II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 964 

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

promote safe motherhood. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2023 

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 maternal mortality rate 

2 in 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, 

3 which is significantly higher than the Organisation 

4 for Economic Co-operation and Development (re5 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘OECD’’) average of 

6 9.8, according to the Commonwealth Fund. 

7 (3) The United States infant mortality rate in 

8 2020 was 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the 

9 OECD average was 4.1 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

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

11 maternal mortality and infant mortality inequities. 

12 (5) The maternal mortality rate for non-His13 panic Black women in 2020 was 55.3 deaths per 

14 100,000 live births. This rate is 2.89 times higher 

15 than the maternal mortality rate of 19.1 deaths per 

16 100,000 live births for non-Hispanic white women 

17 and more than 3 times higher than the maternal 

18 mortality rate of 18.2 deaths per 100,000 live births 

19 for Hispanic women of any race. 

20 (6) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre21 vention data from 2016 through 2018 shows that 

22 American Indian/Alaska Native women also have 

23 significantly higher rates of pregnancy-related 

24 deaths than white, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Is25 lander women. American Indian/Alaska Native 


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1 women had a rate of 26.5 pregnancy-related deaths 

2 per 100,000 live births from 2016 through 2018, 

3 which is 1.9 times higher than the rate of 13.7 

4 deaths per 100,000 live births for white women dur5 ing the same time period. 

6 (7) The mortality rate for infants of non-His7 panic Black women is 10.6 deaths per 1,000 live 

8 births and for infants of American Indian or Alaska 

9 Native women it is 7.9 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

10 These rates are significantly higher than the infant 

11 mortality rate of non-Hispanic white infants at 4.5 

12 deaths per 1,000 live births and the infant mortality 

13 rate of Hispanic infants of any race at 5 deaths per 

14 1,000 live births. 

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

16 Senate that the following should apply: 

17 (1) The United States should dramatically re18 duce maternal and infant mortality, ensure that all 

19 infants can grow up healthy and safe, and protect 

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

21 (2) Any pregnant woman choosing to have a 

22 child should be able to do so safely without regard 

23 to income, race, ethnicity, employment status, geo24 graphic location, ability, or any other socio-economic 

25 factor. United States policy should support women’s 


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1 health so that women thrive and newborns have the 

2 maximum chance for a healthy life. 

3 (3) The evidence of serious racial inequities in 

4 maternal and infant mortality, especially between 

5 Black women and white women demonstrates the 

6 persistence of racism and racial bias in our society 

7 and health care system. A 2017 systemic review of 

8 implicit bias in health care professionals found that 

9 35 studies found evidence of negative implicit biases 

10 towards people of color among health care profes11 sionals. Those biases were correlated with ‘‘lower 

12 quality of care’’. Therefore, the programs authorized 

13 by this Act should be specifically deployed in ways 

14 to counter such inequities. 

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

16 should aim to reduce its overall maternal and infant 

17 mortality rates such that they are no higher than 

18 the OECD average. The United States should dra19 matically reduce the maternal mortality and infant 

20 mortality inequities between Black and American In21 dian/Alaskan Native women and white women. 

22 (5) By advancing evidence-based policies to im23 prove maternal and infant health outcomes, the 

24 United States can work to reduce and eliminate preVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:01 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S964.IS S964

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1 ventable maternal and infant mortality and severe 

2 maternal morbidity. 

3 SEC. 3. STATE MATERNAL HEALTH INNOVATION. 

4 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

5 by inserting after section 330P (42 U.S.C. 254c–22) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 330Q. STATE MATERNAL HEALTH INNOVATION. 

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

9 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

10 Administration, shall continue in effect the State Maternal 

11 Health Innovation Program and the Supporting Maternal 

12 Health Innovation Program to award competitive grants 

13 to eligible entities for the purpose of assisting States to 

14 implement State-specific actions that address racial, eth15 nic and geographic inequities in maternal health and im16 prove maternal health outcomes, including the prevention 

17 and reduction of maternal mortality and severe maternal 

18 morbidity. 

