II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2710 

To improve treatment and early interventions for pregnant and postpartum 

women and infants affected by substance use disorder. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2018 

Mr. MCCONNELL (for himself and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To improve treatment and early interventions for pregnant 

and postpartum women and infants affected by substance 

use disorder. 

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 ‘‘Protecting Moms and 

5 Infants Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPROVING TREATMENT FOR PREGNANT AND 

7 POSTPARTUM WOMEN. 

8 (a) REPORT.— 


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•S 2710 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services (referred to in this sub4 section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall submit to the ap5 propriate committees of Congress and make avail6 able to the public on the internet website of the De7 partment of Health and Human Services a report 

8 regarding the implementation of the recommenda9 tions in the strategy relating to prenatal opioid use, 

10 including neonatal abstinence syndrome, developed 

11 pursuant to section 2 of the Protecting Our Infants 

12 Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–91). Such report shall 

13 include— 

14 (A) an update on the implementation of 

15 the recommendations in the strategy, including 

16 information regarding the agencies involved in 

17 the implementation; and 

18 (B) information on additional funding or 

19 authority the Secretary requires, if any, to im20 plement the strategy, which may include au21 thorities needed to coordinate implementation 

22 of such strategy across the Department of 

23 Health and Human Services. 

24 (2) PERIODIC UPDATES.—The Secretary shall 

25 periodically update the report under paragraph (1). 


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•S 2710 IS

1 (b) RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS FOR

2 PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM WOMEN.—Section 508(s) 

3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–1(s)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘$16,900,000 for each of fiscal 

5 years 2017 through 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘$29,931,000 for 

6 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’. 

7 SEC. 3. EARLY INTERVENTIONS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN 

8 AND INFANTS. 

9 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS BY

10 CENTER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION.—Section 

11 515(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 290bb–21(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(15) in cooperation with relevant stakeholders 

19 and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

20 and Prevention, develop educational materials for 

21 clinicians to use with pregnant women for shared de22 cisionmaking regarding pain management during 

23 pregnancy.’’. 

24 (b) GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY CEN25 TER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT.—Section 


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1 507(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 290bb(b)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

4 end; 

5 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(15) in cooperation with the Secretary, imple9 ment and disseminate, as appropriate, the rec10 ommendations in the report entitled ‘Protecting Our 

11 Infants Act: Final Strategy’ issued by the Depart12 ment of Health and Human Services in 2017; and’’. 

13 (c) SUPPORT OF PARTNERSHIPS BY CENTER FOR

14 SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT.—Section 507(b) of the 

15 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb(b)), as 

16 amended by subsection (b), is further amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(16) in cooperation with relevant stakeholders, 

19 support public-private partnerships to assist with 

20 education about, and support with respect to, sub21 stance use disorder for pregnant women and health 

22 care providers who treat pregnant women and ba23 bies.’’. 

Æ 


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