislation as evidence that more could have been done before members left.