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

20 under this section may use such funds— 

21 ‘‘(1) to translate recommendations on address22 ing maternal mortality and severe maternal mor23 bidity into action through activities which may in24 clude— 


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

2 multi-State-focused Maternal Health Task 

3 Force to create and implement a strategic plan; 

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

5 and application of State- or regional multi6 State-level data on maternal mortality and se7 vere maternal morbidity; and 

8 ‘‘(C) promoting and executing innovation 

9 in maternal health service delivery, such as im10 proving access to maternal health care services, 

11 identifying and addressing workforce needs, in12 cluding maternal health provider shortages; 

13 identifying and addressing implicit and explicit 

14 bias based on race or ethnicity; or supporting 

15 postpartum and inter-pregnancy care services; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(2) to provide support to entities receiving as18 sistance under paragraph (1), and other initiatives 

19 of the Department of Health and Human Services to 

20 improve maternal health outcomes as the Secretary 

21 determines appropriate, States, multi-State regions 

22 and other stakeholders working to reduce and pre23 vent maternal mortality and severe maternal mor24 bidity through activities which may include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing capacity-building assistance 

2 to such entities to implement innovative and 

3 evidence-informed strategies; and 

4 ‘‘(B) establishing or continuing the oper5 ation of a resource center to provide national 

6 guidance to such entities, States, and key stake7 holders to improve maternal health. 

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

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

10 align such activities with the activities to improve mater11 nal health outcomes carried out by such entities under title 

12 V of the Social Security Act. 

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

14 under subsection (a), a domestic public or non-profit pri15 vate entity, Indian Tribe, or Tribal serving organization, 

16 such as a Tribal health department or other organization 

17 fulfilling similar functions for the Tribe, shall submit to 

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

19 and containing such information as the Secretary may re20 quire. In the case of applicants intending to carry out ac21 tivities described in subsection (b)(1), such applicants 

22 shall demonstrate in such application that the entity has 

23 a commitment from a State or group of States to collabo24 rate as part of the project on strengthening State-level ca25 pacity in achieving the program aims. 


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1 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Janu2 ary 1, 2027, 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 continued 

7 under this section on addressing inequities in maternal 

8 health and improving maternal health outcomes, including 

9 the prevention and reduction of maternal mortality and 

10 severe maternal morbidity, together with recommendations 

11 on whether to expand such programs to additional recipi12 ents and the estimated amount of funds needed to expand 

13 such programs. 

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

15 carry out this section, including carrying out the programs 

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

17 to the availability of appropriations), there is authorized 

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

19 2024 through 2027.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. SAFE MOTHERHOOD. 

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

22 U.S.C. 247b–12) is amended— 

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

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


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(e) LEVELS OF MATERNAL AND NEONATAL

4 CARE.— 

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

6 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

7 Control and Prevention, shall establish or continue 

8 in effect a program to award competitive grants to 

9 eligible entities to assist with the classification of 

10 birthing facilities based on the level of risk-appro11 priate maternal and neonatal care such entities can 

12 provide in order to strategically improve maternal 

13 and infant care delivery and health outcomes. 

14 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiv15 ing a grant under this subsection shall use such 

16 funds to— 

17 ‘‘(A) coordinate an assessment of the risk18 appropriate maternal and neonatal care of a 

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

20 recent guidelines and policy statements issued 

21 by the professional associations representing 

22 relevant clinical specialties, including obstetrics 

23 and gynecology and pediatrics; and 

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

25 as hospitals, hospital associations, perinatal 


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1 quality collaboratives, members of the commu2 nities most affected by racial, ethnic, and geo3 graphic maternal health inequities, maternal 

4 mortality review committees, and maternal and 

5 neonatal health care providers and community6 based birth workers to review the findings of 

7 the assessment made of activities carried out 

8 under paragraph (1) and implement changes, as 

9 appropriate, based on identified gaps in 

10 perinatal services and differences in maternal 

11 and neonatal outcomes in the State, jurisdic12 tion, or region for which such an assessment 

13 was conducted to support the provision of risk14 appropriate care. 

