Black Maternal Health Caucus

Last updated
Black Maternal Health Caucus
FoundedApril 9, 2019;5 years ago (2019-04-09)
Headquarters Washington, D.C., USA
Political position Multi-partisan congressional caucus (Mission: "The Black Maternal Health Caucus aims to raise awareness within Congress to establish Black maternal health as a national priority, and explore and advocate for effective, evidence-based, culturally-competent policies and best practices for health outcomes for Black mothers."
Seats in the House
111 / 435
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Website
blackmaternalhealthcaucus-underwood.house.gov

The Black Maternal Health Caucus is a caucus made up of mostly African-American members of the United States Congress. [1] Congresswomen Alma Adams of North Carolina and Lauren Underwood of Illinois founded the caucus in April 2019 and currently serve as co-chairs. [2] [3]

Contents

Purpose

The Black Maternal Health Caucus was founded to 'improve black maternal health outcomes,' with the founders citing statistics that the United States has the worst maternal death rates in the developed world, at 18 death per 100,00 live births, and with a higher rate among black women, at 40 deaths per 100,000 live births. [4] [5]

History

Shortly after the formation of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, Senator Kamala Harris sponsored the Maternal CARE Act. [6] If passed, the Maternal CARE Act would serve to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity by providing implicit bias training as a solution for addressing racial bias in health care.[ citation needed ]

As of 2019, seventy-five members of the United States House of Representatives belong to the caucus, including support from Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and other leaders within the Democratic caucus. [7]

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States highlighted racial disparities in healthcare. Many Black women requiring hospitalization were dying at alarming rates compared to other racial groups. [8]

In 2021, an updated Momnibus was introduced. Sponsoring members of the House of Representatives of include: Sheila Jackson Lee, Nikema Williams, and Jamie Raskin. [9] The term "Momnibus" is a word play on "omnibus," which is a single bill submitted to a legislature that combines several diverse matters.[ citation needed ]

Legislation

In March 2020, Lauren Underwood introduced the Momnibus Package, "which would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publicly post data on COVID-19 and pregnancy, disaggregated by race and ethnicity". [10] In May 2023, the legislation, consisting of 13 individual bills, was endorsed by over 200 organizations and Black maternal health advocates, including Planned Parenthood Action Fund, March of Dimes, Christy Turlington Burns, and Christine Michel Carter. [11]

Membership

Black Maternal Health Caucus in the 118th United States Congress Black Maternal Health Caucus in the 118th Congress.svg
Black Maternal Health Caucus in the 118th United States Congress

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Democrat Coalition</span> Political caucus in United States

The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matters. Most members hold socially liberal views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus</span> United States congressional caucus

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), and who have a strong interest in advocating and promoting issues and concerning the AAPI community. CAPAC was founded on May 16, 1994 by former Congressman Norman Mineta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican Study Committee</span> Caucus in the US Congress

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. In November 2022, Representative Kevin Hern of Oklahoma was elected as the chair of the RSC, effective as of January 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican Main Street Partnership</span> Republican Party (United States) nonprofit organization

The Republican Main Street Partnership is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to support politicians in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. The Republican Main Street Partnership does not advocate for legislation but offers networking and mentorship opportunities and provides a forum for discussion. The Partnership is affiliated with a super PAC called Defending Main Street. The Partnership is also affiliated with the Republican Main Street Caucus, a Republican congressional member organization that takes pragmatic conservative positions.

The Green National Committee (GNC) is the central governing body of the Green Party of the United States. The committee is composed of over 150 delegates from every affiliated state party and recognized caucus. The GNC oversees all national party functions and elects a steering committee to oversee day-to-day operations.

In the United States House of Representatives, the two major political parties maintain policy and steering committees. Their primary purpose is to assign fellow party members to other House committees, and they also advise party leaders on policy.

Elections for the United States House of Representatives were held on November 7, 2006, with all of the 435 seats in the House up for election. This article discusses predictions for outcome of House races as a whole. Individual races that were notable are discussed in detail at United States House elections, 2006; that article also has information on the results of the election.

The Congressional Western Caucus is a caucus within the United States House of Representatives composed of 62 members. Although it has historically been bipartisan, it is currently composed almost exclusively of Republicans. It was founded by then-representatives James V. Hansen (R-Utah), Bob Stump (R-Arizona), Joe Skeen and Barbara Vucanovich (R-Nevada) in 1993 during the 103rd United States Congress. Despite its name, the Congressional Western Caucus has members from outside the Western United States, including as far east as New York City and Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Days of Light</span> 1992 single by Roger Daltrey

"'Days of Light'" is a song by Roger Daltrey from his eighth solo album, Rocks in the Head. The song was written by Daltrey and Gerard McMahon, and features lyrics about looking forward to the weekend. According to Daltrey, the song was inspired by his early career as a worker in a sheet-metal factory.

The Labor Caucus of the United States House of Representatives was founded in November 2020 with the aim of expanding labor union power in the United States. The caucus supports measures such as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act that would expand union participation and make forming unions easier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional Arts Caucus</span> Political caucus in the United States

The Congressional Arts Caucus is a registered Congressional Member Organization for the US House of Representatives in the 115th Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterinary Medicine Caucus</span> Political party in United States

The Congressional Veterinary Medicine Caucus is a Congressional Member Organization within the United States Congress and is officially recognized by the Committee on House Administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional Constitution Caucus</span> Political party in United States

The Congressional Constitution Caucus is a congressional caucus made up of 41 members of the United States Congress. The caucus was founded in 2005; it had 37 members the first year it was founded.

The Medicare for All Caucus is a congressional caucus in the United States House of Representatives, consisting of members that advocate for the implementation of a single-payer healthcare system. It was announced by progressive members of the House of Representatives in July 2018 with over 70 founding members, all Democrats.

Future Forum is a generational caucus of Millennial and Gen Z members of Congress serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. The organization was founded in April 2015 by Representative Eric Swalwell. The caucus consists of 53 Members of Congress who represent congressional districts across the country. Future Forum's co-chairs are Representatives Colin Allred, Brittany Pettersen, Darren Soto, and Haley Stevens.

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections were held November 3, 2020, to elect representatives from all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states. The six non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and the inhabited U.S. territories were also elected. Numerous federal, state, and local elections, including the 2020 presidential election and the 2020 Senate elections, were also held on this date.

The Conservative Climate Caucus is a caucus within the United States House of Representatives composed of 81 members, all of the Republican Party. It was founded by Representative John Curtis (R-Utah) in 2021 during the 117th United States Congress. The caucus's self-declared purpose is to "Educate House Republicans on climate policies and legislation consistent with conservative values".

References

  1. Minutaglio, Rose (2019-04-12). "Black Mothers Are Dying At Alarming Rates. Rep. Lauren Underwood Wants Congress to Do Something About It". ELLE. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  2. "Congresswomen Adams and Underwood Launch Black Maternal Health Caucus". Congresswoman Alma Adams. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  3. Frazin, Rachel (2019-04-09). "Dem lawmakers form Black Maternal Health Caucus". The Hill . Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  4. "House forms first Black Maternal Health Caucus". ThinkProgress . 9 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  5. America, Good Morning. "Female lawmakers launch 1st Black Maternal Health Caucus". Good Morning America. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  6. Harris, Kamala D. (2019-05-22). "Text - S.1600 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Maternal CARE Act". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  7. "Black Maternal Health Caucus Celebrates Passage of Priorities in Appropriations Bill". Representative Lauren Underwood. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  8. "In Q&A, VP Harris calls for urgent action on the Black maternal health crisis". STAT. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  9. "Black Maternal Health Momnibus". Black Maternal Health Caucus. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  10. "Lawmakers to Reintroduce Sweeping Maternal Health Bill". Archived from the original on 2021-02-05.
  11. "Black Maternal Health Momnibus". Black Maternal Health Caucus. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2023-07-25.