June 21, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 105 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H5027-H5028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES APPROPRIATIONS

  (Ms. UNDERWOOD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, as a nurse and cofounder of the Black 
Maternal Health Caucus, I am fully committed to advancing policies that 
reduce maternal health disparities.
  Black women are nearly four times more likely than White women and 
more than twice as likely as women of other races to die from 
preventable pregnancy-related complications.
  This is a national crisis.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro and 
Ranking Member   Tom Cole for their

[[Page H5028]]

dedication to addressing maternal health in the fiscal year 2020 Labor-
HHS appropriations bill, including through the following investments: 
$1.58 billion for the National Institute of Child Health and Human 
Development, which supports research that investigates the causes and 
interventions for maternal health disparities among Black women; $50 
million to initiate research on maternal mortality and disparities in 
maternal mortality rates; and a $12 million increase in funding for the 
CDC Safe Motherhood and Infant Health program's Maternal Mortality 
Review Committees, supporting research to comprehensively assess 
maternal deaths and identify opportunities for prevention.
  This funding is an important step forward toward achieving optimal 
birth outcomes for all families.
  Madam Speaker, I thank the Appropriations Committee, and hope my 
colleagues will continue to support funding for programs that will 
improve the outcomes for women and families.

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