Rep. Garamendi, Joins Underwood, Adams to Reintroduce Momnibus Bills to End America’s Maternal Health Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. —This week, Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08) joined Congresswomen Lauren Underwood, Alma Adams (NC-12), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in reintroducing the Momnibus, 14 bills that comprehensively address every driver of maternal mortality, morbidity, and disparities in the United States.
“Maternal health is a measure of whether our health care system honors dignity or tolerates neglect. In the United States, too many mothers, especially underserved mothers, are falling through the cracks,” said Rep. Garamendi. “We have the data, we have the solutions, and now we have the responsibility to act with urgency and equity.”
“80% of maternal deaths in America are preventable, and the Momnibus is designed to stop them. I’m proud to introduce this historic package with Representative Alma Adams and Senator Cory Booker to build on the progress we have made and secure the investments we need to end this crisis,” said Rep. Lauren Underwood. “This bill has the tools we need to make America a safer place to give birth, especially for the Black moms who are at the highest risk. The Momnibus will save moms’ lives, and Congress must act urgently to pass it.”
“The Momnibus Act is the most comprehensive piece of legislation ever drafted to address the maternal health crisis,” said Rep. Alma Adams. “The maternal mortality rate in the United States is worse today than it was 20 years ago. With all the advances of modern science, that speaks to a serious lack of investment in our research and health care systems that care for our moms. Not only that, the rate of mortality for Black women is disproportionately higher and that gap has not shrunk in decades. This is an unacceptable reality, and we must act urgently and boldly to address this crisis. The Momnibus is the solution. Congress must make the safety and health of our moms a priority and get this bill passed into law.”
“Access to high quality health care has always been a top priority for me, and it is unacceptable that the United States has the worst maternal health mortality rates among its peer countries, especially when so many of these deaths are preventable,” said Sen. Booker. “I am proud to reintroduce this historic legislation, which will take meaningful steps to address the maternal health crisis and ultimately save lives. Through the Momnibus we are investing in better care, strengthening support for families, and confronting the racial disparities facing Black mothers, who are disproportionately more likely to experience serious health complications or die from pregnancy related causes. Congress must pass this legislation immediately to protect our nation’s mothers and end this crisis."
Background
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income country, a trend that continues to get worse—and Black women are three times more likely to die. But there is hope: More than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
The Momnibus is designed to end preventable maternal death in America by ending maternal health disparities, growing and diversifying the perinatal health workforce, expanding access to maternal mental health and substance use care, lowering health care costs, investing in technological solutions, closing research gaps, improving data collection, and providing direct federal funding for local community-based organizations that improve maternal health outcomes.
A one-page summary of the Momnibus can be found here. Additional information about the individual bills in the Momnibus can be found here.
The Momnibus is made up of fourteen bills. The legislation will:
Make critical investments in social determinants of health that influence maternal health outcomes, like housing, transportation, and nutrition.
Extend WIC eligibility in the postpartum and breastfeeding periods.
Provide funding to community-based organizations that are working to improve maternal health outcomes and promote equity.
Increase funding for programs to improve maternal health care for veterans.
Grow and diversify the perinatal workforce to ensure that every mom in America receives maternal health care and support from people they trust.
Improve data collection processes and quality measures to better understand the causes of the maternal health crisis in the United States and inform solutions to address it.
Support moms with maternal mental health conditions and substance use disorders.
Improve maternal health care and support for incarcerated moms.
Invest in digital tools to improve maternal health outcomes in underserved areas.
Promote innovative payment models to incentivize high-quality maternity care and non-clinical support during and after pregnancy.
Invest in federal programs to address maternal and infant health risks during public health emergencies.
Invest in community-based initiatives to reduce levels of and exposure to climate change-related risks for moms and babies.
Invest in research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths, end disparities, and improve health for women before, during, and after pregnancy.
Promote maternal vaccinations to protect the health of moms and babies.
Full text of the legislation can be found here.
198 House Democrats joined as original cosponsors: Alma Adams (NC-12), Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-00), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Wesley Bell (MO-01), Ami Bera (CA-06), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Janelle Bynum (OR-05), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Troy Carter (LA-02), Greg Casar (TX-35), Sean Casten (IL-06), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Jim Clyburn (SC-06), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Herb Conaway (NJ-03), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Jim Costa (CA-21), Angie Craig (MN-02), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Jason Crow (CO-06), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Sharice L. Davids (KS-03), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Shomari Figures (TX-07), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Bill Foster (IL-11), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Jared Golden, Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Adam Gray (CA-13), Al Green (TX-09), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Josh Harder (CA-09), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Pablo José Hernández (PR-At large), Jim Himes (CT-04), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Val T. Hoyle (OR-04), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), William R. Keating (MA-09), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Tim Kennedy (NY-26), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Rick Larsen (WA-02), John B. Larson (CT-01), George Latimer (NY-16), Summer Lee (PA-12), Susie Lee (NV-03), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Mike Levin (CA-49), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), John Mannion (NY-22), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Sarah McBride (DE-00), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Christian Menefee (TX-18), Rob Menendez (NJ-08), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Dave Min (CA-47), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joseph Morelle (NY-25), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Richard Neal (MA-01), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-00), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Johnny Olszewski (MD-02), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Stacey Plaskett (VI-00), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Josh Riley (NY-19), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Deborah K. Ross (NC-02), Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Hillary Scholten (MI-03), Kim Schrier (WA-08), David Scott (GA-13), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Darren Soto (FL-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Mark Takano (CA-39), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Norma Torres (CA-35), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Derek Tran (MA-03), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Eugene Vindman (VA-07), James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24).
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