[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 206 (Tuesday, November 30, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6681-H6682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MATERNAL VACCINATION ACT
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (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, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 951
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) Campaign.--Section 313 of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 245) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and among pregnant
and postpartum individuals,'' after ``low rates of
vaccination,'';
(2) in subsection (c)(3), by striking ``prenatal and
pediatric'' and inserting ``prenatal, obstetric, and
pediatric'';
(3) in subsection (d)(4)(B), by inserting ``pregnant and
postpartum individuals and'' after ``including''; and
(4) in subsection (g), by striking ``$15,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2021 through 2025'' and inserting
``$17,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026''.
(b) Additional Activities.--Section 317(k)(1)(E) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b(k)(1)(E)) is
amended--
(1) in clause (v), by striking ``and'' at the end; and
(2) by adding at the end the following clause:
``(vii) increase vaccination rates of pregnant and
postpartum individuals, including individuals from racial and
ethnic minority groups, and their children; and''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 951.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today, we are continuing our work to combat the maternal
mortality and morbidity crisis facing our country. The legislation
before us will help ensure that pregnant women and their healthcare
providers are aware of the benefits and availability of safe and
effective vaccines.
Tragically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports
that about 700 women die each year in the United States as a result of
pregnancy or delivery complications.
While there is no one cause of pregnancy-related death or health
complications, we know that some illnesses like flu, pertussis, and
COVID-19 can cause serious harm to pregnant women, including early
labor and delivery and other complications. Vaccines prevent these
illnesses and can save the lives of pregnant and postpartum women and
their children.
However, despite strong evidence of vaccines' safety and efficacy,
vaccine uptake among pregnant women is far below targeted goals.
We can and should do more to increase the vaccination rate of
pregnant women. H.R. 951, the Maternal Vaccination Act, will ensure
that our vaccination outreach and awareness campaigns and public health
grant programs include outreach to obstetric healthcare providers, as
well as pregnant and postpartum women. The legislation will also ensure
that we are reaching women from racial and ethnic groups and their
children.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this commonsense public
health effort, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, current data clearly suggests that vaccinations for
women during pregnancy can protect mothers and newborns against
infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
long recommended various vaccinations for pregnant women to improve
maternal and infant health outcomes.
Despite these recommendations, vaccination rates among pregnant women
remain relatively low. But according to the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists, when a vaccine recommendation comes
directly from a patient's own OB-GYN, the likelihood of accepting that
vaccine could be up to 50 times higher.
The Maternal Vaccination Act requires the Secretary of Health and
Human Services to include obstetric providers in existing vaccination
public awareness campaign programs to help increase vaccinations among
pregnant and postpartum women.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in proud support of H.R. 951
``The Maternal Vaccination Act.''
I would like to thank Congresswoman Sewell for introducing this
legislation.
This bill establishes a national campaign to raise awareness and
increase rates of maternal vaccinations and calls for the CDC to
consult with various stakeholders to carry out this campaign.
In addition, the CDC must focus on increasing vaccination rates among
communities with historically high rates of unvaccinated individuals.
The CDC must also make publicly available any materials and resources
developed for the campaign.
In addition, H.R. 951 would instruct the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to broaden a public awareness campaign on vaccinations
to include pregnant and postpartum individuals and require the campaign
to disseminate vaccine information to providers and facilities that
provide obstetric care.
The bill would also authorize an additional $2 million annually from
2021 through 2025 for the vaccination awareness campaign.
This bill would put pregnant women at the focus of the fight to
combat COVID-19.
As the Chair of the Congressional Coronavirus Task Force, I have used
every means possible to sound the alarm about the seriousness of the
COVID-19 virus.
On February 10, 2020, I held the first press conference on the issue
of COVID-19 at Houston Intercontinental Airport.
I then held a second press conference on February 24th to continue
efforts to raise public knowledge of the impending threat.
On February 26th, I wrote the Chair and Ranking Member of the
Committee on Homeland Security requesting to be briefed by Acting
Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf regarding the preparedness of
the Department of Homeland Security to address a possible pandemic.
