Senate approves Burgess’ bipartisan bill to expand maternity care access

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) this week lauded U.S. Senate passage of his bipartisan bill, the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act.

“With yesterday’s Senate passage, we have come one step closer to delivering the quality, consistent maternity care that helps to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy regardless of where a woman lives,” said Rep. Burgess, chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, on Friday. “I look forward to seeing President Trump sign this lifesaving bill into law as soon as possible.”

H.R. 315, which Rep. Burgess sponsored on Jan. 5, 2017, would amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Health Resources and Services Administration to identify maternity care health professional target areas, which are areas within health professional shortage areas that don’t have enough maternity care health professionals, and assign more maternity care health professionals to those areas, according to the congressional record summary.

Previously, the measure received unanimous approval in the U.S. House of Representatives shortly after it was introduced in January 2017. H.R. 315 has been under committee consideration in the Senate since that time. The identical Senate version of the proposal, S. 783, had been introduced on March 30, 2017 by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and had 16 cosponsors, including lead original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

“As an OB/GYN who spent nearly three decades providing care to mothers and babies in North Texas, I am delighted that my bill to expand access to maternity care is headed to President Trump’s desk to become the law of the land,” Rep. Burgess said.

H.R. 315 has eight cosponsors in the House, including the lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). The bill also had support in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee where U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), chairman of the committee, called it “important legislation” because it will improve the identification of areas having shortages in maternity care.

“This legislation’s passage was only possible thanks to the steadfast leadership of Health Subcommittee Chairman Burgess, who has dedicated his career before Congress, and now his time serving the people of Texas’ 26th congressional district, to improving care for expectant mothers,” Rep. Walden said on Dec. 7 following Senate approval of the bill.

H.R. 315 passed the Senate without amendments by unanimous consent on Dec. 6.