a particular focus on reaching pregnant and postpartum 
people in underserved communities. 
(b) EMERGENCY TEMPORARY STANDARD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In consideration of the grave 
risk presented by COVID–19 and the need to 
strengthen protections for employees, pursuant to 
section 6(c)(1) of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(c)(1)) and not-
withstanding the provisions of law and the Executive 
order described in paragraph (3), not later than 7 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Labor shall promulgate an emergency 
temporary standard to protect all employees at occu-
pational risk from occupational exposure to SARS– 
CoV–2. 
(2) PREGNANT
AND
POSTPARTUM
EMPLOY-
EES.—The emergency temporary standard promul-
gated under this subsection shall include consider-
ation of the risks and needs specific to pregnant and 
postpartum employees. 
(3) INAPPLICABLE
PROVISIONS
OF
LAW
AND 
EXECUTIVE ORDER.—The requirements of chapter 6 
of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to 
as the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility Act’’), subchapter I of 
chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (com-
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monly referred to as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 
Act’’), the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), and Executive Order 12866 
(58 Fed. Reg. 190; relating to regulatory planning 
and review) shall not apply to the standard promul-
gated under this subsection. 
(c) TASK FORCE ON BIRTHING EXPERIENCE AND 
SAFE, RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIVE, AND EMPOWERING 
MATERNITY CARE DURING PANDEMICS AND OTHER PUB-
LIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in con-
sultation with the Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention and the Administrator 
of the Health Resources and Services Administra-
tion, shall convene a task force to develop Federal 
recommendations regarding respectful, responsive, 
and empowering maternity care, including safe birth 
care and postpartum care, during public health 
emergencies. 
(2) DUTIES.—The task force established under 
paragraph (1) shall develop, publicly post, and up-
date Federal recommendations in multiple languages 
to ensure quality, provide nondiscriminatory mater-
nity care, promote positive birthing experiences, and 
improve maternal health outcomes during the 
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COVID–19 public health emergency and future pub-
lic health emergencies, with a particular focus on 
outcomes for communities of color and rural popu-
lations. 
Such 
guidelines 
and 
recommendations 
shall— 
(A) address, with particular attention to 
ensuring equitable treatment on the basis of 
race and ethnicity— 
(i) measures to facilitate respectful, 
responsive, and empowering maternity 
care; 
(ii) measures to facilitate telehealth 
maternity care for pregnant people who 
cannot regularly access in-person care; 
(iii) strategies to increase access to 
specialized care for those with high-risk 
pregnancies or pregnant individuals with 
elevated risk factors; 
(iv) diagnostic testing for pregnant 
and laboring patients; 
(v) birthing without one’s chosen com-
panions, with one’s chosen companions, 
and with smartphone or other telehealth 
connection to one’s chosen companions; 
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(vi) newborn separation after birth in 
relation to maternal infection status; 
(vii) breast milk feeding in relation to 
maternal infection status; 
(viii) licensure, training, scope of 
practice, and Medicaid and other insurance 
reimbursement for certified midwives, cer-
tified nurse-midwives, certified professional 
midwives, in a manner that facilitates in-
clusion of midwives of color and midwives 
from underserved communities; 
(ix) financial support and training for 
perinatal health workers who provide non- 
clinical support to people from pregnancy 
through the postpartum period, such as a 
doula, community health worker, peer sup-
porter, lactation consultant, nutritionist or 
dietitian, social worker, home visitor, or a 
patient navigator in a manner that facili-
tates inclusion from underserved commu-
nities; 
(x) strategies to ensure and expand 
doula coverage under State Medicaid pro-
grams; 
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(xi) how to identify, address, and 
treat prenatal and postpartum mental and 
behavioral health conditions, such as anx-
iety, substance use disorder, and depres-
sion, which may have arisen or increased 
during the COVID–19 public health emer-
gency, and how to mitigate the impact of 
future public health emergencies on mater-
nal mental health; 
(xii) how to identify and address in-
stances of intimate partner violence during 
pregnancy which may arise or intensify 
during public health emergencies, and how 
to mitigate the impact of future public 
health emergencies on maternal mental 
health; 
(xiii) strategies to address hospital ca-
pacity concerns in communities with a 
surge in infectious disease cases and to 
provide childbearing people with options 
that reduce potential for cross-contamina-
