[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 951 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 951

  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a 
 national campaign to increase awareness of the importance of maternal 
vaccinations for the health of pregnant and postpartum individuals and 
                their children, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2021

  Ms. Sewell (for herself, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Adams, Mr. Khanna, Ms. 
   Velazquez, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. 
Lawson of Florida, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
   Ms. Strickland, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. 
 Horsford, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Payne, 
   Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Soto, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Trone, Ms. 
Clarke of New York, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Bass, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Evans, 
 Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Jones, Mr. Cohen, Ms. 
Roybal-Allard, Ms. Speier, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Carson, Mr. Kildee, Mr. 
    David Scott of Georgia, Ms. Norton, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Williams of 
   Georgia, and Mr. Cooper) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a 
 national campaign to increase awareness of the importance of maternal 
vaccinations for the health of pregnant and postpartum individuals and 
                their children, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Maternal Vaccination Act''.

SEC. 2. MATERNAL VACCINATION AWARENESS AND EQUITY CAMPAIGN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall carry 
out a national campaign to--
            (1) increase awareness of the importance of maternal 
        vaccinations for the health of pregnant and postpartum 
        individuals and their children; and
            (2) increase maternal vaccination rates, with a focus on 
        communities with historically high rates of unvaccinated 
        individuals.
    (b) Consultation.--In carrying out the campaign under this Act, the 
Secretary shall consult with relevant community-based organizations, 
health care professional associations and public health associations, 
State public health departments and local public health departments, 
Tribal-serving organizations, nonprofit organizations, and nationally 
recognized private entities.
    (c) Activities.--The campaign under this section shall--
            (1) focus on increasing maternal vaccination rates in 
        communities with historically high rates of unvaccinated 
        individuals, including for pregnant and postpartum individuals 
        from racial and ethnic minority groups;
            (2) include efforts to engage with pregnant and postpartum 
        individuals in communities with historically high rates of 
        unvaccinated individuals to seek input on the development and 
        effectiveness of the campaign;
            (3) provide evidence-based, culturally congruent resources 
        and communications efforts; and
            (4) be carried out in partnership with trusted individuals 
        and entities in communities with historically high rates of 
        unvaccinated individuals, including community-based 
        organizations, community health centers, perinatal health 
        workers, and maternity care providers.
    (d) Collaboration.--The Secretary shall ensure that the information 
and resources developed for the campaign under this section are made 
publicly available and shared with relevant Federal, State, and local 
entities.
    (e) Evaluation.--Not later than the end of fiscal year 2025, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) establish quantitative and qualitative metrics to 
        evaluate the campaign under this section; and
            (2) submit a report detailing the campaign's impact to the 
        Congress.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2022 through 2026.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Culturally congruent.--The term ``culturally 
        congruent'', with respect to care or maternity care, means care 
        that is in agreement with the preferred 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 provider who--
                    (A) is a physician, physician assistant, midwife 
                who meets at a minimum the international definition of 
                the midwife and global standards for midwifery 
                education as established 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, community 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)).
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