I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3302 To protect Moms and babies against climate change, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2023 Ms. UNDERWOOD (for herself, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. BUSH, Ms. CARAVEO, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GARCI´A of Illi- nois, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. IVEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LIEU, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. MCBATH, Mrs. MCCLELLAN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RUPPERS- BERGER, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. STRICK- LAND, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. DELBENE, and Mr. LYNCH) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3302 IH A BILL To protect Moms and babies against climate change, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Moms and 4 Babies Against Climate Change Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADVERSE MATERNAL AND INFANT HEALTH 8 OUTCOMES.—The term ‘‘adverse maternal and in- 9 fant health outcomes’’ includes the outcomes of 10 preterm birth, low birth weight, stillbirth, infant or 11 maternal mortality, and severe maternal morbidity. 12 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 13 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 14 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 15 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 16 (3) MATERNAL MORTALITY.—The term ‘‘mater- 17 nal mortality’’ means a death occurring during or 18 within a 1-year period after pregnancy, caused by 19 pregnancy-related or childbirth complications, in- 20 cluding a suicide, overdose, or other death resulting 21 from a mental health or substance use disorder at- 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3302 IH tributed to or aggravated by pregnancy-related or 1 childbirth complications. 2 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 3 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an entity 4 specified in any of paragraphs (1) through (7) of 5 section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 6 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 7 (5) PERINATAL HEALTH WORKER.—The term 8 ‘‘perinatal health worker’’ means a nonclinical health 9 worker focused on maternal or perinatal health, such 10 as a doula, community health worker, peer sup- 11 porter, lactation educator or counselor, nutritionist 12 or dietitian, childbirth educator, social worker, home 13 visitor, patient navigator or coordinator, or language 14 interpreter. 15 (6) RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP.— 16 The term ‘‘racial and ethnic minority group’’ has the 17 meaning given such term in section 1707(g)(1) of 18 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 19 6(g)). 20 (7) RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATE 21 CHANGE.—The term ‘‘risks associated with climate 22 change’’ includes risks associated with extreme heat, 23 air pollution, extreme weather events, and other en- 24 vironmental issues associated with climate change 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3302 IH that can result in adverse maternal and infant 1 health outcomes. 2 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 4 (9) SEVERE MATERNAL MORBIDITY.—The term 5 ‘‘severe maternal morbidity’’ means a health condi- 6 tion, including mental health conditions and sub- 7 stance use disorders, attributed to or aggravated by 8 pregnancy or childbirth that results in significant 9 short-term or long-term consequences to the health 10 of the individual who was pregnant. 11 (10) STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATION.—The term 12 ‘‘stakeholder organization’’ means— 13 (A) a community-based organization with 14 expertise in providing assistance to vulnerable 15 individuals; 16 (B) a nonprofit organization with expertise 17 in— 18 (i) maternal or infant health; or 19 (ii) environmental or climate justice; 20 and 21 (C) a patient advocacy organization rep- 22 resenting vulnerable individuals. 23 (11) VULNERABLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term 24 ‘‘vulnerable individual’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3302 IH (A) an individual who is pregnant; 1 (B) an individual who was pregnant during 2 any portion of the preceding 1-year period; and 3 (C) an individual under 3 years of age. 4 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROTECT VULNERABLE 5 MOTHERS AND BABIES FROM CLIMATE 6 CHANGE RISKS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 9 tablish a grant program to protect vulnerable individuals 10 from risks associated with climate change. 11 (b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the Pro- 12 gram, the Secretary may award, on a competitive basis, 13 grants to 10 covered entities. 14 (c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant under 15 the Program, a covered entity shall submit to the Sec- 16 retary an application at such time, in such form, and con- 17 taining such information as the Secretary may require, 18 which shall include, at a minimum, a description of the 19 following: 20 (1) Plans for the use of grant funds awarded 21 under the Program and how patients and stake- 22 holder organizations were involved in the develop- 23 ment of such plans. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3302 IH (2) How such grant funds will be targeted to 1 geographic areas that have disproportionately high 2 levels of risks associated with climate change for vul- 3 nerable individuals. 4 (3) How such grant funds will be used to ad- 5 dress racial and ethnic disparities in— 6 (A) adverse maternal and infant health 7 outcomes; and 8 (B) exposure to risks associated with cli- 9 mate change for vulnerable individuals. 10 (4) Strategies to prevent an initiative assisted 11 with such grant funds from causing— 12 (A) adverse environmental impacts; 13 (B) displacement of residents and busi- 14 nesses; 15 (C) rent and housing price increases; or 16 (D) disproportionate adverse impacts on 17 racial and ethnic minority groups and other un- 18 derserved populations. 19 (d) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 20 (1) TIMING.—Not later than 270 days after the 21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall se- 22 lect the recipients of grants under the Program. