[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5406 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5406
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a
clearinghouse of ZIP-Code based information to expecting mothers, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 12, 2023
Mrs. Harshbarger (for herself, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mr. Duncan, Mr.
Babin, Mr. Harris, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Bergman, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Banks, Mr.
Santos, Mr. McCormick, Mr. Latta, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Norman, Mr. Bost,
Mr. Ogles, Ms. Foxx, and Mr. Yakym) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a
clearinghouse of ZIP-Code based information to expecting mothers, 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 ``Life.Gov Act''.
SEC. 2. LIFE.GOV.
The Public Health Service Act is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``TITLE XXXIV--LIFE.GOV
``SEC. 3401. WEBSITE.
``(a) Website.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this section, the Secretary shall publish a public website entitled
`life.gov'. The Secretary may not delegate implementation or
administration of this website below the level of the Office of the
Secretary. Such website shall include the following:
``(1) A clearinghouse of relevant resources available for
pregnant women.
``(2) A series of questions through which a user is able to
generate a list of relevant resources of interest within the
user's zip code.
``(3) A means to direct the user to identify whether to
list the relevant resources of interest that are available
online or within 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 miles of the user.
``(4) A mechanism to provide for the submission of feedback
on how user-friendly and helpful the website was in providing
the tailored information the user was seeking.
``(5) A mechanism for users to take an assessment through
the portal and provide consent to use the user's contact
information which the Secretary may use to conduct outreach via
phone or email to follow up with users on additional resources
that would be helpful for the users to review.
``(b) Resource List Aggregation.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall invite States to
provide recommendations of relevant resources referred to in
subsection (a)(3).
``(2) Criteria for making recommendations.--The Secretary
shall develop criteria to provide to the States to determine
whether resources recommended as described in paragraph (1)
should appear on the website. Such criteria shall include the
requirement that the relevant resource is not a prohibited
entity and the requirement that the relevant resource has been
engaged in providing services for a minimum of 3 consecutive
years.
``(3) Grant program.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide
grants to States to establish or support a system
that--
``(i) aggregates relevant resources
referred to in subsection (a)(3), in accordance
with the criteria developed under paragraph
(2); and
``(ii) may be coordinated, to the extent
determined appropriate by the State, by a
statewide, regionally-based, or community-based
public or private entity.
``(B) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a
grant under subparagraph (A), a State shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require, including a plan for outreach
and awareness activities, and a list of relevant
resources that would be included in the State system
supported by the grant.
``(c) Prohibition Regarding Certain Entities.--Relevant resources
listed on the website established under this section, and any
additional resources promoted by the Secretary, may not include any
resource offered by a prohibited entity. No prohibited entity may
receive a grant provided under subsection (b)(3).
``(d) Services in Different Languages.--The Secretary shall ensure
that the website under this section provides the widest possible access
to services for families who speak languages other than English.
``(e) Reporting Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
on which the website is established under this section, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on--
``(A) the traffic of the website;
``(B) user feedback on the accessibility and
helpfulness of the website in tailoring to the user's
needs;
``(C) insights on gaps in relevant resources with
respect to services for pregnant and postpartum women;
``(D) suggestions on how to improve user experience
and accessibility based on user feedback and missing
resources that would be helpful to include in future
updates; and
``(E) certification that no prohibited entities are
listed as a relevant resource or are in receipt of a
grant under subsection (b)(3).
``(2) Confidentiality.--The report under paragraph (1)
shall not include any personal identifying information
regarding individuals who have used the website.
``(f) Funding.--
``(1) Website.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), this
section shall be carried out using amounts available under the
heading `General Departmental Management-Office of the
Secretary-Department of Health and Human Services' under the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
``(2) Grant program.--
``(A) In general.--Subsection (b)(3) shall be
carried out using amounts available for--
``(i) the State Personal Responsibility
Education Program under section 513 of the
Social Security Act;
``(ii) title X of the Public Health Service
Act; or
``(iii) the provisions of law specified in
clauses (i) and (ii).
``(B) Authorized amount.--Of the amounts specified
in subparagraph (A), the Secretary may use not more
than $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024
through 2028.
``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed as prohibiting the appropriation of funds to carry
out this Act.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Abortion.--The term `abortion' means the use or
prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or other
substance or device to intentionally--
``(A) kill the unborn child of a woman known to be
pregnant; or
``(B) prematurely terminate the pregnancy of a
woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other
than to--
``(i) increase the probability of a live
birth or of preserving the life or health of
the child after live birth; or
``(ii) remove a dead unborn child.
``(2) Born alive.--The term `born alive' has the meaning
given such term in section 8(b) of title 1, United States Code.
``(3) Prohibited entity.--The term `prohibited entity'
means an entity, including its affiliates, subsidiaries,
successors, and clinics that performs, induces, refers for, or
counsels in favor of abortions, or provides financial support
to any other organization that conducts such activities.
``(4) Relevant resources.--The term `relevant resources'
means the Federal, State, local governmental, and private
resources in the categories of the following topics:
``(A) Mentorship opportunities, including pregnancy
help and case management resources.
``(B) Health and well-being services, including
women's medical services such as obstetrical and
gynecological support services for women, abortion pill
reversal, breastfeeding, general health services,
primary care, and dental care.
``(C) Financial assistance, work opportunities,
nutrition assistance, childcare, and education
opportunities.
``(D) Material or legal support, including
transportation, food, nutrition, clothing, household
goods, baby supplies, housing, shelters, maternity
homes, tax preparation, legal support for child
support, family leave, breastfeeding protections, and
custody issues.
``(E) Recovery and mental health services,
including services with respect to addiction or suicide
intervention, intimate partner violence, sexual
assault, rape, sex trafficking, and counseling for
women and families surrounding unexpected loss of a
child.
``(F) Prenatal diagnostic services, including
disability support organizations, medical interventions
for a baby, perinatal hospice resources, pregnancy and
infant loss support, and literature on pregnancy
wellness.
``(G) Healing and support services for abortion
survivors and their families.
``(H) Services providing care for children,
including family planning education, adoption, foster
care, and short-term care resources.
``(I) Comprehensive information on alternatives to
abortion.
``(J) Information about abortion risks, including
complications and failures.
``(K) Links to information on child development
from moment of conception.
``(5) Unborn child.--The term `unborn child' means an
individual organism of the species homo sapiens, beginning at
fertilization, until the point of being born alive.''.
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