[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5012 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5012

 To improve research and data collection on stillbirths, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2023

 Mrs. Kim of California (for herself, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Joyce 
of Ohio, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, 
   Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Norton, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. 
Sherrill, Mrs. Trahan, and Mrs. Hinson) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve research and data collection on stillbirths, 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 ``Stillbirth Health Improvement and 
Education for Autumn Act of 2023'' or the ``SHINE for Autumn Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. STILLBIRTH RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION IMPROVEMENTS.

    Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting 
after section 317L-1 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-13a) the following:

``SEC. 317L-2. STILLBIRTH RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION IMPROVEMENTS.

    ``(a) Stillbirth Surveillance and Risk Factor Studies.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may award grants to States 
        for purposes of--
                    ``(A) conducting surveillance and collecting data, 
                including from existing datasets like State or sub-
                State maternal mortality data and Fetal and Infant 
                Mortality Review data, with respect to stillbirths for 
                public health and research purposes;
                    ``(B) building State and local public health 
                capacity to assess stillbirth data; and
                    ``(C) collecting and reporting data on stillbirth 
                risk factors, including any quantifiable outcomes with 
                respect to such risk factors.
            ``(2) Condition.--As a condition of receipt of funds under 
        this section, all data collected shall be in a manner that 
        protects personal privacy and in a manner that is consistent 
        with applicable Federal and State privacy law, at a minimum.
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this 
        subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 
        for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
    ``(b) Guidelines and Educational Awareness Materials.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) issue guidelines to State departments of 
                health and State and local vital statistics units on--
                            ``(i) collecting data on stillbirth from 
                        health care providers, and with the consent of 
                        the woman who experienced the stillbirth, 
                        including any such data with respect to the 
                        clinical history, postmortem examination, and 
                        placental pathology; and
                            ``(ii) improving processes and training 
                        related to stillbirth data collection and 
                        reporting to ensure standardization and 
                        completeness of data; and
                    ``(B) develop, and make publicly available, 
                educational awareness materials on stillbirths.
            ``(2) Consultation.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary may consult with--
                    ``(A) national health care professional 
                associations;
                    ``(B) national associations representing State and 
                local public health officials;
                    ``(C) organizations that assist families with 
                burial support and bereavement services;
                    ``(D) nurses and nurse practitioners;
                    ``(E) obstetricians and gynecologists;
                    ``(F) pediatricians;
                    ``(G) maternal-fetal medicine specialists;
                    ``(H) nurse midwives and midwives;
                    ``(I) mental health professionals;
                    ``(J) statisticians;
                    ``(K) individuals who have experienced a 
                stillbirth; and
                    ``(L) advocacy organizations representing such 
                individuals.
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this 
        subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 
        for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
    ``(c) Vital Statistics Unit Defined.--In this section, the term 
`vital statistics unit' means the entity that is responsible for 
maintaining vital records for a State, or a political subdivision of 
such State, including official records of live births, deaths, fetal 
deaths, marriages, divorces, and annulments.''.

SEC. 3. PERINATAL PATHOLOGY FELLOWSHIPS.

    The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 
1122 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300c-12) the following:

``SEC. 1123. IMPROVING PERINATAL PATHOLOGY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall incorporate into an existing 
training program a Perinatal Pathology Fellowship Program, a 
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship on Factors Associated with Stillbirth 
Program, or both.
    ``(b) Activities.--Each program incorporated under subsection (a) 
shall--
            ``(1) provide training in perinatal autopsy pathology;
            ``(2) provide practice-based learning opportunities to 
        foster exchange and connection with State efforts concerning 
        fetal death review that are supported under title V of the 
        Social Security Act;
            ``(3) conduct research on, and improve data collection with 
        respect to, stillbirths, including through fetal autopsies; and
            ``(4) address challenges in stillbirth education, research, 
        and data collection.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2028.''.

SEC. 4. REPORTS.

    (a) Educational Guidelines Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than five years after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services shall publish on a public website of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services a report with educational guidelines 
        on stillbirth and stillbirth risk factors.
            (2) Contents.--Such report shall include, to the extent 
        practicable and appropriate, the guidelines issued and 
        educational awareness materials developed under section 317L-2 
        of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section 2 of this 
        Act.
    (b) Progress Report.--Not later than five years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
submit to the Congress a comprehensive report on the progress and 
effectiveness of each program under section 1123 of the Public Health 
Service Act, as added by section 3 of this Act.
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