ties conducted through the grant, including, to the extent 
practicable— 
‘‘(1) the number and demographics of students 
in the school of nursing seeking to enter careers fo-
cused on maternal and perinatal health; 
‘‘(2) the extent to which such students are pre-
paring to enter careers in— 
‘‘(A) health professional shortage areas 
designated under section 332; and 
‘‘(B) areas with significant racial and eth-
nic disparities in maternal health outcomes, to 
the extent such data are available; and 
‘‘(3) whether the standard curriculum for all 
students seeking to enter careers focused on mater-
nal and perinatal health includes a bias, racism, or 
discrimination training program that includes edu-
cation on implicit bias and racism. 
‘‘(e) PERIOD OF GRANTS.—The period of a grant 
under this section shall be up to 5 years. 
‘‘(f) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec-
tion, an entity shall submit to the Secretary an applica-
tion, at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including any 
information necessary for prioritization under subsection 
(c). 
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‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 
provide, directly or by contract, technical assistance to 
schools of nursing seeking or receiving a grant under this 
section on the processes of awarding and evaluating schol-
arships through the grant. 
‘‘(h) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 
4 years after the date of enactment of this section, the 
Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Congress, and 
post on the internet website of the Department of Health 
and Human Services, a report on the effectiveness of the 
grant program under this section at— 
‘‘(1) recruiting students from racial and ethnic 
minority groups and other underserved populations; 
‘‘(2) increasing the number of nurse practi-
tioners and clinical nurse specialists entering careers 
focused on maternal and perinatal health from racial 
and ethnic minority groups and other underserved 
populations; 
‘‘(3) increasing the number of nurse practi-
tioners and clinical nurse specialists entering careers 
focused on maternal and perinatal health working in 
health professional shortage areas designated under 
section 332; and 
‘‘(4) increasing the number of nurse practi-
tioners and clinical nurse specialists entering careers 
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focused on maternal and perinatal health working in 
areas with significant racial and ethnic disparities in 
maternal health outcomes, to the extent such data 
are available. 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2026.’’. 
SEC. 4. GAO REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 
date of enactment of this Act and every five years there-
after, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to Congress a report on barriers to maternal health 
education and access to care in the United States. Such 
report shall include the information and recommendations 
described in subsection (b). 
(b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report under sub-
section (a) shall include— 
(1) an assessment of current barriers to enter-
ing accredited midwifery education programs, and 
recommendations for addressing such barriers, par-
ticularly for low-income women and women from ra-
cial and ethnic minority groups; 
(2) an assessment of current barriers to enter-
ing and successfully completing accredited education 
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programs for other health professional careers re-
lated to maternity care, including maternity care 
providers, mental and behavioral health care pro-
viders acting in accordance with State law, reg-
istered dietitians or nutrition professionals (as such 
term is defined in section 1861(vv)(2) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(vv)(2)), and lactation 
consultants certified by the International Board of 
Lactation Consultants Examiners, particularly for 
low-income women and women from racial and eth-
nic minority groups; 
(3) an assessment of current barriers that pre-
vent midwives from meeting the international defini-
tion of the midwife and global standards for mid-
wifery education as established by the International 
Confederation of Midwives, and recommendations 
for addressing such barriers, particularly for low-in-
come women and women from racial and ethnic mi-
nority groups; 
(4) an assessment of disparities in access to 
maternity care providers, mental or behavioral 
health care providers acting in accordance with 
State law, registered dietitians or nutrition profes-
sionals (as such term is defined in section 
1861(vv)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
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1395x(vv)(2))), lactation consultants certified by the 
International Board of Lactation Consultants Exam-
iners, and perinatal health workers, stratified by 
race, ethnicity, gender identity, geographic location, 
and insurance type and recommendations to promote 
greater access equity; and 
(5) recommendations to promote greater equity 
in compensation for perinatal health workers under 
public and private insurers, particularly for such in-
dividuals from racially and ethnically diverse back-
grounds. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CULTURALLY CONGRUENT.—The term ‘‘cul-
turally congruent’’, with respect to care or maternity 
care, means care that is in agreement with the pre-
ferred cultural values, beliefs, worldview, language, 
and practices of the health care consumer and other 
stakeholders. 
(2) MATERNITY
CARE
PROVIDER.—The term 
‘‘maternity care provider’’ means a health care pro-
vider who— 
(A) is a physician, physician assistant, 
midwife who meets at a minimum the inter-
national definition of the midwife and global 
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standards for midwifery education as estab-
lished by the International Confederation of 
Midwives, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse 
specialist; and 
(B) has a focus on maternal or perinatal 
health. 
(3) PERINATAL HEALTH WORKER.—The term 
‘‘perinatal health worker’’ means a doula, commu-
nity health worker, peer supporter, breastfeeding 
and lactation educator or counselor, nutritionist or 
dietitian, childbirth educator, social worker, home 
visitor, language interpreter, or navigator. 
(4) POSTPARTUM AND POSTPARTUM PERIOD.— 
The terms ‘‘postpartum’’ and ‘‘postpartum period’’ 
refer to the 1-year period beginning on the last day 
of the pregnancy of an individual. 
(5) RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP.— 
The term ‘‘racial and ethnic minority group’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 1707(g)(1) of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 
6(g)(1)). 
Æ 
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