Clark's Maternal Mental Health Legislation Congressional Hearing Tues

FRAMINGHAM, MA - Legislation proposed by Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark on maternal mental health will be heard in a congressional hearing Tuesday.

The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing at 10:15 a.m.on mental health featuring Clark’s "Into the Light for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Act." The hearing is entitled “Communities in Need: Legislation to Support Mental Health and Well-Being.”

Last month, Clark introduced the Into the Light Act, bicameral and bipartisan legislation that will reauthorize and expand a grant program to screen and treat maternal mental health and substance use disorders. This federal program was originally created through Clark’s Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act, which was signed into law in 2016. The new bill will add training on trauma-informed care and bridge gaps in health equity by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services for pregnant and postpartum mothers.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health has jurisdiction over issues such as public health, health disparities, biomedical research and development, public and private health insurance, the regulation of human and animal drugs, vaccines and other biological products, medical devices, food, cosmetics, tobacco, and substance use and misuse, among other issues. Clark is not a member of the Committee.

The hearing will be broadcast on CSPAN.