Lauren Underwood
Underwood announced on the day of the vote: "Today, I'm voting to stop more U.S. funding for the Israeli military." At an August 2025 town hall she said what is happening "is immoral. It's unacceptable. It's wrong."
Underwood represents Illinois's 14th District in Chicago's outer suburbs and is running for re-election. Her own words explain the vote her card shows.
On 15 July 2026 she posted a video titled: "Today, I'm voting to stop more U.S. funding for the Israeli military." That is the same day as the tracked amendment recorded on this card, and it is the rare case where a member says plainly what a badge otherwise leaves unexplained.
Asked at a DeKalb town hall in August 2025 whether Israel's actions met the legal definition of genocide, she declined to argue the term and said: "I'm not sure about that legal definition of genocide, but what I can tell you, what's happening right now is immoral. It's unacceptable. It's wrong. I think that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, is completely culpable in what's happening." She added that debates about terms "allow people to fixate on those terms and therefore avoid solutions."
In May 2025 she co-sponsored H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, which would withhold specified offensive weapons transfers. Her position moved to get there: asked in October 2024 whether she would support an arms embargo, she answered "No."
Tracked votes: opposed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 4 of 6 recorded votes.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- [Position, 2026-07-15] Her own campaign-page video, title recovered verbatim from the page's embedded data: "Today, I'm voting to stop more U.S. funding for the Israeli military. Watch my conversation with Leigh Ann Caldwell." This is her own account of the vote recorded on this card.
⚠ **A QUOTE THE RESEARCH GAVE HER THAT WE COULD NOT CONFIRM: "The Israelis are out of control."** That sentence appears only in the headline of a post by trackaipac, a third-party advocacy account. A raw-byte search of her own video page does not contain it. It is therefore **withheld from the card and from the quote entries**, and recorded here as unverified.
- [Position, 2025-05-21] Co-sponsored H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, which would withhold transfers of specified offensive weapons and add congressional authorization requirements.
- Her recorded votes on the tracked bills appear as badges on this card; the July 2026 statement above is her own explanation of the most recent one.
- [Position, 2024-10-29] ⚠ **A DATED EARLIER ANSWER, found while writing her opponent's card in this batch.** WNIJ reports asking her directly: "Would you support an arms embargo in Israel?" Her answer: "No." The same piece says she "does not support a change in U.S. policy towards Israel" while noting Israel's offensive had killed over 42,000 Palestinians. Confirmed verbatim. Set beside her July 2026 statement above, this documents a change of position over roughly twenty months, which is exactly the kind of thing a card should carry and a badge cannot show.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- No dedicated statement located on U.S. humanitarian funding, UNRWA or the aid pipeline as a policy question.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2025-08-23] DeKalb town hall, opened and confirmed word for word: "I'm not sure about that legal definition of genocide, but what I can tell you, what's happening right now is immoral. It's unacceptable. It's wrong. I think that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, is completely culpable in what's happening." And: "I think that debates around terms allow people to fixate on those terms and therefore avoid solutions."
- [After October 7, 2023-11-29] Statement condemning the October 7 attack, affirming Israel's right to protect its people, noting "the civilian death rate in Gaza [is] skyrocketing," and urging permanent de-escalation. From the weeks right after October 7; not used on the card.
- [Position, 2025-01-15] Statement welcoming the ceasefire and hostage release, hoping for "a permanent, lasting peace in Gaza." Not opened.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2026-02-24] In an interview she described the pro-Israel lobby as "very active and engaged" in elections and called open debate about primary campaign spending "healthy,", as reported. Sources include a TN Holler video post; login-walled, unverified.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [After October 7, 2023-11-29] Same November statement: "The recent rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia is unacceptable, and our country has a long and painful history with both," citing local incidents including a 2022 mass shooting.
Also in this race: James Marter (Republican) · All Illinois candidates.
See the full record →But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps. Open the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.