[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6503 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6503

To facilitate services and support to prevent the abandonment of women 
and children by alleviating the physical, financial, social, emotional, 
  and other difficulties that may be encountered during pregnancy and 
                             childrearing.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 8, 2016

 Mr. Fortenberry introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
    on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To facilitate services and support to prevent the abandonment of women 
and children by alleviating the physical, financial, social, emotional, 
  and other difficulties that may be encountered during pregnancy and 
                             childrearing.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Care for Life 
Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purpose; findings.
           TITLE I--PREGNANCY AND PARENTING SUPPORT SERVICES

Sec. 101. Pregnancy and parenting support services.
Sec. 102. Incentives for Workplace Solutions Awareness Campaign.
                   TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 202. Fund for the improvement of postsecondary educational 
                            establishments.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Purpose.--This Act seeks to achieve a consistent standard of 
informing newly pregnant women of all services and support that are 
available to them and to ensure that such women are not abandoned. 
Women at the point of learning about an unplanned pregnancy often ask 
themselves what society will to do support them. A myriad of services 
and support is available, but often pregnant women, and even providers, 
are unaware of such services and support. The purpose of this Act is to 
ensure that newly pregnant women are aware of all the services and 
support that are available to them and this Act furthers the authority 
to make specialized grants in this regard.
    (b) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Many women do not know where to turn for available 
        assistance during pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing, 
        particularly when facing financial, social, emotional, and 
        other life challenges.
            (2) Women who are pregnant and in fear of being abandoned 
        during pregnancy should have access to available local, State, 
        and Federal governmental, as well as civil society, pregnancy 
        and parenting resources.
            (3) In a study of how women in the United States face 
        challenging circumstances during pregnancy that affect a 
        woman's willingness to carry a child to term, research shows 
        that of women who do not carry their child to term--
                    (A) 44 percent are college-aged;
                    (B) 61 percent have at least one child;
                    (C) 69 percent are facing economic challenges;
                    (D) 75 percent feel they cannot afford a child; and
                    (E) 75 percent say that having a baby would 
                interfere with work, school, or the ability to care for 
                other dependents.
            (4) When a woman discovers she is pregnant while facing 
        physical, financial, social, emotional, and other life 
        challenges, the people around her can help to mitigate anxiety 
        in the face of uncertainty by providing practical support with 
        day-to-day needs associated with pregnancy, birth, and 
        motherhood, particularly in the context of her concerns about--
                    (A) family, paternity, and community support during 
                pregnancy and following the birth of a child or 
                children;
                    (B) securing opportunities that a woman may 
                require, including the completion of education that 
                leads to employment; and
                    (C) workplaces that accommodate pregnant and 
                parenting women.
            (5) Often pregnant women are unaware of the support that 
        may be available to them from private and public sources at the 
        local, State, and national levels.

           TITLE I--PREGNANCY AND PARENTING SUPPORT SERVICES

SEC. 101. PREGNANCY AND PARENTING SUPPORT SERVICES.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that women 
who are pregnant and fear being abandoned under difficult life 
circumstances, and recipients of care funded through title X of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.), title XX of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 et seq.), and other Federal, State, 
and local health care programs, should be aware of the services 
available, during and after pregnancy, that will support them while 
carrying their children to live birth as well as supporting women who 
are raising their children following birth or giving their children up 
for adoption.
    (b) Support Services.--Part D of title III of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 330F as section 330F-1; and
            (2) by inserting after section 330E the following:

``SEC. 330F. PREGNANCY AND PARENTING SUPPORT SERVICES.

