,i  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gefe  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #ba1 #bjbb,ms4
 ,underwood 7for herself and ,ms4       
,herrera ,beutler7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce 
,a ,,bill  ,to continue to fund the     
,,improve ,initiative through the       
,eunice ,kennedy ,shriver ,national     
,institute of ,child ,health and ,human 
,development1 and for other purposes4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,,nih ,implementing a ,maternal 
health and ,p,regnancy ,outcomes ,vision
 for ,everyone ,act of #bjbb or the     
,,nih ,,improve ,act4  #b4 ,,improve    
,initiative ,subpart #g of part ,c of   
title ,,iv of the ,public ,health       
,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bha et    
seq47 is amended by adding at the end   
the following3  #deb;,h4 ,,improve      
initiative  7a7 ,in general ,the        
,director of the ,institute may continue
 to carry out the ,,improve initiative  

7hereafter in this section referred to  
as the ,initiative7 through the         
,institute for the following3 7#a7      
,advancing research to-- 7,a7 reduce    
preventable causes of maternal mortality
 and severe maternal morbidity2  7,b7   
reduce racial1 ethnic1 and socioeconomic
 disparities in maternal health         
outcomes2 and  7,c7 improve health for  
pregnant and postpartum individuals     
before1 during1 and after pregnancy4    
7#b7 ,using an integrated approach to   
understand the biological1 behavioral1  
sociocultural1 and structural factors   
that affect maternal mortality and      
severe maternal morbidity by building an
 evidence base for improved care and    
outcomes in specific regions of the     
,united ,states4  7#c7 ,targeting health
 disparities associated with maternal   
mortality and severe maternal morbidity 
by-- 7,a7 implementing and evaluating   
community-based interventions for       
disproportionately affected individuals2
 and  7,b7 identifying risk factors and 

the underlying biological mechanisms    
associated with leading causes of       
maternal mortality and severe maternal  
morbidity in the ,united ,states1       
including cardiovascular disease1       
infection and immunity1 and mental      
health4  7b7 ,implementation ,the       
,director of the ,institute may award   
grants or enter into contracts1         
cooperative agreements1 or other        
transactions to carry out subsection    
7a71 including with researchers from    
racial and ethnic minority groups 7as   
defined in section #agjg7;g77#a774  7c7 
,appropriations ,there is authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #cj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal  
years #bjbc through #bjbg4  4