Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Before I begin, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the sponsor of this bill, Dr. Burgess, for his outstanding work in healthcare, especially as a Member of this august body. For many years he has served here, and I know he is going to be retiring at the end of this year, and we are certainly going to miss his leadership, particularly in the healthcare space, and we appreciate him very much.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3838, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act, which I am co-leading with Dr. Burgess.

Maternal mortality is something that I have worked on for many, many years as a member of the Georgia State legislature and now as a Member of Congress. It baffles me as to why Georgia, my home State, would be one of the leading States in the Nation in maternal mortality. I have not been able to get my arms around that and understand why that is, but it is.

Our Nation's maternal mortality crisis, which, as I say, severely impacts Georgians, is alarming and trending in the wrong direction. In fact, in Georgia, the maternal mortality rate has increased to over 30 deaths per 100,000 live births. For women of color and people living in rural communities, those numbers are much higher.

The United States is trending in the wrong direction, as well, and we need to understand why moms are dying, despite us spending $4.4 trillion on healthcare in 2022.

As a father, as a grandfather, and a healthcare professional, I believe that we can and we must do much better. It is time for this to become a national priority, which is why I am proud to be co-leading the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act with Dr. Burgess.

This legislation would ensure continued support for the critically important work that the State Maternal Mortality Review Committees have done in addressing the maternal mortality crisis.

State Maternal Mortality Review Committees are crucial to collecting data so that each State can form a plan to address maternal health issues impacting their community.

This bipartisan bill is an important step toward ending the maternal mortality crisis in the U.S.

We value women, we value life, and this bipartisan bill prioritizes both.

I thank Dr. Burgess again for working with me on this important issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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