    ``(a) Database.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall develop and maintain 
        a comprehensive, publicly accessible, and user friendly 
        database, to be known as the Pregnant and Parenting Women's 
        Care Information Service, to serve as a consolidated source of 
        information on public and private service providers that 
        address the concerns of pregnant women through the provision of 
        pregnancy and parenting support services.
            ``(2) Information to be included.--The database developed 
        under paragraph (1) shall include a list, by State and 
        locality, of qualified providers including, for each listed 
        provider--
                    ``(A) Web sites and other relevant sources of 
                information about such provider;
                    ``(B) as applicable and available--
                            ``(i) contact information for such 
                        provider; and
                            ``(ii) the number of years such provider 
                        has provided pregnancy and parenting support 
                        services; and
                    ``(C) information on the services offered by such 
                provider targeted towards pregnant and parenting women, 
                including the rating and reviews collected under 
                subsection (b)(3).
    ``(b) Input; Information.--In developing and maintaining the 
database under subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) seek the input of--
                    ``(A) qualified providers; and
                    ``(B) relevant State officials;
            ``(2) identify the complete list of Federal programs that 
        provide pregnancy and parenting support services; and
            ``(3) create a process to collect from women ratings and 
        reviews of qualified providers listed in the database based on 
        the interactions of such women with such providers.
    ``(c) Best Practices.--
            ``(1) Annual review.--The Secretary shall conduct an annual 
        review of best practices in pregnancy and parenting support 
        services nationwide.
            ``(2) Input.--In conducting each annual review under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) gather input from qualified providers listed 
                in the database developed under subsection (a) and 
                experts described in subsection (b)(1), including 
                experts and providers representing--
                            ``(i) State and local governments;
                            ``(ii) the private sector; and
                            ``(iii) prenatal and parenting care 
                        centers; and
                    ``(B) in gathering such input, encourage such 
                providers and experts--
                            ``(i) to share information on best 
                        practices described in paragraph (1); and
                            ``(ii) to identify difficulties facing 
                        pregnant and parenting women and to develop 
                        best practices to address such difficulties.
    ``(d) Toll-Free Number.--The Secretary shall enter into a contract, 
through the use of competitive procedures, with an entity to establish 
and operate a toll-free number to provide women with referrals for 
obtaining pregnancy and parenting support services, including services 
to support mental and emotional health.
    ``(e) Healthy Birth and Healthy Life Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may award competitive 
        grants to providers listed in the database developed under 
        subsection (a) to develop best practices for communities to 
        identify optimal ways to provide pregnancy and parenting 
        support services.
            ``(2) Supplement not supplant.--The Secretary may award a 
        grant to a provider under this subsection only if the provider 
        agrees that the grant will be used to supplement, and not 
        supplant, pregnancy and parenting support services.
    ``(f) Prenatal Care Grants to Academic Medical Centers.--The 
Secretary may award competitive grants to academic medical centers for 
the exclusive purpose of having individuals affiliated with such 
academic medical center with expertise in pregnancy and parenting and 
accompanying social services, including patient advocates, accomplish 
the following activities:
            ``(1) Deliver specialized training in pregnancy and 
        parenting support services.
            ``(2) Develop and implement programs to train individuals 
        to deliver such specialized training.
            ``(3) Seek input from women who have experienced pregnancy 
        to develop best practices for providers serving such women and 
        advice for other women experiencing pregnancy.
    ``(g) No Duplication of Effort.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
the programs and activities authorized or required by this section are 
not duplicated by other programs and activities of the Department of 
Health and Human Services.
    ``(h) Prohibition Against Funding Discriminatory Entities.--
            ``(1) Rule.--No Federal funds may be made available to a 
        Federal agency or program, or to a State or local government, 
        if such agency, program, or government subjects any 
        institutional or individual health care entity to 
        discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does 
        not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for 
        abortions.
            ``(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `health 
        care entity' includes an individual physician or other health 
        care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored 
        organization, a health maintenance organization, a health 
        insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, 
        organization, or plan.
    ``(i) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report 
to the Congress on the activities carried out under this section, the 
funds expended on such activities, and the results achieved through 
such activities.
    ``(j) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Pregnancy and parenting support services.--The term 
        `pregnancy and parenting support services' means services 
        offered during and after pregnancy to pregnant women and new 
        parents in order to help such women and such parents alleviate 
        the physical, financial, social, emotional, and other 
        difficulties that may be encountered during and after 
        pregnancy, consisting of the following:
                    ``(A) Material and financial assistance, including 
                maternity and baby clothing, diapers, baby food 
                (including formula), baby furniture, and car seats.
                    ``(B) Information for parents with newborn 
                children, including adopted children, addressing 
                resources regarding pregnancy and childbirth, infant 
                feeding, time management, parenting special needs 
                children, and nutrition during and after pregnancy.
                    ``(C) Referrals for adoption, job training and 
                placement, housing, personal safety, food stamps, and 
                other governmental assistance.
                    ``(D) Crisis hotlines, including for violence 
                prevention, suicide prevention, and survivors of sexual 
                assault who are pregnant due to such assault.
                    ``(E) Pro bono obstetric and prenatal care services 
                for women in the carrying of their children to live 
                birth, including services during pregnancy and 
                following childbirth, and neonatal care services, 
                including referrals for such services.
                    ``(F) Pro bono legal services to assist women who 
                are pregnant and parents with newborn children, 
                including adopted children.
                    ``(G) Child care services.
                    ``(H) Pursuing collection of child support and 
                alimony.
                    ``(I) Services to assist parents to care for, and 
                prepare to care for, a child with Down syndrome or 
                another prenatally diagnosed condition, and to 
                facilitate the adoption of such children as 
                appropriate.
                    ``(J) Life-skills mentoring, including to enhance 
                the following competencies:
                            ``(i) Strengthening marriage.
                            ``(ii) Communication and conflict 
                        management for building healthy marriages and 
                        families.
                            ``(iii) Decisionmaking and relationship-
                        building skills prior to marriage.
                            ``(iv) High-risk behavior awareness.
                    ``(K) Services for postpartum depression treatment.
            ``(2) Qualified provider.--The term `qualified provider' 
        means a service provider, including a pregnancy support center, 
        that has been engaged in providing any pregnancy and parenting 
        supporting services for at least three years.''.

