Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolution

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Mr. president. There are significant racial and ethnic inequities in maternal and infant mortality rates in the U.S. American Indian/Alaska Native women are more than twice as likely as nonHispanic white women to die as a result of pregnancy or its complications, and the infant mortality rate among babies born to American Indian/Alaska Native women is 2.1 times higher than that of non-Hispanic white women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women in 2018 is more than 2.5 times higher than the maternal mortality rate of non-Hispanic white women, and the infant mortality rate of non-Hispanic Black women is more than 2.3 times higher than the infant mortality rate of non- Hispanic white women. Any pregnant woman choosing to have a child should be able to do so safely without regard to income, race, ethnicity, employment status, or any other socio-economic factor.

This is why Senator Murkowski and I are reintroducing the Mothers and Newborns Success Act, which aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality, ensure that all infants can grow up healthy and safe, and protect women's health before, during, and after pregnancy. Our legislation supports innovation in maternal health delivery and improves data collection on maternal mortality and maternal deaths, including implementing quality assurance processes to improve the validity of pregnancy checkbox data from death certificates so that we can better understand the causes of maternal deaths. The bill will help ensure that women are matched with birthing facilities that are risk- appropriate for their particular needs to improve maternal and neonatal care and health outcomes. The legislation strengthens support for women during the critical postpartum period, the year after birth.

The bill also establishes a public and provider awareness campaign through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote awareness of maternal health warnings signs and the importance of vaccinations for pregnant women and children, ensuring pregnant women get the vaccinations they need. The bill promotes maternal health research, providing technical assistance to states to ensure representation of communities of color in key datasets. The bill establishes a National Maternal Health Research Network at the National Institute of Health to support innovative research to reduce maternal mortality and promote maternal health. The bill supports the Rural Maternity and Obstetric Management Strategies (RMOMS) Program at the Health Resources and Services Administration to improve access to, and continuity of, obstetrics care in rural communities, including thorough use of telehealth.

No woman should fear for her or her child's health because of socio- economic factors, such as race or geographic location. We need to ensure more women of color and their children, particularly Black women and children given the significant disparities they experience, receive equitable care and a fair chance for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery. COVID-19 and its impact on pregnant women has only underscored the need for urgent action. The Mothers and Newborns Success Act is a significant step toward reducing racial, ethnic, and geographic inequities in maternal and infant health. I'm calling on my Senate colleagues to cosponsor this bill and support its passage so we can enact positive systemic changes to make sure more women and newborns thrive and have the maximum chance for success. ______

By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. Duckworth):

S. 1812. A bill to modify the boundary of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in the State of Illinois; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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