Sponsors (3)
The bill directs new, targeted federal programs, data systems, training, and research to protect pregnant people and infants from climate‑related harms—especially in underserved areas—but does so with limited grant reach, added administrative and privacy burdens, and increased federal spending that may be short‑lived without sustained funding.
Pregnant people (including those within one year postpartum) and infants in high‑risk counties will receive targeted services and interventions (cooling, evacuation, housing support, counseling, and other mitigation) to reduce climate‑related pregnancy and infant harms.
State, local, and health agencies will get better data, subcounty risk maps, and a consolidated inventory of monitoring tools so resources can be focused where maternal and infant climate risks are highest.
Health workforce capacity will be strengthened: perinatal nonclinical roles are defined (doulas, CHWs, peer supporters) and health profession students/clinicians will receive training to identify and manage climate‑related pregnancy and infant health risks.
Taxpayers will shoulder new federal costs (the $100M grant program plus additional research, strategy, and monitoring expenditures), increasing federal outlays unless offset elsewhere.
The grant program's limited scope and short funding window (only 10 awardees and four fiscal years for some grants) means many high‑need communities may not receive sustained assistance.
Collecting and publicly reporting granular demographic and health data creates privacy and data‑sharing concerns for pregnant people and providers and increases administrative burden on hospitals and clinics.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes HHS grant programs, health‑professions training grants, an NIH research consortium, and a CDC risk‑mapping strategy to reduce climate-related harms to pregnant people and infants.
Official title: Protect Moms and babies against climate change, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 21, 2026 by Edward John Markey · Last progress April 21, 2026
Creates federal programs to protect pregnant people, infants, and very young children from climate-change–related risks by funding community grant programs, health-professions education, NIH research coordination, and a CDC-led mapping/strategy to identify high-risk areas. It directs HHS to award competitive grants to local entities, fund curriculum and workforce training for identifying climate-related maternal and infant health risks, and stand up a coordinated NIH consortium and CDC strategy to guide data, monitoring, and program targeting. The bill focuses on equity and vulnerable populations by prioritizing counties and communities with poor air quality, high social vulnerability, heat and hazard exposure, and existing maternal health disparities; it requires stakeholder consultation, public comment on the mapping strategy, and modest authorized funding for the workforce/education grants over FY2027–2030.