Congresswoman Robin Kelly has dedicated her career to public service as an advocate for Illinois families. Since being elected to serve the 2nd Congressional District in 2013, she has worked to expand economic opportunity, community wellness, and public safety across the state, championing numerous initiatives to generate job growth, reduce health disparities, and end gun violence.
Congresswoman Kelly is Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (the main policy-writing body of the House) and serves on the Health, Communications and Technology, and Consumer Protection and Commerce subcommittees. Her Energy and Commerce work is focused on expanding access to healthcare, consumer protection for American families and economic development.
When our nation was founded, I would not have been able to vote or serve in Congress as a Black woman. In the years since our founding, we've come a long way toward ensuring gender equality for all Americans. However, true and lasting equality remains elusive. Women are still paid less for doing the same job as men; women-owned businesses have reduced access to capital, and transgender women still face discrimination and barriers to success. The Equal Rights Amendment has still not been enshrined in the Constitution and politicians are still trying to tell women what healthcare they can and cannot receive.
Black women, marginalized women, low-income women, and rural women will bear the brunt of overturning Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn an established constitutional right is an attack on the personal freedom and bodily autonomy of every single person living in the United States. I am already working with my colleagues to determine how we can legislatively protect the right to abortion, the right to privacy, and protect women’s healthcare. This is not the end.
As a co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Black Women and Girls, I continue to advocate and fight for Black women and girls in our country. The Caucus has authored the first-ever Report on Black Women and Girls to examine the issues facing Black women and girls and suggest policy solutions. I have introduced the bipartisan Protect Black Women and Girls Act, which would establish an Interagency Task Force to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls in the United States. There is so much more we need to do.
As Congress continues working to ensure equal rights, my priorities are: