II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4269 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve maternal health and 

promote safe motherhood. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2020 

Mr. KAINE (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve maternal 

health and promote safe motherhood. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mothers and Newborns 

5 Success Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Among developed nations, the United States 

9 has disturbingly high rates of maternal and infant 

10 mortality. 


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1 (2) The United States published an official ma2 ternal mortality rate from vital statistics for the first 

3 time since 2007 in 2018. The United States mater4 nal mortality rate of 17.4 per 100,000 live births, is 

5 significantly higher than the Organisation for Eco6 nomic Co-operation and Development (referred to in 

7 this section as the ‘‘OECD’’) average of 14.0 in 

8 2017, according to modeling by the World Bank. 

9 (3) The United States infant mortality rate in 

10 2017 was 5.8 per 1,000 live births, while the OECD 

11 average was 3.8 per 1,000 live births. 

12 (4) In the United States, there are significant 

13 maternal mortality and infant mortality inequities. 

14 (5) The maternal mortality rate for non-His15 panic Black women in 2018 was 37.1 per 100,000 

16 live births. This rate is more than 2.5 times higher 

17 than the maternal mortality rate of 14.7 for non18 Hispanic White women and more than 3.1 times 

19 higher than the maternal mortality rate of 11.8 for 

20 Hispanic women of any race. 

21 (6) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre22 vention data from 2007 through 2016 shows that 

23 American Indian/Alaska Native women also have 

24 significantly higher rates of pregnancy-related 

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1 lander women. American Indian/Alaska Native 

2 women had a rate of 29.7 pregnancy-related deaths 

3 per 100,000 live births from 2007 through 2016, 

4 which is 2.3 times higher than the rate of 12.7 

5 deaths per 100,000 live births for White women dur6 ing the same time period. 

7 (7) The mortality rate for infants of non-His8 panic Black women is 11.0 per 1,000 live births and 

9 9.2 per 1,000 live births for infants of American In10 dian or Alaska Native women. This rate is more 

11 than 2.3 times higher than the infant mortality rate 

12 of non-Hispanic White infants at 4.7 and more than 

13 2.1 times higher than the infant mortality rate of 

14 Hispanic infants of any race at 5.1 per 1,000 live 

15 births. 

16 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the 

17 Senate that the following should apply: 

18 (1) The United States should dramatically re19 duce maternal and infant mortality, ensure that all 

20 infants can grow up healthy and safe, and protect 

21 women’s health before, during, and after pregnancy. 

22 (2) Any pregnant woman choosing to have a 

23 child should be able to do so safely without regard 

24 to income, race, ethnicity, employment status, geo25 graphic location, ability, or any other socio-economic 


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1 factor. United States policy should support women’s 

2 health so that women thrive and newborns have the 

3 maximum chance for a healthy life. 

4 (3) The evidence of serious racial inequities in 

5 maternal and infant mortality, especially between 

6 Black women and White women demonstrates the 

7 persistence of racism and racial bias in our society 

8 and health care system. A 2015 study funded by the 

9 National Institute for Biomedical and Bioengi10 neering of the National Institutes of Health found 

11 that most health care providers appear to harbor 

12 negative implicit biases towards people of color. 

13 These biases were found to impact patient-provider 

14 interactions, treatment decisions, treatment adher15 ence, and patient health outcomes. Therefore, the 

16 programs authorized by this Act should be specifi17 cally deployed in ways to counter such inequities. 

18 (4) In the next 5 years, the United States 

19 should aim to reduce its overall maternal and infant 

20 mortality rates such that they are no higher than 

21 the OECD average. The United States should dra22 matically reduce the maternal mortality and infant 

23 mortality inequities between Black and American In24 dian/Alaskan Native women and White women. 


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1 (5) By advancing evidence-based policies to im2 prove maternal and infant health outcomes, the 

3 United States can work to reduce and eliminate pre4 ventable maternal and infant mortality and severe 

5 maternal morbidity. 

6 SEC. 3. STATE MATERNAL HEALTH INNOVATION. 

7 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

8 by inserting after section 330M (42 U.S.C. 254c–19) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 330N. STATE MATERNAL HEALTH INNOVATION. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

12 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

13 Administration, shall continue in effect the State Maternal 

14 Health Innovation Program and the Supporting Maternal 

15 Health Innovation Program to award competitive grants 

16 to eligible entities for the purpose of assisting States to 

17 implement State-specific actions that address racial, eth18 nic and geographic inequities in maternal health and im19 prove maternal health outcomes, including the prevention 

20 and reduction of maternal mortality and severe maternal 

21 morbidity. 

22 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity receiving a grant 

23 under this section may use such funds— 

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1 bidity into action through activities which may in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(A) establishing a State- or regional 

4 multi-State-focused Maternal Health Task 

5 Force to create and implement a strategic plan; 

6 ‘‘(B) improving the collection, analysis, 

7 and application of State- or regional multi8 State-level data on maternal mortality and se9 vere maternal morbidity; and 

10 ‘‘(C) promoting and executing innovation 

11 in maternal health service delivery, such as im12 proving access to maternal health care services, 

13 identifying and addressing workforce needs, in14 cluding maternal health provider shortages; 

15 identifying and addressing implicit and explicit 

16 bias based on race or ethnicity; or supporting 

17 postpartum and inter-pregnancy care services; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(2) to provide support to entities receiving as20 sistance under paragraph (1), and other initiatives 

21 of the Department of Health and Human Services to 

22 improve maternal health outcomes as the Secretary 

23 determines appropriate, States, multi-State regions 

24 and other stakeholders working to reduce and preVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4269.IS S4269

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1 vent maternal mortality and severe maternal mor2 bidity through activities which may include— 

3 ‘‘(A) providing capacity-building assistance 

4 to such entities to implement innovative and 

5 evidence-informed strategies; and 

6 ‘‘(B) establishing or continuing the oper7 ation of a resource center to provide national 

8 guidance to such entities, States, and key stake9 holders to improve maternal health. 

10 ‘‘(c) ALIGNMENT OF ACTIVITIES.—An entity carrying 

11 out activities under subsection (b)(1) shall coordinate and 

12 align such activities with the activities to improve mater13 nal health outcomes carried out by such entities under title 

14 V of the Social Security Act. 

15 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a grant 

16 under subsection (a), a domestic public or non-profit pri17 vate entity, Indian Tribe, or Tribal serving organization, 

18 such as a Tribal health department or other organization 

19 fulfilling similar functions for the Tribe, shall submit to 

20 the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

21 and containing such information as the Secretary may re22 quire. In the case of applicants intending to carry out ac23 tivities described in subsection (b)(1), such applicants 

24 shall demonstrate in such application that the entity has 

25 a commitment from a State or group of States to collaboVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4269.IS S4269

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1 rate as part of the project on strengthening State-level ca2 pacity in achieving the program aims. 

3 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Janu4 ary 1, 2024, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

5 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

6 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

7 House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a 

8 report concerning the impact of the programs continued 

9 under this section on addressing inequities in maternal 

10 health and improving maternal health outcomes, including 

11 the prevention and reduction of maternal mortality and 

12 severe maternal morbidity, together with recommendations 

13 on whether to expand such programs to additional recipi14 ents and the estimated amount of funds needed to expand 

15 such programs. 

16 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

17 carry out this section, including carrying out the programs 

18 referred to in subsection (a) on a national basis (subject 

19 to the availability of appropriations), there is authorized 

20 to be appropriated $53,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

21 2021 through 2024.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. SAFE MOTHERHOOD. 

23 Section 317K of the Public Health Service Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 247b–12) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

2 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(e) LEVELS OF MATERNAL AND NEONATAL

6 CARE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

9 Control and Prevention, shall establish or continue 

10 in effect a program to award competitive grants to 

11 eligible entities to assist with the classification of 

12 birthing facilities based on the level of risk-appro13 priate maternal and neonatal care such entities can 

14 provide in order to strategically improve maternal 

15 and infant care delivery and health outcomes. 

16 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiv17 ing a grant under this subsection shall use such 

18 funds to— 

19 ‘‘(A) coordinate an assessment of the risk20 appropriate maternal and neonatal care of a 

21 State, jurisdiction, or region, based on the most 

22 recent guidelines and policy statements issued 

23 by the professional associations representing 

24 relevant clinical specialties, including obstetrics 

25 and gynecology and pediatrics; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) work with relevant stakeholders, such 

2 as hospitals, hospital associations, perinatal 

3 quality collaboratives, members of the commu4 nities most affected by racial, ethnic, and geo5 graphic maternal health inequities, maternal 

6 mortality review committees, and maternal and 

7 neonatal health care providers and community8 based birth workers to review the findings of 

9 the assessment made of activities carried out 

10 under paragraph (1) and implement changes, as 

11 appropriate, based on identified gaps in perina12 tal services and differences in maternal and 

13 neonatal outcomes in the State, jurisdiction, or 

14 region for which such an assessment was con15 ducted to support the provision of risk-appro16 priate care. 

17 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a 

18 grant under this subsection, a State health depart19 ment, Indian Tribe or other Tribal serving organiza20 tion, such as a Tribal health department or other or21 ganization fulfilling similar functions for the Tribe, 

22 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

23 time, in such manner, and containing such informa24 tion as the Secretary may require. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PERIOD.—A grant awarded under this 

2 subsection shall be made for a period of 3 years. 

3 Any supplemental award made to a grantee under 

4 this subsection may be made for a period of less 

5 than 3 years. 

6 ‘‘(5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

7 January 1, 2023, the Secretary shall submit to the 

8 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen9 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

10 and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 

11 make publicly available, a report concerning the im12 pact of the programs established or continued under 

13 this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(f) PREGNANCY CHECKBOX QUALITY ASSUR15 ANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

17 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

18 Control and Prevention, may establish or continue a 

19 program to award competitive grants and provide 

20 technical assistance to eligible entities to implement 

21 a quality assurance process to improve the validity 

22 of the pregnancy checkbox data from death certifi23 cates. 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Eligible entities receiv25 ing a grant under this subsection shall use grant 


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1 funds to implement a quality assurance process to 

2 improve the validity of the pregnancy checkbox data 

3 from death certificates in the State or within the In4 dian Tribe. Activities funded under the grant may 

5 include the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) Reviewing death certificates for 

7 women of reproductive age and individuals with 

8 a pregnancy checkbox marked. 

9 ‘‘(B) Attempting to confirm the pregnancy 

10 of a decedent by searching for a matching birth 

11 or fetal death record (or other matching state 

12 administrative data source), contacting the 

13 death certifier, or reviewing the medical record. 

14 ‘‘(C) Amending death certificates or death 

15 record files, as appropriate, and sending the up16 dated file to the National Center for Health 

17 Statistics. 

18 ‘‘(D) Providing training to death certifiers 

19 about completing the death certificate. 

20 ‘‘(E) Building awareness among death cer21 tifiers and health department staff about the 

22 pregnancy checkbox. 

23 ‘‘(F) Coordinating quality assurance activi24 ties among State maternal and child health pro25 grams, State vital records offices, and maternal 


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1 mortality review committee members and ab2 stractors. 

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a 

4 grant under this subsection, a State health depart5 ment, Indian Tribe, or other Tribal serving organi6 zation, such as a Tribal health department or other 

7 organization fulfilling similar functions for the 

8 Tribe, shall submit to the Secretary an application 

9 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

10 information as the Secretary may require. 

11 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

12 January 1, 2023, the Secretary shall submit to the 

13 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen14 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

15 and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 

16 make publicly available, a report concerning the im17 pact of the programs established or continued under 

18 this subsection.’’; and 

19 (3) in subsection (i) (as so redesignated), by 

20 striking ‘‘$58,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

21 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$81,000,000 for each 

22 of fiscal years 2021 through 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. PREGNANCY RISK ASSESSMENT MONITORING SYS2 TEM. 

3 Section 317K of the Public Health Service Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 247b–12) is amended by inserting after subsection 

5 (f) (as added by section 4) the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) PREGNANCY RISK ASSESSMENT MONITORING

7 SYSTEM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

9 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

10 Control and Prevention, may establish or continue 

11 activities to collect data on maternal attitudes and 

12 experiences during the prepregnancy, pregnancy, 

13 labor and delivery, and postpartum periods. The 

14 Secretary may expand data collection to all States, 

15 Indian Tribes, and territories, and to the extent 

16 practicable, compile and publish population-based 

17 findings on the health and well-being of women, 

18 mothers and infants. 

19 ‘‘(2) ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES

20 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, act21 ing through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

22 Control and Prevention may support enhanced sur23 veillance activities and provide technical assistance 

24 to States and Indian Tribes to improve data collec25 tion and ensure an adequate representation of racial, 


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1 ethnic and other communities of color in related 

2 datasets.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. POSTPARTUM CARE COORDINATION PILOT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

6 by inserting after section 330N (as added by section 3) 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 330O. POSTPARTUM CARE COORDINATION PILOT 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

11 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

12 Administration, and in consultation with experts rep13 resenting a variety of clinical specialties, including obstet14 rics and gynecology, State, Tribal, or local public health 

15 officials, , and in coordination with existing efforts to ad16 dress postpartum care, including activities conducted 

17 under section 330H, shall establish a program to award 

18 competitive grants to not more than 10 eligible entities 

19 for the purpose of— 

20 ‘‘(1) identifying and disseminating best prac21 tices to improve care and outcomes for women, in22 cluding women with chronic health conditions 

23 prepregnancy and those with ongoing pregnancy-re24 lated conditions, in the postpartum period of at least 

25 one year following birth, which may include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) information on evidence-based and 

2 evidence-informed practices to improve the 

3 quality of care; 

4 ‘‘(B) best practices for connecting women 

5 to primary or specialized care, including behav6 ioral health services, in the postpartum period; 

7 ‘‘(C) information on addressing social and 

8 clinical determinants of health that impact 

9 women in the postpartum period; and 

10 ‘‘(D) information on the most appropriate 

11 course of care during the postpartum period, in12 cluding continued access to maternity care pro13 viders and ways to strengthen capabilities of 

14 primary care providers and specialists, includ15 ing cardiologists and endocrinologists to recog16 nize and treat conditions that may result from 

17 or be exacerbated by pregnancy; 

18 ‘‘(2) collaborating with State-based maternal 

19 mortality review committees, State-based perinatal 

20 quality care collaboratives and other relevant initia21 tives to— 

22 ‘‘(A) identify risk factors and systems 

23 issues for the development of best practices; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(B) disseminate best practices; 


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1 ‘‘(3) providing technical assistance and sup2 porting the implementation of best practices identi3 fied in paragraph (1) to entities and providers pro4 viding health care and social support services to 

5 postpartum women; 

6 ‘‘(4) identifying, developing, and evaluating new 

7 models of care that improve maternal health out8 comes, which may include the integration of commu9 nity-based services, behavioral health, and clinical 

10 care, including interprofessional education for team11 based care; and 

12 ‘‘(5) developing condition-specific consumer ma13 terials directed toward women to help them better 

14 manage their physical and behavioral health in the 

15 postpartum period. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a grant 

17 under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) submit to the Secretary an application at 

19 such time, in such manner, and containing such in20 formation as the Secretary may require; and 

21 ‘‘(2) demonstrate in such application that the 

22 entity is capable of carrying out data-driven mater23 nal safety and quality improvement initiatives in the 

24 areas of obstetrics and gynecology or maternal 

25 health. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Janu2 ary 1, 2025, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

3 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

4 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

5 House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a 

6 report concerning the impact of the programs established 

7 or continued under this section. 

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

9 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro10 priated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

11 2025.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. MATERNAL HEALTH RESEARCH NETWORK. 

13 Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 

14 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 452H. MATERNAL HEALTH RESEARCH NETWORK. 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

18 through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, 

19 shall establish a National Maternal Health Research Net20 work (referred to in this section as the ‘Network’), to more 

21 effectively support innovative research to reduce maternal 

22 mortality and promote maternal health. 

23 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, acting through the 

24 Network, may carry out activities to support mechanistic, 

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1 search, as well as community-informed research on struc2 tural risk factors to address unmet maternal health re3 search needs specific to the underlying causes of maternal 

4 mortality and severe maternal morbidity and their treat5 ment. Such activities should be focused on optimizing im6 proved diagnostics and clinical treatments, improving 

7 health outcomes, and reducing inequities. 

8 ‘‘(c) EXISTING NETWORKS.—In carrying out this sec9 tion, the Secretary may utilize or coordinate with the Ma10 ternal Fetal Medicine Units Network and the Obstetric11 Fetal Pharmacology Research Centers Network. 

12 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated to 

13 carry out this section may be used to support the Network 

14 for activities related to maternal mortality or severe ma15 ternal morbidity that lead to potential therapies or clinical 

16 practices that will improve maternal health outcomes and 

17 reduce inequities. Amounts provided to such Network shall 

18 be used to supplement, and not supplant, other funding 

19 provided to such Network for such activities. 

20 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

21 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro22 priated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

23 2025.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. TELEHEALTH DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

2 Section 330A of the Public Health Service Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 254c) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) through (j) 

5 as subsections (i) through (k), respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (g), the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(h) TELEHEALTH DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

10 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

11 and Services Administration, shall continue in effect 

12 the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management 

13 Strategies (RMOMS) Program to award competitive 

14 grants to eligible entities for the purpose of improv15 ing access to, and continuity of, maternal and ob16 stetrics care in rural communities. 

