U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who was among the first handful of Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Duckworth served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2014. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after representing Illinois’s Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms.
In 2004, Duckworth was deployed to Iraq as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois Army National Guard. On November 12, 2004, her helicopter was hit by an RPG and she lost her legs and partial use of her right arm. After spending 13 months recovering from a double amputation, Duckworth became Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and in 2009 she was appointed Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs by President Barack Obama. Three years later, Duckworth left that post to join the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2016, she was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Senator Duckworth is the first woman with a disability elected to the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. During the 115th Congress, Duckworth saved the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specifically, she led public opposition to a controversial bill, H.R. 620, and led 42 senators in pledging to oppose any effort to pass H.R. 620 through the Senate. The Veterans Service Organization and Paralyzed Veterans of America recognized Duckworth’s leadership in defending the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Her legislative accomplishments also include expanding Medicare coverage for durable medical equipment, making public transit stations accessible, advocating for students with disabilities, ensuring fair rates for communication between incarcerated individuals and their families, addressing maternal mortality among veterans, and securing resources for State Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services.
Learn more about Senator Duckworth by visiting: Duckworth.Senate.gov/About-Tammy/Biography