,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dadg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #ag1    
#bjbd,ms4 ,butler 7for herself and ,mrs4
 ,britt7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,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 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 shall  
continue to carry out the ,,improve     

initiative 7referred to in this section 
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 geographic1 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 vitamin and     
nutrient deficiencies1 and mental and   
behavioral 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 
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out this section #ec1djj1jjj for  
each of fiscal years #bjbe through      
#bjca4  4