WASHINGTON, DC – A key committee of the United States Senate today approved legislation championed by First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization, to strengthen the federal Healthy Start program. Introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Richard Burr (R-NC), the Healthy Start Reauthorization Act (S. 1760) today cleared the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).
“We are fighting for Healthy Start because we know America can do better than ranking first in health care spending and twenty-eighth in the number of babies who die before their first birthday,” said Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus.
Healthy Start has proven successful in reducing low birth-weight, premature births, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and other leading causes of infant mortality. For example, the rate of low-birth weight infants born to Healthy Start participants dropped from 12% in 1998 to 9% in 2004, while the rate increased in the general population during the same period.
However, as federal funding has stagnated, the approximately 100 Healthy Start centers nationwide have struggled to keep pace with increasing need, and the consequences have begun to show. Infant mortality rates have increased in recent years, reversing a decades-long trend of progress. Southern states and African Americans have been hit hardest, and babies born to African American women in the U.S. are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday than babies born to white mothers.
“Our country can and should ensure that all children have a healthy start in life. It’s a shame Healthy Start has been underfunded in recent years, but this legislation is a strong signal that Congress is serious about reversing that trend,” said Lesley. “Senators Brown and Burr have exhibited exemplary leadership on this critical legislation, which, if passed, could provide the first major victory for kids in the 110th Congress,” added Lesley.
“Our nation spends more on health care than any other nation, yet infant mortality rates remain high and low birthweight is alarmingly prevalent. Healthy Start programs throughout the nation deploy common sense preventive strategies to promote healthy pregnancies and healthy children. These programs work, and it is in our nation’s best interest to support them,” Senator Sherrod Brown said.
“Healthy Start programs, like North Carolina’s Baby Love Plus, have made great progress in reducing infant mortality, premature birth, and low birth weight,” Senator Richard Burr said. “Healthy Start is a critical program that saves lives and ensures more of our nation’s children stay healthy. I am pleased my Senate colleagues took a step today towards ensuring more of America’s children start life in good health.”
The bill increases Healthy Start’s funding authorization to $120 million, then indexes the authorization to inflation. It also places new emphasis on community-based partnerships and comprehensive health services for pregnant women. Finally, the legislation supports evaluation of Healthy Start’s effectiveness in reducing racial disparities.
First Focus has worked closely with Senators Brown and Burr to draft and advance the Health Start Reauthorization. In partnership with these and other legislators, First Focus and the National Healthy Start Association organized a briefing to inform Congressional staff the importance of this issue and the pending legislation. The Healthy Start Reauthorization Act is expected to be considered on the Senate floor later this spring. First Focus is currently organizing national advocacy organizations to build support for the floor debate. Similar legislation (H.R. 3267) sponsored by Rep. Ed Towns (D-NY) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) is pending in the U.S. House of Representatives.