119-hr5406

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5406 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5406

To provide grants for the conduct of demonstration projects designed to 
 provide education and training for eligible individuals to enter and 
 follow a career pathway in the field of pregnancy, childbirth, or 
postpartum, under the Health Profession Opportunity Grant Program under 
 

section 2008 of the Social Security Act.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 16, 2025

 Ms. Moore of Wisconsin introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To provide grants for the conduct of demonstration projects designed to 
 provide education and training for eligible individuals to enter and 
 follow a career pathway in the field of pregnancy, childbirth, or 
postpartum, under the Health Profession Opportunity Grant Program under 
 

section 2008 of the Social Security Act.

 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 ``Opportunities to Support Mothers and 
Deliver Children Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TO PROVIDE CAREER PATHWAYS IN 
 THE FIELD OF PREGNANCY, CHILDBIRTH, OR POST-PARTUM.

 

Section 2008 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397g) is 
amended by redesignating subsection
            (d) as subsection

    (e) and inserting 
after subsection
            (c) the following:
 ``
            (d) Demonstration Projects To Provide Career Pathways in the 
Field of Pregnancy, Childbirth, or Postpartum.--
 ``

    (1) Grant authority.--The Secretary, in consultation with 
 the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education, shall 
 award grants in accordance with this subsection to eligible 
 entities to conduct demonstration projects for the purpose of 
 providing education and training for eligible individuals to 
 enter and follow a career pathway in the field of pregnancy, 
 childbirth, or postpartum, in a State that recognizes doulas or 
 midwives and that provides payment for services provided by 
 doulas or midwives, as the case may be, under private or public 
 health insurance plans.
 ``

    (2) Duration.--A demonstration project shall be conducted 
 under this subsection for not less than 3 years.
 ``

    (3) Application requirements.--An applicant seeking a 
 grant under this subsection for a demonstration project shall 
 submit to the Secretary an application for the grant, that 
 includes the following:
 ``
        (A) A description of the partnerships, strategic 
 staff hiring decisions, tailored program activities, or 
 other programmatic elements of the project that are 
 designed to support a strong career pathway in 
 pregnancy, birth, or postpartum services.
 ``
        (B) A demonstration that the State in which the 
 project is to be conducted recognizes and permits 
 doulas and midwives to practice in the State.
 ``
            (C) A demonstration that the applicant has 
 experience working with low-income populations, or a 
 description of the plan of the applicant to work with a 
 partner that has the experience.
 ``

    (4) Evaluations.--The Secretary shall, by grant, 
 contract, or interagency agreement, conduct rigorous and well-
 designed evaluations of the demonstration projects for which a 
 grant is made under this section, which shall include 
 identification of successful activities for creating 
 opportunities for developing and sustaining, particularly with 
 respect to low-income individuals and other entry-level 
 workers, a doula, midwife, or other pregnancy or postpartum 
 workforce career pathway that has accessible entry points, that 
 meets high standards for education, training, certification, 
 and professional development, and that provides increased wages 
 and affordable benefits, including health care coverage, that 
 are responsive to the needs of the workforce.
 ``

    (5) === Definitions. ===
-In this subsection:
 ``
        (A) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' 
 means any of the following entities that demonstrates 
 in an application submitted under this subsection that 
 the entity has the capacity to fully develop and 
 administer the demonstration project described in the 
 application:
 ``
            (i) A local workforce development board 
 established under 

section 107 of the Workforce 
 Innovation and Opportunity Act.
 ``
            (ii) A State or territory, a political 
 subdivision of a State or territory, or an 
 agency of a State, territory, or such a 
 political subdivision.
 ``
            (iii) An Indian tribe, a tribal 
 organization, or a tribal college or 
 university.
 ``
            (iv) An institution of higher education 
 (as defined in the Higher Education Act of 
 1965).
 ``
            (v) A hospital (as defined in 

section 1861

    (e) ).
 ``
            (vi) A skilled nursing facility (as 
 defined in 

section 1819

    (h)

    (1)
        (A) ).
 ``
            (vii) A Federally qualified health center 
 (as defined in 

section 1861

    (aa)

    (4) ).
 ``
            (viii) A nonprofit organization described 
 in 

section 501
            (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue 
 Code of 1986, a labor organization, or an 
 entity with shared labor-management oversight, 
 that has a demonstrated history of providing 
 health profession training to eligible 
 individuals.
 ``
            (ix) An entity recognized by a State, 
 Indian tribe, or tribal organization as 
 qualified to train doulas or midwives, if 
 midwives or doulas, as the case may be, are 
 permitted to provide services in the State 
 involved.
 ``
            (x) An opioid treatment program (as 
 defined in 

section 1861
            (iii) (2) ) and other high 
 quality comprehensive addiction care providers.
 ``
        (B) Eligible individual.--The term `eligible 
 individual' means an individual whose income does not 
 exceed 138 percent of the Federal poverty level.
 ``
            (C) Midwife.--The term `midwife' means a midwife 
 who meets, at a minimum, the international definition 
 of the midwife and global standards for midwifery 
 education as established by the International 
 Confederation of Midwives.
 ``
            (D) Tribally-recognized midwife.--The term 
 `tribally-recognized midwife' means an individual who 
 is recognized by an Indian tribe (as defined in 

section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act) to 
 practice midwifery for the tribe.
 ``
        (E) Doula.--The term `doula' means, with respect 
 to an application to conduct a demonstration project 
 under this subsection, an individual who--
 ``
            (i) 
            (I) has completed 60 hours of training 
 in providing non-medical information, emotional 
 support, and physical support to clients during 
 pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum 
 period;
 ``
            (II) is certified by an organization, 
 that has been established for not less than 5 
 years and requires the completion of continuing 
 education to maintain the certification, to 
 provide the information and support referred to 
 in subclause
            (I) ; and
 ``
            (III) maintains the certification by 
 completing the required continuing education; 
 or
 ``
            (ii) has the permission of the local 
 government in the State in which the applicant 
 intends to conduct the demonstration project, 
 to provide the information and support referred 
 to in clause
            (i) 
            (I) .
 ``

    (6) Appropriation.--Out of any funds in the Treasury of 
 the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are 
 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection 
 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

 The amendment made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 
2025.
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