I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3470 

To authorize funding for the creation and implementation of infant mortality 

pilot programs in standard metropolitan statistical areas with high rates 

of infant mortality, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2009 

Mr. COHEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To authorize funding for the creation 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 Wellbeing of Babies through Outreach and Research 

6 Now Act’’ or the ‘‘NEWBORN Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) The infant mortality rate of a nation is an 

2 important indicator of that nation’s overall health. 

3 (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre4 vention have found that the United States ranked 

5 29th in the world in infant mortality in 2004, falling 

6 from 12th in 1960. 

7 (3) There are more than 28,000 deaths to chil8 dren under 1 year of age each year in the United 

9 States. 

10 (4) Preterm birth has a considerable impact on 

11 the United States infant mortality rate, in 2005, 

12 68.6 percent of all infant deaths occurred to preterm 

13 infants, up from 65.6 percent in 2000. 

14 (5) The United States infant mortality rate for 

15 non-Hispanic Black women was 2.4 times the rate 

16 for non-Hispanic White women in 2005. 

17 (6) In 2005, the United States infant mortality 

18 rates were above average for non-Hispanic Black 

19 women at 13.63 deaths per 1,000 live births, for 

20 Puerto Rican women at 8.30 deaths per 1,000 live 

21 births, and for American Indian or Alaska Native 

22 women at 8.06 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

23 (7) In Memphis, Tennessee, the infant mor24 tality rate is three times higher than that of the 

25 United States (higher than any other city in the 


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1 country), and the 2005 infant mortality rate in the 

2 38108 zip code of Memphis was deadlier for babies 

3 than that of the countries of Vietnam, Iran, and El 

4 Salvador with 31 deaths per 1,000 live births, 5 

5 times that of the 2005 national average of 6.86 

6 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

7 (8) Adequate prenatal care has a studied, posi8 tive effect on the health of the baby. 

9 (9) Prenatal care is one of the most important 

10 interventions for ensuring the health of pregnant 

11 women and their infants. 

12 (10) Twenty-nine percent of mothers 15 to 19 

13 years of age received no early prenatal care in 2004 

14 according to the Department of Health and Human 

15 Services. 

16 (11) Non-Hispanic Black mothers were 2.6 

17 times more likely than non-Hispanic White mothers 

18 to begin prenatal care in the third trimester, or not 

19 receive prenatal care at all. 

20 (12) Babies born to mothers who received no 

21 prenatal care are three times more likely to be born 

22 at low birth weight, and five times more likely to die, 

23 than those whose mothers received prenatal care, as 

24 stated by the Department of Health and Human 

25 Services. 


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1 (13) The United States high infant mortality 

2 rate reflects in part racial disparities in premature 

3 and low birthweight babies. 

4 (14) The racial disparities in infant mortality 

5 may relate to socioeconomic status, access to medical 

6 care, and the education level of the mother. 

7 SEC. 3. INFANT MORTALITY PILOT PROGRAMS. 

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

9 Director, shall award grants to eligible entities to create, 

10 implement, and oversee infant mortality pilot programs. 

11 (b) PERIOD OF A GRANT.—The period of a grant 

12 under this section shall be 5 consecutive fiscal years. 

13 (c) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under this 

14 section, the Secretary shall give preference to eligible enti15 ties proposing to serve any of the 15 counties or groups 

16 of counties with the highest rates of infant mortality in 

17 the United States in the past 3 years. 

18 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Any infant mortality pilot pro19 gram funded under this section may— 

20 (1) include the development of a plan that iden21 tifies the individual needs of each community to be 

22 served and strategies to address those needs; 

23 (2) provide outreach to at-risk mothers through 

24 programs deemed appropriate by the Director; 


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1 (3) develop and implement standardized sys2 tems for improved access, utilization, and quality of 

3 social, educational, and clinical services to promote 

4 healthy pregnancies, full term births, and healthy in5 fancies delivered to women and their infants, such 

6 as— 

7 (A) counseling on infant care, feeding, and 

8 parenting; 

9 (B) postpartum care; 

10 (C) prevention of premature delivery; and 

11 (D) additional counseling for at-risk moth12 ers, including smoking cessation programs, 

13 drug treatment programs, alcohol treatment 

14 programs, nutrition and physical activity pro15 grams, postpartum depression and domestic vio16 lence programs, social and psychological serv17 ices, dental care, and parenting programs; 

18 (4) establish a rural outreach program to pro19 vide care to at-risk mothers in rural areas; 

20 (5) establish a regional public education cam21 paign, including a campaign to— 

22 (A) prevent preterm births; and 

23 (B) educate the public about infant mor24 tality; and 


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1 (6) provide for any other activities, programs, 

2 or strategies as identified by the community plan. 

3 (e) LIMITATION.—Of the funds received through a 

4 grant under this section for a fiscal year, an eligible entity 

5 shall not use more than 10 percent for program evalua6 tion. 

7 (f) REPORTS ON PILOT PROGRAMS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 receiving a grant, and annually thereafter for the 

10 duration of the grant period, each entity that re11 ceives a grant under subsection (a) shall submit a 

12 report to the Secretary detailing its infant mortality 

13 pilot program. 

14 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The reports re15 quired under paragraph (1) shall include informa16 tion such as the methodology of, and outcomes and 

17 statistics from, the grantee’s infant mortality pilot 

18 program. 

19 (3) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall use the 

20 reports required under paragraph (1) to evaluate, 

21 and conduct statistical research on, infant mortality 

22 pilot programs funded through this section. 

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

24 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

25 apply: 


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1 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

3 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

5 Prevention. 

6 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti7 ty’’ means a State, county, city, territorial, or tribal 

8 health department that has submitted a proposal to 

9 the Secretary that the Secretary deems likely to re10 duce infant mortality rates within the standard met11 ropolitan statistical area involved. 

12 (4) TRIBAL.—The term ‘‘tribal’’ refers to an 

13 Indian tribe, a Tribal organization, or an Urban In14 dian organization, as such terms are defined in sec15 tion 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. 

16 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be ap18 propriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 

19 through 2014. 

Æ 


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