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

16 grant under this subsection, a State health depart17 ment, Indian Tribe or other Tribal serving organiza18 tion, such as a Tribal health department or other or19 ganization fulfilling similar functions for the Tribe, 

20 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

21 time, in such manner, and containing such informa22 tion as the Secretary may require. 

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

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

25 Any supplemental award made to a grantee under 


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1 this subsection may be made for a period of less 

2 than 3 years. 

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

4 January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall submit to the 

5 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen6 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

7 and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 

8 make publicly available, a report concerning the im9 pact of the programs established or continued under 

10 this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(f) PREGNANCY CHECKBOX QUALITY ASSUR12 ANCE.— 

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

14 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

15 Control and Prevention, may establish or continue a 

16 program to award competitive grants and provide 

17 technical assistance to eligible entities to implement 

18 a quality assurance process to improve the validity 

19 of the pregnancy checkbox data from death certifi20 cates. 

21 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Eligible entities receiv22 ing a grant under this subsection shall use grant 

23 funds to implement a quality assurance process to 

24 improve the validity of the pregnancy checkbox data 

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1 dian Tribe. Activities funded under the grant may 

2 include the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Reviewing death certificates for 

4 women of reproductive age and individuals with 

5 a pregnancy checkbox marked. 

6 ‘‘(B) Attempting to confirm the pregnancy 

7 of a decedent by searching for a matching birth 

8 or fetal death record (or other matching state 

9 administrative data source), contacting the 

10 death certifier, or reviewing the medical record. 

11 ‘‘(C) Amending death certificates or death 

12 record files, as appropriate, and sending the up13 dated file to the National Center for Health 

14 Statistics. 

15 ‘‘(D) Providing training to death certifiers 

16 about completing the death certificate. 

17 ‘‘(E) Building awareness among death cer18 tifiers and health department staff about the 

19 pregnancy checkbox. 

20 ‘‘(F) Coordinating quality assurance activi21 ties among State maternal and child health pro22 grams, State vital records offices, and maternal 

23 mortality review committee members and ab24 stractors. 


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

2 grant under this subsection, a State health depart3 ment, Indian Tribe, or other Tribal serving organi4 zation, such as a Tribal health department or other 

5 organization fulfilling similar functions for the 

6 Tribe, shall submit to the Secretary an application 

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

8 information as the Secretary may require. 

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

10 January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall submit to the 

11 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen12 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

13 and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 

14 make publicly available, a report concerning the im15 pact of the programs established or continued under 

16 this subsection.’’; and 

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

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

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

20 of fiscal years 2024 through 2026’’. 

21 SEC. 5. PREGNANCY RISK ASSESSMENT MONITORING SYS22 TEM. 

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

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

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


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1 ‘‘(g) PREGNANCY RISK ASSESSMENT MONITORING

2 SYSTEM.— 

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

4 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

5 Control and Prevention, may establish or continue 

6 activities to collect data on maternal attitudes and 

7 experiences during the prepregnancy, pregnancy, 

8 labor and delivery, and postpartum periods. The 

9 Secretary may expand data collection to all States, 

10 Indian Tribes, and territories, and to the extent 

11 practicable, compile and publish population-based 

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

13 mothers and infants. 

14 ‘‘(2) ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES

15 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, act16 ing through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

17 Control and Prevention may support enhanced sur18 veillance activities and provide technical assistance 

19 to States and Indian Tribes to improve data collec20 tion and ensure an adequate representation of racial, 

21 ethnic and other communities of color in related 

22 datasets.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. POSTPARTUM CARE COORDINATION PILOT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

4 by inserting after section 330Q (as added by section 3) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 330R. POSTPARTUM CARE COORDINATION PILOT 

7 PROGRAM. 

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

9 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

10 Administration, and in consultation with experts rep11 resenting a variety of clinical specialties, including obstet12 rics and gynecology, State, Tribal, or local public health 

13 officials, and in coordination with existing efforts to ad14 dress postpartum care, including activities conducted 

