New Bill Introduced to Support Military Maternal Mental Health
By the Policy Center’s Legislative and Regulatory Policy Team
Our work shaping and reporting on national mental health policy is made possible through a 2023-2024 capacity grant from the Perigee Fund.
Federal Bill Introduced to Support Military Maternal Mental Health
Maintaining Our Obligation to Moms (MOMS) Who Serve Act
On January 25th 2024, Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral ‘‘Maintaining Our Obligation to Moms who Serve Act’’ or the ‘‘MOMS Act” (H.R.7087). A companion bill in the Senate was introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)(S.3641).
The bill, championed by the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, creates a pilot program to assess the feasibility and impact of providing evidence-based perinatal mental health programs for pregnant and postpartum service members. The program's goal is to reduce the rates of poor mental health conditions among mothers in the military and improve the military readiness of service members. The bill includes a required Advisory Committee, consisting of;
A) Members of the Armed Forces or beneficiaries,
B) Representatives of military and veterans service organizations,
C) Experts in perinatal mental health promotion, prevention, and intervention, and
D) Representatives from the Federal Maternal Mental Health Hotline and related perinatal mental health programs.
The bill comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office report (May 2022) indicating that military mothers experience perinatal mental health conditions at a rate 2-3 times higher than civilian counterparts. Following the release of this report, The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health proudly signed a letter alongside the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance (MMHLA) in April of 2023 requesting information including:
A report on the Military Health System activities to prevent, intervene, and treat perinatal mental health conditions of members of the Armed Forces and their dependents, and
A study by the Comptroller General on the impact of perinatal mental health conditions of members of the Armed Forces and their dependents on military readiness and retention.
To become involved in supporting this legislation, get in touch with the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance.
Related Reading
Federal Policies to Support the Maternal Health of Our Nation’s Servicemembers
The Federal Military Moms’ Mental Health Assessment Act Is Introduced