tion and increase the ability to implement 
their care preferences while maintaining 
safety and quality, such as the use of aux-
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iliary maternity units and freestanding 
birth centers; 
(xiv) provision of child care services 
during prenatal appointments for mothers 
whose children are unable to attend as a 
result of restrictions relating to the public 
health emergencies; 
(xv) how to identify and address rac-
ism, bias, and discrimination in the deliv-
ery treatment and support to pregnant and 
postpartum people, including evaluating 
the value of training for hospital staff on 
implicit bias and racism, respectful, re-
sponsive, and empowering maternity care, 
and demographic data collection; 
(xvi) how to address the needs of un-
documented pregnant women and new 
mothers who may be afraid or unable to 
seek needed care during the COVID–19 
public health emergency; 
(xvii) how to address the needs of un-
insured pregnant women who have histori-
cally relied on emergency departments for 
care; 
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(xviii) how to identify women at risk 
for depression, anxiety disorder, psychosis, 
obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other 
maternal mood disorders before, during, 
and after pregnancy, and how to treat 
those diagnosed with a postpartum mood 
disorder; 
(xix) how to effectively and compas-
sionately screen for substance abuse during 
pregnancy and postpartum and help moms 
find support and effective treatment; and 
(xx) such other matters as the task 
force determines appropriate; 
(B) identify barriers to the implementation 
of the guidelines and recommendations; 
(C) take into consideration existing State 
and other programs that have demonstrated ef-
fectiveness in addressing pregnancy, birth, and 
postpartum care during the COVID–19 public 
health emergency; and 
(D) identify policies specific to COVID–19 
that should be discontinued when safely possible 
and those that should be continued as the pub-
lic health emergency abates. 
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(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force established 
under paragraph (1) shall be comprised of— 
(A) representatives of the Department of 
Health and Human Services, including rep-
resentatives of— 
(i) the Secretary; 
(ii) the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention; 
(iii) the Administrator of the Health 
Resources and Services Administration; 
(iv) the Administrator of the Centers 
for Medicare & Medicaid Services; 
(v) the Director of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality; and 
(vi) the Director of the Indian Health 
Service; 
(B) at least 3 State, local, or territorial 
public health officials representing departments 
of public health, who shall represent jurisdic-
tions from different regions of the United 
States with relatively high concentrations of 
historically marginalized populations, to be ap-
pointed by the Secretary; 
(C) at least 1 Tribal public health official 
representing departments of public health; 
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(D) 1 or more representatives of a commu-
nity-based organization that addresses adverse 
maternal health outcomes with a specific focus 
on racial and ethnic inequities in maternal 
health outcomes, appointed by the Secretary, 
with special consideration given to organizations 
led by a person of color or from communities 
with significant minority populations; 
(E) 1 or more obstetrician-gynecologist or 
other physician who provides obstetric care, 
with special consideration for physicians who 
are from, or work in, communities experiencing, 
or that have experienced, the highest rates of 
COVID–19 mortality and morbidity; 
(F) 1 or more nurse, such as a certified 
nurse-midwife, women’s health nurse practi-
tioner, or other nurse who provides obstetric 
care, with special consideration for nurses who 
are from, or work in, communities experiencing, 
or that have experienced, the highest rates of 
COVID–19 mortality and morbidity; 
(G) 1 or more perinatal health workers 
who provide non-clinical support to people from 
pregnancy through postpartum period, such as 
a doula, community health worker, peer sup-
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porter, lactation consultant, nutritionist or die-
titian, social worker, home visitor, or patient 
navigator; 
(H) 1 or more patients who were pregnant 
or gave birth during the COVID–19 public 
health emergency; 
(I) 1 or more patients who contracted 
COVID–19 and later gave birth; 
(J) 1 or more patients who have received 
support from a perinatal health worker who 
provides prenatal and postpartum support, such 
as a doula, community health worker, peer sup-
porter, lactation consultant, nutritionist or die-
titian, social worker, home visitor, or a patient 
navigator, or a spouse or family member of 
such patient; and 
(K) racially and ethnically diverse rep-
resentation from at least 3 independent experts 
with knowledge or field experience with racial 
and ethnic disparities in public health, women’s 
health, or maternal mortality and severe mater-
nal morbidity. 
