[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 36 (Thursday, February 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S884-S885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               MOMMA ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this week America reached a heartbreaking 
milestone, one that would have seemed unthinkable a year ago. We have 
now lost more than 500,000 Americans to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is 
one in every five COVID-19 deaths in the world. We have lost mothers 
and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. 
On Monday evening, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and their 
spouses remembered all of these lost souls in a moving ceremony at the 
White House. Behind them, 500 flickering candles lined the White House 
stairs, each candle representing a thousand lives cut short by the 
virus, a thousand grieving families. In addition, more than 28 million 
Americans have been infected by the coronavirus in this pandemic
  No State, no community in America, has been spared in this sadness. 
In my State of Illinois, COVID-19 has claimed more than 20,000 lives. 
My heart goes out to and every American trying to survive in this 
terribly difficult year. I have heard others say, and I agree: This 
pandemic will not break us, but it is showing us where we are 
broken.Like so many other diseases and health conditions, the pandemic 
has inflicted disproportionate harm on people and communities of 
color--Black Americans, Native Americans, and members of the Latinx 
community.
  Black Americans get sick and die of COVID at 1.5 times the rate of 
White Americans. Despite their greater risks of infection and death, 
people of color are receiving COVID vaccinations at less than half the 
rate as White Americans. In Illinois, Black residents make up 15 
percent and Latinx residents make up 18 percent of our State's 
population, yet each group accounts for

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only 8 percent of the COVID vaccines allocated so far.
  Sadly, these statistics come as no surprise. America has a long 
history of medical inequality. From premature births to premature 
deaths, people of color suffer disproportionately from America's 
troubled health care system. People of color in America suffer more 
chronic and acute health conditions. They are more likely to go without 
needed medical care, and they have shorter life expectancies. According 
to new estimates from the CDC, life expectancy in the United States 
fell by a full year as COVID-19 swept through the Nation last year--the 
steepest decline in life expectancy since World War II. Again, the pain 
was unequal. Latinx Americans' life expectancy declined by 2 years and 
Black Americans' by 3 years. The reasons for the disparities are many 
and varied, but they include unequal access to affordable healthcare, 
inadequate research, and too few healthcare professionals of color.
  Martin Luther King called healthcare inequality ``the most shocking 
and inhumane'' form of injustice. Far too often, this inequality begins 
even before birth. It should shock our consciences that the United 
States, one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, has one of the world's 
poorest records for maternal and infant health. Think of this: The 
United States is one of only 13 nations in the world where the maternal 
mortality rate is worse now than it was 25 years ago. Every year in 
America, nearly 1,000 women die from pregnancy-related complications 
and 70,000 others suffer near-fatal complications as a result of 
pregnancy. Now consider this: Women of color in the United States are 
three times more likely than White women to die as a result of their 
pregnancy. In Illinois, they are six times as likely to die. What makes 
these maternal deaths even more tragic is that an estimated 60 percent 
of them are preventable. The same is true of many infant deaths. Every 
year in America, more than 23,000 infants die due to factors that, in 
many cases, could be prevented. Among the 35 wealthiest nations in the 
world, the United States ranks 32nd in infant mortality. Again, the 
risks are unequal. Black babies are twice as likely to die in their 
first year of life as White babies.
  I have given a lot of thought and spoken with many experts about how 
we can bridge this racial divide. This week, I am reintroducing a bill 
with Senator Duckworth that I believe can decrease America's rates of 
maternal and infant sickness and deaths, especially among those of 
color. It is called the MOMMA Act. My companion in the House is 
Congresswoman Robin Kelly of Chicago. She and I have introduced this 
bill for the last two Congresses. It is time to make it law.
  First and foremost, the MOMMA Act would expand Medicaid coverage for 
new moms from 60 days to a full year postpartum. Making sure new moms 
have health coverage for a full year postpregnancy will go a long way 
toward catching, preventing, and treating potentially life-threatening 
conditions and problems. This is critical because in some States--like 
Illinois--nearly 60 percent of pregnancy-associated deaths occur 
between 43 and 364 days postpartum. Many States' Medicaid Programs, 
including Illinois's are strapped for cash, and the pandemic has 
increased their shortfalls. In addition, our bill would provide States 
with guidance and options to expand their Medicaid coverage to include 
doulas, who are often invaluable assets and advocates for pregnant 
women. Next, our bill would save lives by improving health care 
education and training to reduce the unconscious biases and 
discrimination that woman of color too often encounter from healthcare 
professionals. Lastly, our bill would improve hospital coordination and 
reporting on maternal health outcomes. Accurate reporting will enable 
us to chart our progress and make adjustments where and when they are 
needed.
  Among the women at greatest risk of pregnancy-related health 
complications are women who are incarcerated. Again, the risks for 
Black women are greater. To help these mothers and their babies, 
Senator Booker and I have introduced a separate bill. The Justice for 
Incarcerated Moms Act helps incarcerated pregnant women and new mothers 
with access to doulas and other health workers, as well as counseling, 
because a jail sentence should never be a death sentence for a mother 
or her newborn. As the poet Maya Angelou told us, we can't change the 
past. But when we know better, we must do better. We now know how we 
can do better to protect the lives of pregnant women and newborn 
babies. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting these two 
important measures to give mothers and babies the healthy start in life 
that they deserve.

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