I'm always looking for a chance to explain the “Momnibus,” and there’s no time like the present.

We’re kicking off Black Maternal Health Week by talking about a legislative package that will change the equation for Black moms and all birthing people, saving lives and closing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes.

First, the facts. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among peer countries. It’s the only rate that’s rising, and it’s driven by far higher mortality rates among Black mothers and other women and birthing people of color.

Black birthing people are three to four times more likely than their white counterparts to die from pregnancy-related complications. And that’s also disproportionately true for Indigenous birthing people.

These are alarming statistics that we cannot continue to ignore or accept, which is why less than a month into this Congress, my Senate colleagues and I joined House lawmakers in introducing the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.

This legislative package includes 12 bills that make critical investments in addressing this crisis. They fund community-based organizations while growing and diversifying the perinatal workforce — the health care workers that mothers are relying on for care in the critical weeks immediately before and after birth.

We need to drastically reduce our maternal mortality rate in this country, which is why we must take a comprehensive approach with the Momnibus.

Will you join me as a citizen co-sponsor of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act? This is a long-overdue action we can take now to save moms’ lives.

Thanks for taking this stand with me,

Cory