SDoH Advocacy UpdateTRCC’s Equity Legislation Monitor for 118th Congress
TRCC’s Equity Legislation Monitor (ELM) was developed by TRCC to identify priority issues affecting health disparities and relevant legislation that address them. The ELM provides updates and pertinent information on research, news and legislation in eight priority areas: digital equity; environment and climate change; gun violence prevention; housing; maternal health; nutrition and food security; rural health; and payment models. Click here to check out the ELM.
ARPA-H announces Sprint for Women's Health
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently announced the ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health, committing $100 million towards transformative research and development in women’s health. In the coming weeks, specific topics developed by ARPA-H Program Managers will be announced as part of a new request for solutions (RS) funding opportunity. Through the upcoming RS, ARPA-H will bring together an interdisciplinary group of researchers, clinicians, technology experts, and others to accelerate solutions and will host a virtual ARPA-H Proposers’ Day in March. At this event, potential researchers will be able to learn more about the opportunity to use innovative approaches to advance women’s health through delivering progress in science, technology, or systems. Click here to learn more about the ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health, including how to register for the virtual Proposers’ Day.
H.R.7354 - Protect Black Women and Girls Act
This bill was introduced by Representative Robin Kelly [D-IL], to address disparities in outcomes for Black women and girls across a wide range of SDoH. The bill would establish an Interagency Task Force to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls in education, economic development, healthcare and maternal health, labor and employment, housing and civil rights. This group would be tasked with providing recommendations on policies and programs at the federal, state, and local levels that best promote community-based methods for mitigating and addressing harm to Black women and girls. Additionally, the bill would direct the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to conduct a study on the effects of economic, health, criminal justice, and social service factors on Black women and girls. The bill was referred to the Committees on the Judiciary, Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services.
S.3770 - FAAN Act
Introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley [D-OR], this bill invests in nursing schools to ensure sufficient frontline providers for future public health challenges. The bill allocates grant funding to enhance and modernize nursing schools, with priority given to schools located in medically underserved communities. These grants may be used for updating curriculum and infrastructure and expanding opportunities for clinical education. Additionally, the grants would be used to increase recruitment and retention of both students and faculty from racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the nursing workforce. After introduction, the bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
H.R.7346 - Climate and Health Protection Act
This bill, introduced by Representative Lauren Underwood [D-IL] would amend the Public Health Service Act to permanently authorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Climate and Health Program as carried out by the National Center for Environmental Health. This program provides state, local, and tribal communities with data on climate change science as well as resources that support health departments and communities in their plans to address the public health impacts of the climate crisis. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce |
