II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2978 

To authorize funding for the establishment and implementation of infant 

mortality pilot programs in standard metropolitan statistical areas with 

high rates of infant mortality, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To authorize funding for the establishment and implementation of infant mortality pilot programs in standard metropolitan statistical areas with high rates of infant mortality, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Nationally Enhancing 

5 the Well-being of Babies through Outreach and Research 

6 Now Act’’ or the ‘‘NEWBORN Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INFANT MORTALITY PILOT PROGRAMS. 

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

3 U.S.C. 254c–8) is amended— 

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

5 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

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

8 ‘‘(e) INFANT MORTALITY PILOT PROGRAMS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

10 grants to eligible entities to establish, implement, 

11 and oversee infant mortality pilot programs. 

12 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF A GRANT.—The period of a 

13 grant under this subsection shall be not more than 

14 5 years. 

15 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under 

16 this subsection, the Secretary shall give preference 

17 to— 

18 ‘‘(A) eligible entities proposing to serve 

19 any of the 50 counties or groups of counties 

20 with the highest rates of infant mortality in the 

21 United States, based on the most recent 3 years 

22 of available data, as determined by the Sec23 retary; and 

24 ‘‘(B) eligible entities the proposed infant 

25 mortality pilot program of which would ad26 dress— 


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1 ‘‘(i) birth defects; 

2 ‘‘(ii) preterm birth and low birth 

3 weight; 

4 ‘‘(iii) sudden infant death; 

5 ‘‘(iv) maternal pregnancy complica6 tions; or 

7 ‘‘(v) injuries to infants. 

8 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—An infant mortality pilot 

9 program carried out using a grant under this sub10 section may— 

11 ‘‘(A) include the development of a plan 

12 that identifies the individual needs of each com13 munity to be served and strategies to address 

14 those needs; 

15 ‘‘(B) provide outreach to at-risk mothers 

16 through programs deemed appropriate by the 

17 Administrator; 

18 ‘‘(C) develop and implement standardized 

19 systems for improved access, utilization, and 

20 quality of social, educational, and clinical serv21 ices to promote healthy pregnancies, full-term 

22 births, and healthy infancies delivered to women 

23 and their infants, such as— 

24 ‘‘(i) counseling on infant care, feed25 ing, and parenting; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) postpartum care; 

2 ‘‘(iii) prevention of premature deliv3 ery; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) additional counseling for at-risk 

5 mothers, including smoking cessation pro6 grams, drug treatment programs, alcohol 

7 treatment programs, nutrition and physical 

8 activity programs, postpartum depression 

9 and domestic violence programs, social and 

10 psychological services, dental care, and 

11 parenting programs; 

12 ‘‘(D) establish a rural outreach program to 

13 provide care to at-risk mothers in rural areas; 

14 ‘‘(E) establish a regional public education 

15 campaign, including a campaign to— 

16 ‘‘(i) prevent preterm births; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) provide education to the public 

18 about infant mortality; 

19 ‘‘(F) provide for any other activities, pro20 grams, or strategies, as identified by the plan 

21 under subparagraph (A); and 

22 ‘‘(G) coordinate efforts between— 

23 ‘‘(i) the health department of each 

24 county or other eligible entity to be served 


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1 through the infant mortality pilot program; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) existing entities that work to re4 duce the rate of infant mortality within the 

5 area of any such county or other eligible 

6 entity. 

7 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—Of the funds received 

8 through a grant under this subsection for a fiscal 

9 year, an eligible entity shall not use more than 10 

10 percent for program evaluation. 

11 ‘‘(6) REPORTS ON PILOT PROGRAMS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

13 after receiving a grant, and annually thereafter 

14 for the duration of the grant period, each eligi15 ble entity that receives a grant under paragraph 

16 (1) shall submit a report to the Secretary that 

17 details the infant mortality pilot program car18 ried out using the grant. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The reports 

20 required under subparagraph (A) shall include 

21 information such as the methodology of, and 

22 outcomes and statistics from, the infant mor23 tality pilot program carried out using the grant. 

24 ‘‘(C) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

25 use the reports required under subparagraph 


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1 (A) to evaluate, and conduct statistical research 

2 on, infant mortality pilot programs carried out 

3 using grants under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi6 ble entity’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) a county, city, or territorial 

8 health department; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the health department of an In10 dian tribe, a tribal organization, or an 

11 Urban Indian organization, as such terms 

12 are defined in section 4 of the Indian 

13 Health Care Improvement Act; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a State with a 

15 centralized health department, the State 

16 health department. 

17 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

18 means the Secretary, acting through the Ad19 ministrator of the Health Resources and Serv20 ices Administration.’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (f), as so redesignated— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘AU24 THORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’ and 


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1 inserting ‘‘HEALTHY START INITIATIVE’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(other than sub4 section (e))’’ after ‘‘carrying out this sec5 tion’’; 

6 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

7 paragraph (3); 

8 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(2) INFANT MORTALITY PILOT PROGRAMS.— 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 

12 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry 

13 out subsection (e).’’; and 

14 (D) in paragraph (3)(A), as so redesig15 nated, by striking ‘‘the program under this sec16 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘the program under sub17 section (a)’’; and 

18 (4) in each of paragraphs (2) and (3)(B) of 

19 subsection (g), as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘sub20 section (e)(2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

21 (f)(3)(B)’’. 

Æ 


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