[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 951 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 8, 2021
Ms. Sewell (for herself, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Adams, Mr. Khanna, Ms.
Velazquez, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Scanlon, Mr.
Lawson of Florida, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin,
Ms. Strickland, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr.
Horsford, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Payne,
Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Soto, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Trone, Ms.
Clarke of New York, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Bass, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Evans,
Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Jones, Mr. Cohen, Ms.
Roybal-Allard, Ms. Speier, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Carson, Mr. Kildee, Mr.
David Scott of Georgia, Ms. Norton, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Williams of
Georgia, and Mr. Cooper) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
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) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in
this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall carry
out a national campaign to--
(1) increase awareness of the importance of maternal
vaccinations for the health of pregnant and postpartum
individuals and their children; and
(2) increase maternal vaccination rates, with a focus on
communities with historically high rates of unvaccinated
individuals.
(b) Consultation.--In carrying out the campaign under this Act, the
Secretary shall consult with relevant community-based organizations,
health care professional associations and public health associations,
State public health departments and local public health departments,
Tribal-serving organizations, nonprofit organizations, and nationally
recognized private entities.
(c) Activities.--The campaign under this section shall--
(1) focus on increasing maternal vaccination rates in
communities with historically high rates of unvaccinated
individuals, including for pregnant and postpartum individuals
from racial and ethnic minority groups;
(2) include efforts to engage with pregnant and postpartum
individuals in communities with historically high rates of
unvaccinated individuals to seek input on the development and
effectiveness of the campaign;
(3) provide evidence-based, culturally congruent resources
and communications efforts; and
(4) be carried out in partnership with trusted individuals
and entities in communities with historically high rates of
unvaccinated individuals, including community-based
organizations, community health centers, perinatal health
workers, and maternity care providers.
(d) Collaboration.--The Secretary shall ensure that the information
and resources developed for the campaign under this section are made
publicly available and shared with relevant Federal, State, and local
entities.
(e) Evaluation.--Not later than the end of fiscal year 2025, the
Secretary shall--
(1) establish quantitative and qualitative metrics to
evaluate the campaign under this section; and
(2) submit a report detailing the campaign's impact to the
Congress.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Culturally congruent.--The term ``culturally
congruent'', with respect to care or maternity care, means care
that is in agreement with the preferred cultural values,
beliefs, worldview, language, and practices of the health care
consumer and other stakeholders.
(2) Maternity care provider.--The term ``maternity care
provider'' means a health care provider who--
(A) is a physician, physician assistant, midwife
who meets at a minimum the international definition of
the midwife and global standards for midwifery
education as established by the International
Confederation of Midwives, nurse practitioner, or
clinical nurse specialist; and
(B) has a focus on maternal or perinatal health.
(3) Perinatal health worker.--The term ``perinatal health
worker'' means a doula, community health worker, peer
supporter, breastfeeding and lactation educator or counselor,
nutritionist or dietitian, childbirth educator, social worker,
home visitor, language interpreter, or navigator.
(4) Postpartum and postpartum period.--The terms
``postpartum'' and ``postpartum period'' refer to the 1-year
period beginning on the last day of the pregnancy of an
individual.
(5) Racial and ethnic minority group.--The term ``racial
and ethnic minority group'' has the meaning given such term in
section 1707(g)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300u-6(g)(1)).
<all>