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3302 IH (2) CONSULTATION.—In selecting covered enti- 1 ties for grants under the Program, the Secretary 2 shall consult with— 3 (A) representatives of stakeholder organi- 4 zations; 5 (B) the Administrator of the Environ- 6 mental Protection Agency; 7 (C) the Administrator of the National Oce- 8 anic and Atmospheric Administration; and 9 (D) from the Department of Health and 10 Human Services— 11 (i) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 12 Minority Health; 13 (ii) the Administrator of the Centers 14 for Medicare & Medicaid Services; 15 (iii) the Administrator of the Health 16 Resources and Services Administration; 17 (iv) the Director of the National Insti- 18 tutes of Health; and 19 (v) the Director of the Centers for 20 Disease Control and Prevention. 21 (3) PRIORITY.—In selecting grantees under the 22 Program, the Secretary shall give priority to covered 23 entities that serve a county or locality— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3302 IH (A) designated, or located in an area des- 1 ignated, as a nonattainment area pursuant to 2 section 107 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 3 7407) for any air pollutant for which air quality 4 criteria have been issued under section 108(a) 5 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7408(a)); 6 (B) with a level of vulnerability of mod- 7 erate-to-high or higher, according to the Social 8 Vulnerability Index of the Centers for Disease 9 Control and Prevention, or a similar rating of 10 social vulnerability according to related Federal 11 mapping tools; 12 (C) with temperatures that pose a risk to 13 human health, as determined by the Secretary, 14 in consultation with the Administrator of the 15 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 16 tion and the Chair of the United States Global 17 Change Research Program, based on the best 18 available science; 19 (D) with elevated rates of maternal mor- 20 tality, severe maternal morbidity, maternal 21 health disparities, or other adverse perinatal or 22 childbirth outcomes; 23 (E) with a rating of very high or relatively 24 high risk according to the National Risk Index 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3302 IH for Natural Hazards of the Federal Emergency 1 Management Agency; or 2 (F) with other climate-sensitive hazards 3 with associations to adverse maternal or infant 4 health outcomes, as determined by the Sec- 5 retary. 6 (4) LIMITATION.—A recipient of grant funds 7 under the Program may not use such grant funds to 8 serve a county or locality that is served by any other 9 recipient of a grant under the Program. 10 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—A covered entity awarded grant 11 funds under the Program may only use such grant funds 12 for the following: 13 (1) Initiatives to identify risks associated with 14 climate change for vulnerable individuals and to pro- 15 vide services and support to such individuals that 16 address such risks, which may include— 17 (A) training for health care providers, 18 perinatal health workers, and other employees 19 in hospitals, birth centers, midwifery practices, 20 and other health care practices that provide 21 prenatal or labor and delivery services to vul- 22 nerable individuals on the identification of, and 23 patient counseling relating to, risks associated 24 with climate change for vulnerable individuals; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3302 IH (B) hiring, training, or providing resources 1 to perinatal health workers who can help iden- 2 tify risks associated with climate change for 3 vulnerable individuals, provide patient coun- 4 seling about such risks, and carry out the dis- 5 tribution of relevant services and support; 6 (C) enhancing the monitoring of risks as- 7 sociated with climate change for vulnerable in- 8 dividuals, including by— 9 (i) collecting data on such risks in 10 specific census tracts, neighborhoods, or 11 other geographic areas; and 12 (ii) sharing such data with local 13 health care providers, perinatal health 14 workers, and other employees in hospitals, 15 birth centers, midwifery practices, and 16 other health care practices that provide 17 prenatal or labor and delivery services to 18 local vulnerable individuals; and 19 (D) providing vulnerable individuals— 20 (i) air conditioning units, residential 21 weatherization support, filtration systems, 22 household appliances, or related items; 23 (ii) direct financial assistance; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3302 IH (iii) services and support, including 1 housing assistance, evacuation assistance, 2 transportation assistance, access to cooling 3 shelters, and mental health counseling, to 4 prepare for or recover from extreme weath- 5 er events, which may include floods, hurri- 6 canes, wildfires, droughts, and related 7 events. 8 (2) Initiatives to mitigate levels of and exposure 9 to risks associated with climate change for vulner- 10 able individuals, which shall be based on the best 11 available science and which may include initiatives 12 to— 13 (A) develop, maintain, or expand urban or 14 community forestry initiatives and tree canopy 15 coverage initiatives; 16 (B) improve infrastructure, such as build- 17 ings and paved surfaces; 18 (C) develop or improve community out- 19 reach networks to provide culturally and lin- 20 guistically appropriate information and notifica- 21 tions about risks associated with climate change 22 for vulnerable individuals; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3302.IH H3302 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3302 IH (D) provide enhanced services to racial and 1 ethnic minority groups and other underserved 2 populations. 3 (f) LENGTH OF AWARD.—A grant under this section 4 shall be disbursed over 4 fiscal years. 5 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 6 provide technical assistance to a covered entity awarded 7 a grant under the Program to support the development, 8 implementation, and evaluation of activities funded with 9 such grant. 10 (h) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.— 11 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—For each fiscal year 12 during which a covered entity is disbursed grant 13 funds under the Program, such covered entity shall 14 submit to the Sec [Text truncated for display. 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