II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 252 

To reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related 

deaths and complications due to pregnancy, and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. ISAKSON, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. 

REED, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, 

and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity. 

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 ‘‘Prematurity Research 

5 Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants 

6 Early Reauthorization Act’’ or the ‘‘PREEMIE Reauthor7 ization Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RESEARCH AND ACTIVITIES AT THE CENTERS FOR 

2 DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. 

3 (a) EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES.—Section 3 of the 

4 Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for 

5 Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act (42 U.S.C. 247b– 

6 4f) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) STUDIES AND ACTIVITIES ON PRETERM

9 BIRTH.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health 

11 and Human Services, acting through the Director of 

12 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

13 may, subject to the availability of appropriations— 

14 ‘‘(A) conduct epidemiological studies on 

15 the clinical, biological, social, environmental, ge16 netic, and behavioral factors relating to pre17 maturity, as appropriate; 

18 ‘‘(B) conduct activities to improve national 

19 data to facilitate tracking the burden of 

20 preterm birth; and 

21 ‘‘(C) continue efforts to prevent preterm 

22 birth, including late preterm birth, through the 

23 identification of opportunities for prevention 

24 and the assessment of the impact of such ef25 forts. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

2 date of enactment of the PREEMIE Reauthoriza3 tion Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary 

4 of Health and Human Services, acting through the 

5 Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre6 vention, shall submit to the appropriate committees 

7 of Congress reports concerning the progress and any 

8 results of studies conducted under paragraph (1).’’. 

9 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 3(e) of the Pre10 maturity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers 

11 who deliver Infants Early Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–4f(e)) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘2007 through 2011’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘2014 through 2018’’. 

14 SEC. 3. ACTIVITIES AT THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND 

15 SERVICES ADMINISTRATION. 

16 (a) TELEMEDICINE AND HIGH-RISK PREG17 NANCIES.—Section 330I(i)(1)(B) of the Public Health 

18 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14(i)(1)(B)) is amended by 

19 striking ‘‘or case management services’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘case management services, or prenatal care for high-risk 

21 pregnancies’’; 

22 (b) PUBLIC AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDER EDU23 CATION.—Section 399Q of the Public Health Service Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 280g–5) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara2 graphs (A) through (F) and inserting the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(A) the core risk factors for preterm 

5 labor and delivery; 

6 ‘‘(B) medically indicated deliveries before 

7 full term; 

8 ‘‘(C) the importance of preconception and 

9 prenatal care, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) smoking cessation; 

11 ‘‘(ii) weight maintenance and good 

12 nutrition, including folic acid; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the screening for and the treat14 ment of infections; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) stress management; 

16 ‘‘(D) treatments and outcomes for pre17 mature infants, including late preterm infants; 

18 ‘‘(E) the informational needs of families 

19 during the stay of an infant in a neonatal in20 tensive care unit; and 

21 ‘‘(F) utilization of evidence-based strate22 gies to prevent birth injuries;’’; and 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) programs to increase the availability, 

2 awareness, and use of pregnancy and post-term in3 formation services that provide evidence-based, clin4 ical information through counselors, community out5 reach efforts, electronic or telephonic communica6 tion, or other appropriate means regarding causes 

7 associated with prematurity, birth defects, or health 

8 risks to a post-term infant;’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2007 through 

10 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2014 through 2018’’. 

11 SEC. 4. OTHER ACTIVITIES. 

12 (a) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL ON PRE13 MATURITY AND LOW BIRTHWEIGHT.—The Prematurity 

14 Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who de15 liver Infants Early Act is amended by striking section 5 

16 (42 U.S.C. 247b–4g). 

17 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON INFANT MOR18 TALITY.— 

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health 

20 and Human Services (referred to in this section as 

21 the ‘‘Secretary’’) may establish an advisory com22 mittee known as the ‘‘Advisory Committee on Infant 

23 Mortality’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Advi24 sory Committee’’). 


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1 (2) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall 

2 provide advice and recommendations to the Sec3 retary concerning the following activities: 

4 (A) Programs of the Department of Health 

5 and Human Services that are directed at reduc6 ing infant mortality and improving the health 

7 status of pregnant women and infants. 

8 (B) Strategies to coordinate the various 

9 Federal programs and activities with State, 

10 local, and private programs and efforts that ad11 dress factors that affect infant mortality. 

12 (C) Implementation of the Healthy Start 

13 program under section 330H of the Public 

14 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–8) and 

15 Healthy People 2020 infant mortality objec16 tives. 

17 (D) Strategies to reduce preterm birth 

18 rates through research, programs, and edu19 cation. 

20 (3) PLAN FOR HHS PRETERM BIRTH ACTIVI21 TIES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact22 ment of this section, the Advisory Committee (or an 

23 advisory committee in existence as of the date of en24 actment of this Act and designated by the Secretary) 

25 shall develop a plan for conducting and supporting 


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1 research, education, and programs on preterm birth 

2 through the Department of Health and Human 

3 Services and shall periodically review and revise the 

4 plan, as appropriate. The plan shall— 

5 (A) examine research and educational ac6 tivities that receive Federal funding in order to 

7 enable the plan to provide informed rec8 ommendations to reduce preterm birth and ad9 dress racial and ethnic disparities in preterm 

10 birth rates; 

11 (B) identify research gaps and opportuni12 ties to implement evidence-based strategies to 

13 reduce preterm birth rates among the programs 

14 and activities of the Department of Health and 

15 Human Services regarding preterm birth, in16 cluding opportunities to minimize duplication; 

17 and 

18 (C) reflect input from a broad range of sci19 entists, patients, and advocacy groups, as ap20 propriate. 

21 (4) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary shall ensure 

22 that the membership of the Advisory Committee in23 cludes the following: 

24 (A) Representatives provided for in the 

25 original charter of the Advisory Committee. 


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1 (B) A representative of the National Cen2 ter for Health Statistics. 

3 (c) PATIENT SAFETY STUDIES AND REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall des5 ignate an appropriate agency within the Department 

6 of Health and Human Services to coordinate exist7 ing studies on hospital readmissions of preterm in8 fants. 

9 (2) REPORT TO SECRETARY AND CONGRESS.— 

10 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act, the agency designated under para12 graph (1) shall submit to the Secretary and to Con13 gress a report containing the findings and rec14 ommendations resulting from the studies coordi15 nated under such paragraph, including recommenda16 tions for hospital discharge and followup procedures 

17 designed to reduce rates of preventable hospital re18 admissions for preterm infants. 

Æ 


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