Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise today with an amendment to increase funding for the State Maternal Health Innovation Program by $7 million. This program is specifically tasked with reducing care gaps, maternal mortality, and disparities in maternal health. The United States is the greatest country in the world with the most innovative healthcare system around. We continue to develop cutting- edge treatments that stretch the bounds of what is possible. Within the last two decades, we have mapped the human genome, conducted surgeries over the Internet, and grown organs out of stem cells. We have cured diseases and revolutionized treatments. Despite all that progress, more of our mothers and mothers-to-be are dying today than at the turn of the century. Somehow, we have seen our maternal mortality rate increase over the past 25 years, and preventable near-deaths related to pregnancy have increased over 200 percent. The statistics are shocking, and the reality for Black mothers is a crisis. Black mothers in Louisiana are now 4 times more likely to die than White mothers. The rate of Black maternal deaths is closer to the rates in developing countries than the nations we usually compare ourselves to. With our vast resources and advanced technology, these deaths are unacceptable. This is a problem that demands our immediate attention. That is why I am here today with this amendment. With this increased funding, more States can implement programs to improve the care that mothers receive.…”