Nih Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Act

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6238) to establish the IMPROVE Initiative within the National Institutes of Health, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 6238

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 ``NIH Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Act'' or the ``NIH IMPROVE Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVE INITIATIVE.

Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 409K. IMPROVE INITIATIVE.

``(a) In General.--The Director of NIH shall continue to carry out a program to improve maternal health outcomes, to be known as the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Initiative or the `IMPROVE Initiative' (referred to in this section as the `Initiative'). ``(b) Objectives.--The Initiative shall-- ``(1) advance research to-- ``(A) reduce preventable causes of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity; ``(B) reduce health disparities related to maternal health outcomes, including such disparities associated with populations with disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity relative to the national rate; and ``(C) improve health for pregnant and postpartum women before, during, and after pregnancy; ``(2) use an integrated approach to understand the factors, including biological, behavioral, and other factors, that affect maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity by building an evidence base for improved outcomes in specific regions of the United States; and ``(3) target health disparities associated with maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity by-- ``(A) implementing and evaluating community-based interventions for disproportionately affected women; and ``(B) identifying risk factors and the underlying biological mechanisms associated with leading causes of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the United States. ``(c) Implementation.--The Director of NIH may award grants or enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or other transactions to carry out this section. ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $63,400,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) and the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.

general leave

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and include extraneous material on H.R. 6238. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Kentucky? There was no objection. Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6238, led by my colleagues Representatives Underwood and Fitzpatrick, which authorizes the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Initiative within the National Institutes of Health. According to CDC estimates, more than 80 percent of the pregnancy- related deaths and roughly half of the severe maternal morbidity events could be prevented. That is why it is so essential for us to advance the IMPROVE Initiative, which supports research into identifying and reducing preventable causes of maternal death and ways to improve maternal health outcomes. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, shockingly, the U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations in this entire world. What is worse is that the mortality rates for women of color are exponentially higher than those of the general population. Black women die from pregnancy- related causes at rates at least three times those of White women, and that is irrespective of socioeconomic status or income. It is appalling that this statistic has emerged from data collection by State maternal mortality review committees. Congress affirmed its support for these committees in February by reauthorizing my bill, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act. Thanks to this enduring bipartisan commitment, we have identified the problem, that 649 women died of maternal causes in the U.S. in 2024. Now that we have identified the problem, we need to work together to solve it. Mr. Speaker, 80 to 84 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. The IMPROVE Initiative at NIH investigates the leading cause of these deaths, supports the development of interventions to prevent them, and importantly identifies factors that contribute to disparities in maternal health. We must not let this critical program lapse. I thank Representatives Underwood and Fitzpatrick for their undying and wonderful leadership on this bill, as well as my friend and colleague Robin Kelly, who has been a leader on this issue for more than a decade. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in passing the bill today because no pregnancy-related death is acceptable in the richest nation in the world. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

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