17 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity receiving a 

18 grant under this subsection shall use grant funds to 

19 develop a sustainable consortium approach to coordi20 nate maternal and obstetrics care within a rural re21 gion— 

22 ‘‘(A) through a focus on— 

23 ‘‘(i) rural regional approaches to risk 

24 appropriate care; 

25 ‘‘(ii) an approach to coordinating a 

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1 nancy, labor and delivery, postpartum, and 

2 interpregnancy services; 

3 ‘‘(iii) leveraging telehealth and spe4 cialty care to enhance case management of 

5 higher-risk expectant mothers living in 

6 geographically isolated areas; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) demonstrating financial sustain8 ability through improved maternal and 

9 neonatal outcomes and potential cost sav10 ings; and 

11 ‘‘(B) by testing and improving upon strate12 gies to improve access to, and continuity of, ob13 stetrics care in rural communities and reduce 

14 geographic inequities in maternal health 

15 through the use of data and outcome measures 

16 spanning the continuum of care from 

17 prepregnancy through pregnancy, labor, deliv18 ery, and the postpartum period. 

19 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a 

20 grant under paragraph (1), a domestic public or 

21 non-profit private entity, including Indian Tribes, 

22 and Tribal serving organizations such as a Tribal 

23 health department or other organization fulfilling 

24 similar functions for the Tribe, shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) submit to the Secretary an applica2 tion at such time, in such manner, and con3 taining such information as the Secretary may 

4 require; 

5 ‘‘(B) propose to carry out activities that 

6 exclusively target populations residing in rural 

7 counties or rural census tracts in urban coun8 ties as designated by the Health Resources and 

9 Services Administration; and 

10 ‘‘(C) demonstrate a formal arrangement 

11 among a consortium of three or more entities, 

12 including the applicant, to build a rural based 

13 system of perinatal and maternal care. 

14 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

15 January 1, 2023, the Secretary shall submit to the 

16 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen17 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

18 and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 

19 make publicly available, a report concerning the im20 pact of the programs continued under this sub21 section together with recommendations on whether 

22 to expand such programs and the estimated amount 

23 of funds needed to expand such programs. 

24 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 To carry out this subsection, there is authorized to 


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1 be appropriated $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2021 through 2023.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. PUBLIC AND PROVIDER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 

4 PROMOTING MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen7 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and in coordina8 tion with State, local, territorial, health departments, In9 dian Tribes, Tribal serving organizations, public health ex10 perts and associations, the medical and allied professional 

11 community, and minority health organizations, shall 

12 award competitive grants to eligible entities to establish 

13 a national evidence-based public and provider awareness 

14 campaign on the importance of maternal and child health, 

15 including identifying and responding to maternal health 

16 warning signs and vaccinations for the health of pregnant 

17 women and their children, with the goal of increasing vac18 cination rates among pregnant women and children, re19 ducing racism and racial, ethnic, and geographic inequities 

20 in maternal and child health, and reducing maternal mor21 tality and severe maternal morbidity. 

22 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity receiving a grant 

23 under this section shall use grant funds to supplement, 

24 not supplant, any Federal, State, or local funds supporting 

25 the establishment of a national evidence-based public and 


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1 provider awareness campaign with all resources in an ac2 cessible format that— 

3 (1) increases awareness and knowledge of ma4 ternal health warning signs and how to respond to 

5 those signs as well as the safety and effectiveness of 

6 vaccines for pregnant women and their children; 

7 (2) provides targeted evidence-based, culturally 

8 and linguistically appropriate resources to pregnant 

9 women, particularly in communities with low rates of 

10 vaccination and in rural and underserved areas; and 

11 (3) provides evidence-based information and re12 sources on the importance of maternal and child 

13 health, including maternal health warning signs and 

14 the safety of vaccinations for pregnant women and 

15 their children to public health departments and 

16 health care providers that care for pregnant women. 

17 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a grant 

18 under this section, a public or private entity shall submit 

19 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services an appli20 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

21 information as the Secretary may require. 

22 (d) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary of Health and 

23 Human Services shall ensure that the information and re24 sources developed for the campaign under this section are 

25 disseminated to other divisions of the Department of 


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1 Health and Human Services working to improve maternal 

2 and child health outcomes. 

3 (e) EVALUATION.—Not later than January 1, 2025, 

4 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall estab5 lish quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate the 

6 campaign under this section and shall submit a report de7 tailing the campaign’s impact to the Committee on Health, 

8 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 

9 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

10 Representatives. 

11 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

12 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

13 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

Æ 


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