On March 19th, I announced an innovative partnership with United
Methodist Medical Center (UMMC) to open the first drive-through
Coronavirus Test Screening facility in the Greater Houston area, which
proved beneficial to everyone in the Greater Houston area, as with
UMMC's help we have opened multiple sites that are located within high-
risk communities in the Greater Houston area, to reduce the need for
travel to get access to COVID-19 testing.
Since the start of this pandemic, I have sought to proactively
address the critical issues and concerns tied to the COVID-19 virus.
As I stated at the beginning of this pandemic, ``We must not panic,
but prepare.''
I am pleased to see that this bill is not a panic-induced response,
but a well-thought-out proposal to further protect our citizens.
When pregnant women get vaccinated, they not only build their immune
system to the virus, they also create antibodies for their unborn
child.
Throughout history the vaccination of pregnant mothers has shown to
be beneficial when it comes to viruses like tetanus, influenza,
pertussis.
With this bill we can help newborn children who have not yet
developed their immune systems fight off a deadly virus such as COVID-
19.
This also gives mothers piece of mind that they'll be safe as they
advance in their pregnancy.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in proud support of H.R. 951, the Maternal
Vaccination Act.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
November 30, 2021, on page H6681, in the third column, the
following appeared: This also gives mothers piece of mind that
they'll be safe as they advance in their pregnancy. Ms. JACKSON
LEE. Mr. Speaker I rise in proud support of H.R. 951, the Maternal
Vaccination Act.
The online version has been corrected to read: This also gives
mothers piece of mind that they'll be safe as they advance in
their pregnancy. Mr. Speaker, I rise in proud support of H.R. 951,
the Maternal Vaccination Act.
========================= END NOTE =========================
I would like to thank Congresswoman Sewell for introducing this
legislation.
This bill establishes a national campaign to raise awareness and
increase rates of maternal vaccinations and calls for the CDC to
consult with various stakeholders to carry out this campaign.
[[Page H6682]]
In addition, the CDC must focus on increasing vaccination rates among
communities with historically high rates of unvaccinated individuals.
The CDC must also make publicly available any materials and resources
I developed for the campaign.
In addition, H.R. 951 would instruct the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to broaden a public awareness campaign on vaccinations
to include pregnant and postpartum individuals and require the campaign
to disseminate vaccine information to providers and facilities that
provide obstetric care.
The bill would also authorize an additional $2 million annually from
2021 through 2025 for the vaccination awareness campaign.
This bill would put pregnant woman at the focus of the fight to
combat COVID-19.
As the Chair of the Congressional Coronavirus Task Force, I have used
every mean possible to sound the alarm about the seriousness of the
COVID-19 virus.
On February 10th 2020, I held the first press conference on the issue
of COVID-19 at Houston Intercontinental Airport.
I then held a second press conference on February 24th to continue
efforts to raise public knowledge of the impending threat.
On February 26th, I wrote the Chair and Ranking Member of the
Committee on Homeland Security requesting to be briefed by Acting
Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf regarding the preparedness of
the Department of Homeland Security to address a possible pandemic.
On March 19th, I announced an innovative partnership with United
Methodist Medical Center (UMMC) to open the first drive-through
Coronavirus Test Screening facility in the Greater Houston area, which
proved beneficial to everyone in the Greater Houston area, as with
UMMC's help we have opened multiple that are located within high-risk
communities in the Greater Houston area, to reduce the need for travel
to get access to COVID-19 testing.
Since the start of this pandemic, I have sought to proactively
addressing the critical issues and concerns tied to the COVID-19 virus.
As I stated at the beginning of this pandemic, ``We must not panic,
but prepare.''
I am pleased to see that this bill is not a panic-induced response,
but a well-though-out proposal to further protect our citizens.
When pregnant women get vaccinated, they not only build their immune
system to the virus, they also create antibodies for their unborn
child.
Throughout history the vaccination of pregnant mothers has shown to
be beneficial when it comes to viruses like tetanus, influenza,
pertussis.
With this bill we can help newborn children who have not yet
developed their immune systems fight off a deadly virus such as COVID-
19.
This also gives mothers piece of mind that they'll be safe as they
advance in their pregnancy.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 951, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________