U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, joined Politically Speaking, talking with St. Louis Public Radio’s Eric Schmid, Jia Lian Yang and Lauren Brown about her environmental justice legislation.

Duckworth was first elected to the Senate in 2016, defeating incumbent Republican Mark Kirk in a landslide. Before becoming a senator, Duckworth served in the House for four years representing a suburban Chicago district. She’s up for reelection in 2022.

Here’s what Duckworth talked about on the program:

• Details of the Environmental Justice for All Act, including how the legislation would improve outdoor areas in low-income and minority communities.
• The ways the legislation would change how the Environmental Protection Agency administers the industrial and business permitting processes. It would have to take into account the total effect on a community.
• How environmental issues have been an endemic problem in Metro East communities like Centreville. Residents in that town have been struggling with consistent raw sewage floods on their property.

Duckworth gained national attention when she became the first American woman to be a double amputee from injuries suffered while serving in the Iraq War. She was in the military for more than 20 years, carrying on a family tradition of service that stretches back to the Revolutionary War.

She first ran for office in 2006, losing a closely watched congressional race against Republican Peter Roskam. Six years later, she made an electoral comeback when she defeated incumbent Joe Walsh in Illinois’ 8th District. She defeated Kirk four years later.

Duckworth serves on the Armed Forces, Commerce and Environment and Public Works committees.

You can listen to an episode of We Live Here that details the efforts of Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis County, to pursue environmental justice legislation later this week.

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Follow Eric Schmid on Twitter: @EricDSchmid

Follow Tammy Duckworth: @SenDuckworth