[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1594 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1594

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a task 
    force to develop strategies and coordinate efforts to eliminate 
        preventable maternal mortality, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 15, 2023

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Booker) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a task 
    force to develop strategies and coordinate efforts to eliminate 
        preventable maternal mortality, 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 ``Social Determinants for Moms Act''.

SEC. 2. TASK FORCE TO ADDRESS THE UNITED STATES MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall convene a task 
force (referred to in this section as the ``Task Force'') to develop 
strategies and coordinate efforts between Federal agencies and other 
stakeholders to eliminate preventable maternal mortality, severe 
maternal morbidity, and maternal health disparities in the United 
States, including actions to address clinical and nonclinical causes of 
maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and maternal health 
disparities.
    (b) Ex Officio Members.--The ex officio members of the Task Force 
shall consist of the following:
            (1) The Secretary (or a designee thereof).
            (2) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (or a 
        designee thereof).
            (3) The Secretary of Transportation (or a designee 
        thereof).
            (4) The Secretary of Agriculture (or a designee thereof).
            (5) The Secretary of Labor (or a designee thereof).
            (6) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency (or a designee thereof).
            (7) The Assistant Secretary for the Administration for 
        Children and Families (or a designee thereof).
            (8) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
        Medicaid Services (or a designee thereof).
            (9) The Director of the Indian Health Service (or a 
        designee thereof).
            (10) The Director of the National Institutes of Health (or 
        a designee thereof).
            (11) The Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National 
        Institute of Child Health and Human Development (or a designee 
        thereof).
            (12) The Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
        Administration (or a designee thereof).
            (13) The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health of 
        the Department of Health and Human Services (or a designee 
        thereof).
            (14) The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health of 
        the Department of Health and Human Services (or a designee 
        thereof).
            (15) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention (or a designee thereof).
            (16) The Director of the Office on Violence Against Women 
        at the Department of Justice (or a designee thereof).
    (c) Appointed Members.--In addition to the ex officio members of 
the Task Force, the Secretary may appoint the following members of the 
Task Force:
            (1) Representatives of patients, to include--
                    (A) a representative of patients who have suffered 
                from severe maternal morbidity; or
                    (B) a representative of patients who is a family 
                member of an individual who suffered a pregnancy-
                related death.
            (2) Leaders of community-based organizations that address 
        maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and maternal 
        health with a specific focus on racial and ethnic disparities. 
        In appointing such leaders under this paragraph, the Secretary 
        shall give priority to individuals who are leaders of 
        organizations led by individuals from demographic groups with 
        elevated rates of maternal mortality, severe maternal 
        morbidity, maternal health disparities, or other adverse 
        perinatal or childbirth outcomes.
            (3) Perinatal health workers.
            (4) A professionally and geographically diverse panel of 
        maternity care providers.
            (5) Other maternal health stakeholders outside of the 
        Federal Government with expertise in maternal health, including 
        social determinants of maternal health.
    (d) Chair.--The Secretary shall select the chair of the Task Force 
from among the members of the Task Force.
    (e) Topics.--In developing strategies coordinating efforts between 
Federal agencies and other stakeholders to eliminate preventable 
maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and maternal health 
disparities in the United States under this section, the Task Force may 
address topics such as--
            (1) addressing barriers that prevent individuals from 
        attending prenatal and postpartum appointments, accessing 
        maternal health care services, or accessing services and 
        resources related to social determinants of maternal health;
            (2) increasing access to safe, stable, affordable, and 
        adequate housing for pregnant and postpartum individuals and 
        their families;
            (3) delivering healthy food, infant formula, clean water, 
        diapers, or other perinatal necessities to pregnant and 
        postpartum individuals located in areas that are food deserts;
            (4) addressing the impacts of water and air quality, 
        exposure to extreme temperatures, environmental chemicals, 
        environmental risks in the workplace and the home, and 
        pollution levels, on maternal and infant health outcomes;
            (5) offering free and accessible drop-in childcare services 
        during prenatal and postpartum appointments;
            (6) addressing the clinical and nonclinical needs of 
        postpartum individuals and their families for the duration of 
        the postpartum period;
            (7) engaging with nongovernmental entities to address 
        social determinants of maternal health, including through 
        public-private partnerships;
            (8) addressing the impact of domestic or intimate partner 
        violence on maternal health outcomes; and
            (9) other topics determined by the chair of the Task Force.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and every year thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to 
Congress and make publicly available on the website of the Department 
of Health and Human Services a report--
            (1) describing the Task Force's efforts to develop 
        strategies and coordinate efforts between Federal agencies and 
        other stakeholders to eliminate preventable maternal mortality, 
        severe maternal morbidity, and maternal health disparities in 
        the United States;
            (2) providing an overview of actions taken by each member 
        of the Task Force listed under subsection (b) to eliminate 
        preventable maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and 
        maternal health disparities in the United States;
            (3) providing recommendations on Federal funding amounts 
        and authorities needed to implement strategies developed by the 
        Task Force to eliminate preventable maternal mortality, severe 
        maternal morbidity, and maternal health disparities in the 
        United States;
            (4) providing recommendations on actions that stakeholders 
        outside of the Federal Government can take to eliminate 
        preventable maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and 
        maternal health disparities in the United States; and
            (5) addressing other topics as determined by the chair of 
        the Task Force.
    (g) Termination.--Section 1013 of title 5, United States Code, 
shall not apply to the Task Force with respect to termination.

SEC. 3. SUSTAINED FUNDING TO ADDRESS SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF MATERNAL 
              HEALTH.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
entities to address social determinants of maternal health to eliminate 
maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and maternal health 
disparities.
    (b) Eligible Entities.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
entity'' means--
            (1) a community-based organization, Indian Tribe or Tribal 
        organization, or Urban Indian organization;
            (2) a public health department or nonprofit organization 
        working with an entity listed in paragraph (1); or
            (3) a consortium of entities listed in paragraph (1) or (2) 
        that includes at minimum one entity listed in paragraph (1).
    (c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may provide.
    (d) Prioritization.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that is operating 
in an area with--
            (1) high rates of maternal mortality, severe maternal 
        morbidity, maternal health disparities, or other adverse 
        perinatal or childbirth outcomes; and
            (2) a high poverty rate.
    (e) Activities.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section may use the grant to address social determinants of 
maternal health such as--
            (1) housing;
            (2) transportation;
            (3) nutrition;
            (4) employment, workplace conditions, and other economic 
        factors;
            (5) environmental conditions;
            (6) intimate partner violence; and
            (7) other nonclinical factors that impact maternal health 
        outcomes.
    (f) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide to grant 
recipients under this section technical assistance to plan for 
sustaining programs to address social determinants of maternal health 
after the period of the grant.
    (g) Reporting.--
            (1) Grantees.--Not later than 1 year after an eligible 
        entity first receives a grant under this section, and annually 
        thereafter, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary, 
        and make publicly available, a report on the status of 
        activities conducted using the grant. Each such report shall 
        include data on the effects of such activities, disaggregated 
        by race, ethnicity, gender, primary language, geography, 
        socioeconomic status, and other relevant factors.
            (2) Secretary.--Not later than the end of fiscal year 2028, 
        the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that includes--
                    (A) a summary of the reports under paragraph (1); 
                and
                    (B) recommendations for future Federal grant 
                allocations to address social determinants of maternal 
                health.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2028.
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