SEC. 102. INCENTIVES FOR WORKPLACE SOLUTIONS AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

    The Secretary of Labor shall recognize and publicize the practices 
of employers who successfully meet the needs of their pregnant or 
parenting employees, such as through the following policies:
            (1) Family-friendly policies, including--
                    (A) providing child care facilities;
                    (B) providing family cafeterias and separate 
                cafeterias for those who prefer not to eat with 
                families;
                    (C) family leave policies for small employers not 
                covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act;
                    (D) paid family leave policies for employers 
                covered by such Act;
                    (E) providing rooms for mothers to breastfeed in 
                comfort, with refrigerators for the storage of breast 
                milk; and
                    (F) allowing telecommuting and flexible work 
                schedules, including meeting times conducive to 
                parenting if such meeting times do not harm traditional 
                full-time employees.
            (2) Establishment of a committees to discuss matters 
        related to employer support for employees who are pregnant or 
        parenting.
            (3) Policies that support pregnant women.

                   TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) women who are pregnant, including parenting students 
        who fear being abandoned, should be aware of and have access to 
        available educational resources to support them during 
        pregnancy, birth, and with child-rearing; and
            (2) to address this concern, the Secretary of Education 
        should--
                    (A) administer a competitive, accountable grant 
                program to provide funds to institutions of higher 
                education for the aggregation and development of 
                pregnancy and child care best practices and programs 
                that support pregnant women and mothers with children 
                who are engaged in childcare while completing 
                postsecondary education; and
                    (B) on an annual basis, report to the appropriate 
                congressional committees on the progress of the 
                Secretary in implementing the grant program and the 
                outcomes related to the best practices and programs 
                carried out under the grant program, including the 
                geographic distribution of such best practices and 
                educational programs.

SEC. 202. FUND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL 
              ESTABLISHMENTS.

    Section 741(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1138(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (12);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (13) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(14) developing an online information toolkit about 
        agencies that are working within institutions of higher 
        education to provide services related to pregnancy and child 
        care, the exclusive purpose of which shall be to provide 
        information on such services to help pregnant and parenting 
        students--
                    ``(A) locate and utilize child care services, 
                family housing, health insurance (for themselves and 
                their family), flexible academic scheduling (such as 
                telecommuting programs), parenting classes and 
                programs, and postpartum counseling and support groups;
                    ``(B) identify scholarships, financial and in-kind 
                resources, grants, and loans for which such students 
                may be eligible;
                    ``(C) meet the material needs of mothers and their 
                children, including such items as maternity and baby 
                clothing, diapers, baby food, baby furniture, and car 
                seats;
                    ``(D) access breast pumps at locations designated 
                for breast feeding within the educational setting to 
                support breast feeding and pumping; and
                    ``(E) access nutrition programs for pregnant women 
                and mothers, including the programs under section 17 of 
                the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (commonly known as 
                `WIC') and section 4 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
                2008 (commonly known as `SNAP').''.
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