[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 113 (Monday, July 13, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S3824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6619. Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mrs. Britt) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

     SEC. 10__. IMPROVE INITIATIVE.

       Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 409K. IMPROVE INITIATIVE.

       ``(a) In General.--The Director of NIH shall carry out a 
     program of research to improve health outcomes, to be known 
     as the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes 
     Vision for Everyone Initiative (referred to in this section 
     as the `Initiative').
       ``(b) Objectives.--The Initiative shall--
       ``(1) advance research to--
       ``(A) reduce preventable causes of maternal mortality and 
     severe maternal morbidity;
       ``(B) reduce health disparities related to maternal health 
     outcomes, including such disparities associated with 
     medically underserved populations; and
       ``(C) improve health for pregnant and postpartum women 
     before, during, and after pregnancy;
       ``(2) use an integrated approach to understand the factors, 
     including biological, behavioral, and other factors, that 
     affect maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity by 
     building an evidence base for improved outcomes in specific 
     regions of the United States; and
       ``(3) target health disparities associated with maternal 
     mortality and severe maternal morbidity by--
       ``(A) implementing and evaluating community-based 
     interventions for disproportionately affected women; and
       ``(B) identifying risk factors and the underlying 
     biological mechanisms associated with leading causes of 
     maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the 
     United States.
       ``(c) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have any force 
     or effect on the date that is 5 years after the date of 
     enactment of this section.''.
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