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SEC. 7. GAO REPORT ON MATERNAL HEALTH AND PUBLIC 
HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. 
Not later than 1 year after the end of the public 
health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with 
respect to COVID–19, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to the appropriate committees 
of Congress a report on maternal health and public health 
emergency preparedness, including prenatal, labor and de-
livery, and postpartum care during the COVID–19 public 
health emergency, including the following: 
(1) A review of the prenatal, labor and delivery, 
and postpartum experiences of people during the 
COVID–19 public health emergency, which shall— 
(A) identify barriers to accessing pre-
conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum 
care during a pandemic, including maternal be-
havioral health care; 
(B) assess the extent to which public and 
private insurers were providing coverage for 
maternal health care during the public health 
emergency, including for telehealth services and 
out-of-hospital births; 
(C) review the impact of the continuous 
enrollment condition included in the Families 
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First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 
116–127) had on enrollment of postpartum peo-
ple in State Medicaid programs and analyze 
health care services utilized by this population 
in the postpartum period; 
(D) to the extent practicable, analyze ma-
ternal and infant health outcomes by race and 
ethnicity (including quality of care, mortality, 
morbidity, cesarean section rates, preterm birth, 
prevalence of prenatal and postpartum anxiety 
and depression, and other mood disorders) dur-
ing the COVID–19 public health emergency and 
the impact of Federal and State policy changes 
made in response to the COVID–19 pandemic 
on such outcomes; 
(E) identify contributors to population- 
based disparities seen in COVID–19 outcomes, 
such as racial profiling of, and bias and dis-
crimination against, Black, American Indian 
and Alaska Native, Latinx, and Asian-American 
and Pacific Islander people; 
(F) review the impact of increased unem-
ployment, paid family leave, changes in health 
care coverage, and other social determinants of 
health for pregnant and postpartum people dur-
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ing the public health emergency, including inti-
mate partner violence; and 
(G) assess the impact of the lack of inclu-
sion of pregnant and lactating people in clinical 
trials for COVID–19 therapeutics and vaccines. 
(2) Consultation with maternity care providers, 
maternal behavioral health care specialists, research-
ers who specialize in women’s health or maternal 
mortality and severe maternal morbidity, people who 
experienced pregnancy or childbirth during the 
COVID–19 public health emergency, representatives 
from community-based organizations that address 
maternal health, and perinatal health workers who 
provide 
nonclinical 
support 
to 
pregnant 
and 
postpartum people (such as a doula, community 
health worker, peer support, certified lactation con-
sultant, nutritionist or dietician, social worker, home 
visitor, or navigator). 
(3) Recommendations to improve the public 
health emergency response and preparedness efforts 
of the Federal Government specific to maternal 
health, with a particular focus on outcomes for mi-
nority women, including— 
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(A) ways to improve research, surveillance, 
and data collection of the Federal Government 
related to maternal health; 
(B) ways for the Federal Government to 
factor maternal health outcomes and disparities 
into decisions regarding distribution of re-
sources, including COVID–19 tests, personal 
protective equipment, and emergency funding; 
(C) the extent to which guidelines and rec-
ommendations of the Federal Government re-
lated to maternal health care during the 
COVID–19 public health emergency were cul-
turally congruent and linguistically competent 
for minority women; 
(D) ways to improve the distribution of 
public health funds, data, and information to 
Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations with re-
gard to maternal health during public health 
emergencies; and 
(E) opportunities to incentivize or require 
sponsors to include safety data on pregnant and 
lactating people for therapeutics and vaccines in 
emergency use authorization submissions. 
Æ 
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