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HR 6238
Passed House Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.

NIH IMPROVE Act

Introduced Nov 20, 2025

Latest action (Jul 21, 2026) Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Referred to
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Energy and Commerce Committee
Policy area
Health
Issues
Healthcare
Legislative subjects (5)
Health programs administration and fundingMedical researchNational Institutes of Health (NIH)Sex and reproductive healthWomen's health

Summary
  • Establishes the IMPROVE Initiative within the National Institutes of Health to improve maternal health outcomes.
  • Directs NIH to conduct research to reduce preventable maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.
  • Directs NIH to reduce health disparities in maternal health outcomes, particularly for populations with disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality.
  • Authorizes NIH to award grants and enter into contracts to implement community-based interventions and identify risk factors for maternal health problems.
  • Authorizes $63.4 million annually from 2026 through 2030 to carry out the IMPROVE Initiative.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
4 cosponsors

Money behind the sponsor

Top reported contributors to Lauren Underwood’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.

  • UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO $33,465
  • NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY $26,150
  • BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA $18,100
  • CORNERSTONE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS $16,800
  • CLIFFORD LAW OFFICES $13,200

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Lauren Underwood → · Outside spending →

Actions (13)
  1. Jul 21, 2026 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. · senate
  2. Jul 20, 2026 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. · house
  3. Jul 20, 2026 On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4651) · house
  4. Jul 20, 2026 Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4651)
  5. Jul 20, 2026 DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6238. · house
  6. Jul 20, 2026 Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4651-4652) · house
  7. Jul 20, 2026 Mr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. · house
  8. Jul 9, 2026 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 638. · house
  9. Jul 9, 2026 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-734. · house
  10. May 21, 2026 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 46 - 0. · house
  11. May 21, 2026 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held · house
  12. Nov 20, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. · house
  13. Nov 20, 2025 Introduced in House

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

  • S 3254 — NIH IMPROVE Act (shares 5 subjects)
  • HR 5304 — Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 (shares 5 subjects)
  • HR 8469 — Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes. (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 9171 — Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027 (shares 4 subjects)
  • S 2531 — Uterine Fibroid Intervention and Gynecological Health Treatment Act of 2025 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 2670 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 3358 — Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 8205 — Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026 (shares 3 subjects)

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • S 3254 — NIH IMPROVE Act · Introduced Nov 20, 2025 · Cong. 119 88%
  • S 3564 — NIH Clinical Trial Integrity Act · Introduced Dec 18, 2025 · Cong. 119 68%
  • HR 8080 — Data to Save Moms Act · Introduced Mar 25, 2026 · Cong. 119 66%
  • HR 8521 — Protect Moms From Domestic Violence Act · Introduced Apr 27, 2026 · Cong. 119 66%
  • HR 9090 — Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act · Introduced Jun 2, 2026 · Cong. 119 65%
  • HR 599 — Protect Funding for Women’s Health Care Act · Introduced Jan 22, 2025 · Cong. 119 64%

Text versions (4)
  • Referred in Senate · Jul 21, 2026
  • Engrossed in House · Jul 20, 2026
  • Reported in House · Jul 9, 2026
  • Introduced in House · Nov 20, 2025

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Full text

AN ACT

To establish the IMPROVE Initiative within the National Institutes of Health.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “NIH Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Act” or the “NIH IMPROVE Act”.

SEC. 2. IMPROVE INITIATIVE.

Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“SEC. 409K. IMPROVE INITIATIVE.

“(a) In General.—The Director of NIH shall continue to carry out a program to improve maternal health outcomes, to be known as the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Initiative or the ‘IMPROVE Initiative’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Initiative’).

“(b) Objectives.—The Initiative shall—

“(1) advance research to—

“(A) reduce preventable causes of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity;

“(B) reduce health disparities related to maternal health outcomes, including such disparities associated with populations with disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity relative to the national rate; and

“(C) improve health for pregnant and postpartum women before, during, and after pregnancy;

“(2) use an integrated approach to understand the factors, including biological, behavioral, and other factors, that affect maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity by building an evidence base for improved outcomes in specific regions of the United States; and

“(3) target health disparities associated with maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity by—

“(A) implementing and evaluating community-based interventions for disproportionately affected women; and

“(B) identifying risk factors and the underlying biological mechanisms associated with leading causes of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the United States.

“(c) Implementation.—The Director of NIH may award grants or enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or other transactions to carry out this section.

“(d) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $63,400,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.”.

Passed the House of Representatives July 20, 2026.

Attest:

Clerk. 119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 6238

AN ACT

To establish the IMPROVE Initiative within the National Institutes of Health.

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