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

16 competitive grants to not more than 10 eligible entities 

17 for the purpose of— 

18 ‘‘(1) identifying and disseminating best prac19 tices to improve care and outcomes for women, in20 cluding women with chronic health conditions 

21 prepregnancy and those with ongoing pregnancy-re22 lated conditions, in the postpartum period of at least 

23 one year following birth, which may include— 

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

25 evidence-informed practices to improve the 

26 quality of care; 


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1 ‘‘(B) best practices for connecting women 

2 to primary or specialized care, including behav3 ioral health services, in the postpartum period; 

4 ‘‘(C) information on addressing social and 

5 clinical determinants of health that impact 

6 women in the postpartum period; and 

7 ‘‘(D) information on the most appropriate 

8 course of care during the postpartum period, in9 cluding continued access to maternity care pro10 viders and ways to strengthen capabilities of 

11 primary care providers and specialists, includ12 ing cardiologists and endocrinologists to recog13 nize and treat conditions that may result from 

14 or be exacerbated by pregnancy; 

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

16 mortality review committees, State-based perinatal 

17 quality care collaboratives and other relevant initia18 tives to— 

19 ‘‘(A) identify risk factors and systems 

20 issues for the development of best practices; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) disseminate best practices; 

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1 viding health care and social support services to 

2 postpartum women; 

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

4 models of care that improve maternal health out5 comes, which may include the integration of commu6 nity-based services, behavioral health, and clinical 

7 care, including interprofessional education for team8 based care; and 

9 ‘‘(5) developing condition-specific consumer ma10 terials directed toward women to help them better 

11 manage their physical and behavioral health in the 

12 postpartum period. 

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

14 under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

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

16 such time, in such manner, and containing such in17 formation as the Secretary may require; and 

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

19 entity is capable of carrying out data-driven mater20 nal safety and quality improvement initiatives in the 

21 areas of obstetrics and gynecology or maternal 

22 health. 

23 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Janu24 ary 1, 2028, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

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


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1 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

2 House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a 

3 report concerning the impact of the programs established 

4 or continued under this section. 

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

6 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro7 priated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

8 2028.’’. 

9 SEC. 7. MATERNAL HEALTH RESEARCH NETWORK. 

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

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

12 at the end the following: 

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

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

15 through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, 

16 shall establish a National Maternal Health Research Net17 work (referred to in this section as the ‘Network’), to more 

18 effectively support innovative research to reduce maternal 

19 mortality and promote maternal health. 

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

21 Network, may carry out activities to support mechanistic, 

22 translational, clinical, behavioral, or epidemiologic re23 search, as well as community-informed research on struc24 tural risk factors to address unmet maternal health re25 search needs specific to the underlying causes of maternal 


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1 mortality and severe maternal morbidity and their treat2 ment. Such activities should be focused on optimizing im3 proved diagnostics and clinical treatments, improving 

4 health outcomes, and reducing inequities. 

5 ‘‘(c) EXISTING NETWORKS.—In carrying out this sec6 tion, the Secretary may utilize or coordinate with the Ma7 ternal Fetal Medicine Units Network and the Obstetric8 Fetal Pharmacology Research Centers Network. 

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

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

11 for activities related to maternal mortality or severe ma12 ternal morbidity that lead to potential therapies or clinical 

13 practices that will improve maternal health outcomes and 

14 reduce inequities. Amounts provided to such Network shall 

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

16 provided to such Network for such activities. 

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

18 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro19 priated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

20 2028.’’. 

21 SEC. 8. TELEHEALTH DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

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

23 U.S.C. 254c) is amended— 

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

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


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (g), the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(h) TELEHEALTH DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.— 

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

5 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

6 and Services Administration, shall continue in effect 

7 the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management 

8 Strategies (RMOMS) Program to award competitive 

9 grants to eligible entities for the purpose of improv10 ing access to, and continuity of, maternal and ob11 stetrics care in rural communities. 

