I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9807 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a grant program 
to provide surge capacity for providers faced with increased unmet need 
for contraceptive care. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 
Ms. CARAVEO (for herself, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. WILLIAMS of 
Georgia, Ms. MANNING, Mrs. PELTOLA, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. NORTON, 
Ms. BUSH, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. 
PETTERSEN, and Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a 
grant program to provide surge capacity for providers 
faced with increased unmet need for contraceptive care. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Access 
to Contraceptive Care Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Nearly 9 in 10 women of reproductive age 
have used contraception, and nearly 9 in 10 adults 
agree that everyone deserves access to the full range 
of birth control methods, no matter who they are, 
where they live, or their economic status. 
(2) More than 19,000,000 women, plus more 
transgender and nonbinary individuals, of reproduc-
tive age in the United States live in contraceptive 
deserts, meaning they lack reasonable access in their 
county to a health center offering the full range of 
contraceptive methods. 
(3) Additionally, 1,200,000 of such women live 
in a county without a single health center offering 
the full range of contraceptive methods. 
(4) Research shows that Black women are more 
likely to live in a contraceptive desert, and face bar-
riers accessing pharmacies. 
(5) Systemic racism, discrimination, and lack of 
access to comprehensive sex education exacerbates 
severe health inequities and creates additional bar-
riers to accessing contraception. 
(6) Due to high uninsured rates and barriers, 
Hispanic women with low incomes experience a sig-
nificantly higher rate of unintended pregnancy, of 58 
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percent, compared to their White counterparts, with 
a rate of 33 percent. 
(7) A 2023 study found that among people who 
identified as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or 
Pacific Islander, Black or African American, Indige-
nous, Latina, or Latinx, 45 percent of respondents 
reported experiencing at least one challenge access-
ing contraception in the past year. 
(8) To address the challenges in accessing con-
traceptive care, proper investments need to be made 
to improve availability to such care nationwide, with 
a particular focus in the counties where health cen-
ters currently do not offer the full range of methods. 
(9) The family planning safety net has been 
chronically underfunded and is in dire need of sig-
nificant additional investment. The family planning 
program under title X of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) has been funded at the 
same level for a decade, and needs more than 3 
times the current funding level to meet the dem-
onstrated need. However, even if such program were 
fully funded, there would still be factors that strain 
provider capacity and limit the ability to meet the 
needs of contraception patients. 
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SEC. 3. GRANTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVE 
CARE. 
Subpart V of part D of title III of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 340A–1. GRANTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CONTRA-
CEPTIVE CARE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
grant program consisting of awarding grants to eligible 
entities to increase their capacity to provide contraceptive 
care to individuals seeking to access contraceptive care 
within or outside of their States of residence. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 
a grant under this section, an entity shall— 
‘‘(1) be a hospital, clinic, or other health care 
facility, university, nonprofit organization, commu-
nity-based organization, State or local governmental 
entity, or Tribal government that, through pro-
grams, services, or activities that are unbiased and 
medically and factually accurate— 
‘‘(A) provides or refers for abortion serv-
ices; or 
‘‘(B) provides unbiased information and 
counseling about abortion; and 
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‘‘(2) be in a State, the District of Columbia, or 
a commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
United States. 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities— 
‘‘(1) in States that, as determined by the Sec-
retary, can demonstrate an increased unmet need for 
contraceptive services; and 
‘‘(2) which, as of the date of the enactment of 
this Act, have received a grant under title X of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.). 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A grant under this 
section may be used for any of the following supplies, 
equipment, or services related to providing contraceptive 
care: 
‘‘(1) Providing patient education on all methods 
of contraception approved, granted marketing au-
thorization, or cleared under the Federal Food 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or licensed under section 
351 of this Act. 
‘‘(2) Purchasing of contraceptive supplies, in-
cluding emergency contraception. 
‘‘(3) Providing person-centered contraceptive 
counseling. 
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