[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2978 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2978

To authorize funding for the establishment and implementation of infant 
  mortality pilot programs in standard metropolitan statistical areas 
      with high rates of infant mortality, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 28 (legislative day, September 22), 2023

Mr. Van Hollen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize funding for the establishment and implementation of infant 
  mortality pilot programs in standard metropolitan statistical areas 
      with high rates of infant 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 ``Nationally Enhancing the Well-being 
of Babies through Outreach and Research Now Act'' or the ``NEWBORN 
Act''.

SEC. 2. INFANT MORTALITY PILOT PROGRAMS.

    Section 330H of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c-8) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Infant Mortality Pilot Programs.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to 
        eligible entities to establish, implement, and oversee infant 
        mortality pilot programs.
            ``(2) Period of a grant.--The period of a grant under this 
        subsection shall be not more than 5 years.
            ``(3) Preference.--In awarding grants under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall give preference to--
                    ``(A) eligible entities proposing to serve any of 
                the 50 counties or groups of counties with the highest 
                rates of infant mortality in the United States, based 
                on the most recent 3 years of available data, as 
                determined by the Secretary; and
                    ``(B) eligible entities the proposed infant 
                mortality pilot program of which would address--
                            ``(i) birth defects;
                            ``(ii) preterm birth and low birth weight;
                            ``(iii) sudden infant death;
                            ``(iv) maternal pregnancy complications; or
                            ``(v) injuries to infants.
            ``(4) Use of funds.--An infant mortality pilot program 
        carried out using a grant under this subsection may--
                    ``(A) include the development of a plan that 
                identifies the individual needs of each community to be 
                served and strategies to address those needs;
                    ``(B) provide outreach to at-risk mothers through 
                programs deemed appropriate by the Administrator;
                    ``(C) develop and implement standardized systems 
                for improved access, utilization, and quality of 
                social, educational, and clinical services to promote 
                healthy pregnancies, full-term births, and healthy 
                infancies delivered to women and their infants, such 
                as--
                            ``(i) counseling on infant care, feeding, 
                        and parenting;
                            ``(ii) postpartum care;
                            ``(iii) prevention of premature delivery; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) additional counseling for at-risk 
                        mothers, including smoking cessation programs, 
                        drug treatment programs, alcohol treatment 
                        programs, nutrition and physical activity 
                        programs, postpartum depression and domestic 
                        violence programs, social and psychological 
                        services, dental care, and parenting programs;
                    ``(D) establish a rural outreach program to provide 
                care to at-risk mothers in rural areas;
                    ``(E) establish a regional public education 
                campaign, including a campaign to--
                            ``(i) prevent preterm births; and
                            ``(ii) provide education to the public 
                        about infant mortality;
                    ``(F) provide for any other activities, programs, 
                or strategies, as identified by the plan under 
                subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(G) coordinate efforts between--
                            ``(i) the health department of each county 
                        or other eligible entity to be served through 
                        the infant mortality pilot program; and
                            ``(ii) existing entities that work to 
                        reduce the rate of infant mortality within the 
                        area of any such county or other eligible 
                        entity.
            ``(5) Limitation.--Of the funds received through a grant 
        under this subsection for a fiscal year, an eligible entity 
        shall not use more than 10 percent for program evaluation.
            ``(6) Reports on pilot programs.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after 
                receiving a grant, and annually thereafter for the 
                duration of the grant period, each eligible entity that 
                receives a grant under paragraph (1) shall submit a 
                report to the Secretary that details the infant 
                mortality pilot program carried out using the grant.
                    ``(B) Contents of report.--The reports required 
                under subparagraph (A) shall include information such 
                as the methodology of, and outcomes and statistics 
                from, the infant mortality pilot program carried out 
                using the grant.
                    ``(C) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall use the 
                reports required under subparagraph (A) to evaluate, 
                and conduct statistical research on, infant mortality 
                pilot programs carried out using grants under this 
                subsection.
            ``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' 
                means--
                            ``(i) a county, city, or territorial health 
                        department;
                            ``(ii) the health department of an Indian 
                        tribe, a tribal organization, or an Urban 
                        Indian organization, as such terms are defined 
                        in section 4 of the Indian Health Care 
                        Improvement Act; or
                            ``(iii) in the case of a State with a 
                        centralized health department, the State health 
                        department.
                    ``(B) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the 
                Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the 
                Health Resources and Services Administration.'';
            (3) in subsection (f), as so redesignated--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the heading, by striking 
                        ``Authorization of appropriations'' and 
                        inserting ``Healthy start initiative''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``(other than subsection 
                        (e))'' after ``carrying out this section'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (3);
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Infant mortality pilot programs.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 
        through 2027 to carry out subsection (e).''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (3)(A), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``the program under this section'' and 
                inserting ``the program under subsection (a)''; and
            (4) in each of paragraphs (2) and (3)(B) of subsection (g), 
        as so redesignated, by striking ``subsection (e)(2)(B)'' and 
        inserting ``subsection (f)(3)(B)''.
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