H.R. 1966

119 HR 1966 IH: Mamas and Babies in Underserved Communities Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-03-06
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 1966  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   March 6, 2025   Ms. Waters  (for herself,  Ms. Underwood ,  Ms. Adams ,  Mrs. Beatty ,  Ms. Brown ,  Mr. Carson ,  Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick ,  Ms. Clarke of New York ,  Mr. Cohen ,  Mr. Connolly ,  Ms. Crockett ,  Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania ,  Mr. Doggett ,  Mr. Fields ,  Mr. Figures ,  Mr. Gottheimer ,  Mr. Grijalva ,  Mrs. Hayes ,  Mr. Jackson of Illinois ,  Mr. Johnson of Georgia ,  Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania ,  Mrs. McIver ,  Ms. Norton ,  Ms. Ocasio-Cortez ,  Mrs. Ramirez ,  Ms. Sewell ,  Mr. Swalwell ,  Mr. Thanedar ,  Mr. Thompson of Mississippi ,  Ms. Tlaib ,  Mr. Vargas ,  Ms. Velázquez , and  Mrs. Watson Coleman ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Energy and Commerce    A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants to expand and improve maternal health care services, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Mamas and Babies in Underserved Communities Act of 2025  .
2.
Grants to expand and improve maternal health care services in underserved communities
Title III of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 241 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 317K of such Act (247b–12) the following:
317K–1.
Grants to expand and improve maternal health care services in underserved communities
(a)
In general
The Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities—
(1)
to expand maternal health care services, including prenatal care, postnatal care for infants, and postpartum care for mothers;
(2)
to improve the quality of such services;
(3)
to improve health outcomes for women and infants receiving such services; and
(4)
to reduce disparities in access to care, in the quality of services received, and in health outcomes for women and infants in need of such services.
(b)
Eligible entities
In this section, the term  eligible entity  means a public or nonprofit private health care provider that serves one or more minority, low-income, or medically underserved communities.
(c)
Priority
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that, as determined by the Secretary—
(1)
primarily serve minority, low-income, or medically underserved communities;
(2)
are led by individuals who have lived, were educated, or currently reside in the communities served; and
(3)
are geographically located in the communities served.
(d)
Conditions for receiving grants
As a condition on receipt of a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall agree—
(1)
to provide the health care services supported through the grant in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner; and
(2)
to limit the percentage of grant funds used for administrative expenses to not more than 10 percent.
(e)
Application
To seek a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
(f)
Coordination
The Secretary shall require grantees under this section—
(1)
to maximize the coordination of activities funded through this section with other federally funded maternal health care activities; and
(2)
to minimize the duplication of such activities.
(g)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
The term  medically underserved community  has the meaning given to such term in section 799B.
(2)
The terms  postnatal  and  postpartum  refer to the period of 12 months following an infant’s birth.
(h)
Authorization of appropriations
To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
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