CELEBRATING BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH

On 2026-04-20, Representative Christian D. Menefee (D-TX-18) delivered a floor speech titled "CELEBRATING BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered abortion, taxes.

CELEBRATING BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2988-H2993] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CELEBRATING BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Ms. McClellan of Virginia was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader). General Leave Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Messmer). Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Virginia? There was no objection. Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to anchor this Special Order hour on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus in honor of Black Maternal Health Week. For the 10th year in a row, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance led Black Maternal Health Week last week to address the high rates of preventable maternal mortality among Black women who are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. Black Maternal Health Week focuses on advocacy, community building, and policy change. This year's theme, Rooted in Justice & Joy, highlights the need for both systemic change to address racial disparities and the celebration of Black motherhood and strength. This Special Order hour is an opportunity for the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss the ongoing crisis facing our Nation's Black mothers and to explore solutions to protecting our communities' Black women. Tonight, I start this Special Order hour with identifying the state of Black maternal health in our Nation. In a nutshell, we are in crisis, and the Black maternal health crisis is not just statistics. Eleven years ago next week, I nearly became one of those statistics when my daughter and I both nearly died when my placenta ruptured 9 weeks before my due date. I needed an emergency C-section. I had placenta previa, and because I had health insurance and access to pre- and postnatal care, I was one of the lucky ones, but too many Black women in America aren't so lucky. Compared to other high income countries, the U.S. still has the highest rate of maternal deaths. In 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, the national maternal mortality rate actually declined, but Black women were still more than three times as likely as White women to experience a pregnancy-related death and 87 percent of these deaths were preventable. In my own State of Virginia, after significant improvements from peak deaths in 2021, Virginia's maternal mortality rate got worse in 2023. We face a complex road ahead as we seek solutions to protect Black women and families against this loss. The maternal health crisis connects healthcare with insurance policy, reproductive freedom, environmental policy, and so much more. These issues don't exist in a vacuum, and many of them are rooted in decades, I would say, centuries of inequity. These issues require a holistic approach to bring down the mortality rate and save lives, but recent rollbacks at the Federal level risk deepening this maternal health crisis. Medicaid cuts and the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits over the Affordable Care Act have driven up the cost of maternal care for millions, making this vital care inaccessible for those unable to pay for it out of pocket. The Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade caused one in three women of childbearing years to live in States with abortion bans or extreme restrictions, and in those States, States with bans, women are two times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes. Again, it is not just statistics. We have seen tragic stories of women like Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, who died suffering miscarriages awaiting simple procedures that could have saved their life, but the hospitals weren't sure if they fit within the exceptions to the ban. {time} 2030 On top of this, the Trump administration has doubled down on making it harder to secure justice for Black families and address the maternal health crisis in Black communities with President Trump's executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, limiting the Federal Government's ability to enforce hospital accountability for treatment of Black mothers weeks after the Biden administration reached a historic settlement agreement to uphold these guidelines and provide training for hospital staff to address bias. Under the Trump administration, funding cuts and mass layoffs have left agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services without the resources or staff needed to conduct research and implement policies that save lives. Thousands of datasets that have helped to identify the maternal mortality factors and track how we are doing with policies to address them can no longer be accessed. Now, President Trump wants to go even further, as his proposed budget for 2027 calls for over $800 million in cuts to maternal and child health programs at HHS. The proposal would eliminate many essential programs entirely, including the Healthy Start program, which serves mothers and infants in high-risk communities; the maternal mortality review committees; the Perinatal Quality Collaboratives; and other programs that track maternal mortality and share solutions for reducing it. This is not acceptable, and the Congressional Black Caucus will do everything within our power to oppose this proposed budget. Mr. Speaker, in the face of these setbacks at the Federal level, we will continue to push for change. As a member of not only the Congressional Black Caucus but the Black Maternal Health Caucus, and especially as a mom who faced that crisis personally, I am fighting back as we continue to push forward because we cannot afford to wait. We certainly can't afford to sit back and do nothing. That is why I am cosponsoring the momnibus, a package of 14 bills that aims to address the root causes of maternal health challenges, provide support to mothers, and study how we can build a better system for every American family in need of care. The Black Maternal Health Caucus has fought for this legislation for years. We will not stop until it becomes law. It must become law now. Our fight remains far from over, but legislators and advocates alike continue to work toward tangible change to eradicate this Black maternal health crisis. I am proud to stand and work alongside Members, like the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Representative Yvette Clarke. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke). Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia, my esteemed colleague Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, [[Page H2989]] for sharing her story and for being so pointed in the ways in which Black women have been disadvantaged with respect to Black maternal health and for anchoring this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour. Good evening. I am Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and proudly representing New York's Ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. I rise tonight with my colleagues of the CBC because the state of Black maternal health in America is not just a public health issue. It is a moral crisis. In the wealthiest Nation in the world, American women suffer the highest rates of maternal mortality. This crisis falls hardest on Black women. We know the facts. In the United States, Black women are still three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. The vast majority of complications are preventable with timely, high-quality care. Too many families are left grieving. Too many warnings have gone unheard. Behind every statistic is a name, a story, and a family forever changed. These stories demand more than sympathy. They demand action. These disparities are the outcome of deep inequities in access to healthcare, structural racism, and a system that too often fails Black women at every stage of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery. These deaths are preventable. Yet, instead of preventing them and improving maternal health, Republicans are stripping coverage that mothers rely on, worsening an already deadly crisis. Efforts to dismantle healthcare, undermine reproductive health services, and strip away critical protections will continue to disproportionately harm Black women around our Nation. Now is the time when we should be building on progress, not continuing the pattern of neglect and disregard for our health and our lives. We must continue to invest in community-based care; diversify the maternal health workforce; address implicit bias in our healthcare system; and ensure that every woman, no matter her ZIP Code, has access to quality, affordable care. The Congressional Black Caucus will continue to fight for policies that center equity, protect access, and save lives. Black maternal health is about more than healthcare. It is about justice. It is about dignity. It is about whether this country is willing to value Black women the way that we deserve to be valued. We will not stop until Black mothers are safe, supported, and able to thrive before, during, and after giving birth. Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore). Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for anchoring this on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I thank her so much for her passionate words and her lived experience. Unfortunately, her story is not a rare story. It is all too common, especially for women of color. As a mother, grandmother of three women, and great-grandmother of three great-grandbabies, this is really personal to me. I have a real stake in this fight, which is one of the rea