HR-8080-119
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sponsored by Sharice Davids (D-KS)
What it does
This bill would authorize new federal grants to help state and tribal maternal mortality review committees diversify their membership and conduct community outreach, expand the scope of cases these committees review to include severe maternal illness and mental-health/substance-use deaths, and direct HHS to review and recommend improvements to maternal health data collection and quality measures. It would also fund a study on maternal health outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native individuals and create a grant program for minority-serving institutions to research maternal health disparities.
Who benefits
State and tribal maternal mortality review committees; researchers and minority-serving institutions receiving new grants; pregnant and postpartum individuals, especially from racial/ethnic minority groups, veterans, incarcerated individuals, and American Indian/Alaska Native communities whose deaths may be better tracked and understood; public health researchers and policymakers who would gain better data; independent research organizations and Tribal Epidemiology Centers awarded contracts.
Who is hurt
Federal taxpayers who would fund the roughly $22 million-plus in annual authorized appropriations; states and tribes that must administer new reporting and outreach requirements without guaranteed proportional federal support beyond the grants; entities not classified as minority-serving institutions who are ineligible for the new research grants; agencies (CMS, AHRQ, HHS) that must dedicate staff time to consultations and reports, potentially diverting resources from other priorities.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are the highest among wealthy nations and that data gaps—particularly around race, mental health, and substance use—prevent accurate identification of causes and effective interventions. They contend that improving the diversity and community engagement of review committees, backed by CDC and academic research showing racial disparities in maternal death rates, would lead to more accurate classification and more actionable recommendations to reduce preventable deaths.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the bill authorizes multiple new grant programs, studies, and reporting requirements without offsetting savings, adding to federal spending across five fiscal years without a clear enforcement mechanism to ensure results improve outcomes. They contend that mandating specific demographic prioritization criteria for grants and committee membership could be legally scrutinized and may function more as data-collection bureaucracy than a direct intervention that reduces maternal deaths.
Constitutional context
This bill relies on Congress's Taxing and Spending Clause power to fund grants and studies through HHS; because states and tribes voluntarily apply for and accept the funding rather than being compelled to change practices, it does not raise the coercion concerns discussed in NFIB v. Sebelius. No mandate, tax, or preemption provision raises a clear constitutional dispute.
Checks and balances
Congress would authorize appropriations and set program parameters while delegating implementation, grant administration, and report-writing to HHS, CMS, and AHRQ, with oversight maintained through required reports back to Congress.
Historical precedent
This bill builds directly on the existing Section 317K maternal mortality review committee grant program established under the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act of 2018, which it amends and expands.