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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5574 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5574
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a
program of distribution of newborn supply kits to mothers of newborn
infants, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 29, 2026
Mr. Kim (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a
program of distribution of newborn supply kits to mothers of newborn
infants, and for other purposes.
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 ``Newborn Essentials Support Toolkit
Act'' or the ``NEST Act''.
SEC. 2. NEWBORN SUPPLY KITS.
Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 399V-8. NEWBORN SUPPLY KITS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants or enter into
cooperative agreements with eligible entities for purposes of
purchasing or acquiring and distributing newborn supply kits for
mothers of newborn infants.
``(b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive an award under
subsection (a), an entity shall--
``(1) be a nonprofit entity that has a multi-State
presence, such as a community-based organization, a Federally
qualified health center (as defined in section 1861(aa) of the
Social Security Act), a Tribal organization (as defined in
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act), or a birthing hospital; and
``(2) agree to, in the distribution of newborn supply
kits--
``(A) partner with local organizations that serve
the locations where such newborn supply kits are to be
distributed;
``(B) to the maximum extent practicable, ensure the
geographical diversity of the recipients of such
newborn supply kits;
``(C) give priority to geographic areas with the
greatest need, such as maternity care deserts, rural
communities, and communities with the highest maternal
mortality rates (such as the Delta region); and
``(D) give priority to mothers or newborn infants
whose family income does not exceed 185 percent of the
poverty line (as defined in section 673(2) of the
Community Services Block Grant Act) for a family of the
size involved.
``(c) Newborn Supply Kit.--For purposes of this section, the term
`newborn supply kit' means a kit composed of essential goods to help
mothers recover from childbirth and care for newborn infants that
includes the following items:
``(1) Diapers, wipes, hygiene items, blankets, and
thermometers for newborn infants.
``(2) Postpartum pads, lotion, cold packs, breastfeeding
supplies, information on the National Maternal Mental Health
Hotline established under section 399V-7, information on the
National Women's Health and Breastfeeding Helpline and
additional educational material on breastfeeding, information
about Federal programs providing support to postpartum women
and children, such as the special supplemental nutrition
program for women, infants, and children under section 17 of
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and evidence-based educational
material on the use of low-dose aspirin to address
hypertension, preeclampsia, and preterm birth.
``(3) A blood pressure monitor.
``(4) Other items necessary to support infant and
postpartum health (as determined by the Secretary).
``(d) Report.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date
on which the first grant or cooperative agreement is awarded
under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report on the progress of
the grants or cooperative agreements so awarded, including--
``(A) the number of mothers served under the grants
or cooperative agreements during the period covered by
the report (disaggregated by race, family income level,
and number of individuals in the household);
``(B) the regions in the United States in which
newborn supply kits are distributed through such grants
or cooperative agreements;
``(C) feedback from mothers who have received
newborn supply kits through such grants or cooperative
agreements; and
``(D) such other information, as determined
necessary by the Secretary.
``(2) Final report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
on which the last grant or cooperative agreement is awarded
under this section for fiscal year 2030, the Secretary shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on
the results of the grants or cooperative agreements awarded
under this section with respect to maternal and infant health
outcomes.
``(3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this
subsection, the term `appropriate committees of Congress'
means--
``(A) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions of the Senate;
``(B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives;
``(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate; and
``(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2027 through 2031.''.
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