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

13 grant under this subsection shall use grant funds to 

14 develop a sustainable consortium approach to coordi15 nate maternal and obstetrics care within a rural re16 gion— 

17 ‘‘(A) through a focus on— 

18 ‘‘(i) rural regional approaches to risk 

19 appropriate care; 

20 ‘‘(ii) an approach to coordinating a 

21 continuum of care for prepregnancy, preg22 nancy, labor and delivery, postpartum, and 

23 interpregnancy services; 

24 ‘‘(iii) leveraging telehealth and spe25 cialty care to enhance case management of 


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1 higher-risk expectant mothers living in 

2 geographically isolated areas; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) demonstrating financial sustain4 ability through improved maternal and 

5 neonatal outcomes and potential cost sav6 ings; and 

7 ‘‘(B) by testing and improving upon strate8 gies to improve access to, and continuity of, ob9 stetrics care in rural communities and reduce 

10 geographic inequities in maternal health 

11 through the use of data and outcome measures 

12 spanning the continuum of care from 

13 prepregnancy through pregnancy, labor, deliv14 ery, and the postpartum period. 

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

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

17 non-profit private entity, including Indian Tribes, 

18 and Tribal serving organizations such as a Tribal 

19 health department or other organization fulfilling 

20 similar functions for the Tribe, shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) submit to the Secretary an applica22 tion at such time, in such manner, and con23 taining such information as the Secretary may 

24 require; 


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

2 exclusively target populations residing in rural 

3 counties or rural census tracts in urban coun4 ties as designated by the Health Resources and 

5 Services Administration; and 

6 ‘‘(C) demonstrate a formal arrangement 

7 among a consortium of three or more entities, 

8 including the applicant, to build a rural based 

9 system of perinatal and maternal care. 

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

11 January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall submit to the 

12 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen13 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

14 and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 

15 make publicly available, a report concerning the im16 pact of the programs continued under this sub17 section together with recommendations on whether 

18 to expand such programs and the estimated amount 

19 of funds needed to expand such programs. 

20 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 To carry out this subsection, there is authorized to 

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

23 2024 through 2026.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. PUBLIC AND PROVIDER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 

2 PROMOTING MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH. 

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

4 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen5 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and in coordina6 tion with State, local, territorial, health departments, In7 dian Tribes, Tribal serving organizations, public health ex8 perts and associations, the medical and allied professional 

9 community, and minority health organizations, shall 

10 award competitive grants to eligible entities to establish 

11 a national evidence-based public and provider awareness 

12 campaign on the importance of maternal and child health, 

13 including identifying and responding to maternal health 

14 warning signs and vaccinations for the health of pregnant 

15 women and their children, with the goal of increasing vac16 cination rates among pregnant women and children, re17 ducing racism and racial, ethnic, and geographic inequities 

18 in maternal and child health, and reducing maternal mor19 tality and severe maternal morbidity. 

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

21 under this section shall use grant funds to supplement, 

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

23 the establishment of a national evidence-based public and 

24 provider awareness campaign with all resources in an ac25 cessible format that— 


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1 (1) increases awareness and knowledge of ma2 ternal health warning signs and how to respond to 

3 those signs as well as the safety and effectiveness of 

4 vaccines for pregnant women and their children; 

5 (2) provides targeted evidence-based, culturally6 and linguistically-appropriate resources to pregnant 

7 women, particularly in communities with low rates of 

8 vaccination and in rural and underserved areas; and 

9 (3) provides evidence-based information and re10 sources on the importance of maternal and child 

11 health, including maternal health warning signs and 

12 the safety of vaccinations for pregnant women and 

13 their children to public health departments and 

14 health care providers that care for pregnant women. 

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

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

17 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services an appli18 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

19 information as the Secretary may require. 

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

21 Human Services shall ensure that the information and re22 sources developed for the campaign under this section are 

23 disseminated to other divisions of the Department of 

24 Health and Human Services working to improve maternal 

25 and child health outcomes. 


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1 (e) EVALUATION.—Not later than January 1, 2027, 

2 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall estab3 lish quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate the 

4 campaign under this section and shall submit a report de5 tailing the campaign’s impact to the Committee on Health, 

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

7 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

8 Representatives. 

9 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

10 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

11 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB