“This Mother’s Day, we celebrate the remarkable contributions mothers make to our families, communities, and nation. Since day one in office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have championed measures to empower America’s mothers – from equal pay and economic opportunity, to support for child care and elder care, to high quality health care and tackling the Black maternal health crisis. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is on a warpath to rip away women’s rights and terminate the Affordable Care Act – including its provisions that prevent discrimination against women. President Biden and Vice President Harris honor the contributions made by mothers across the nation, and they continue to support and empower them by taking action on expanding health care services, national paid family and medical leave, affordable child care, and economic equity.” 

The Biden-Harris administration is leading the charge to improve maternal health care across America by addressing racial disparities. 

NBC News: “In December, Vice President Kamala Harris hosted the first federal Maternal Health Day of Action at the White House, where she issued a call to improve health outcomes for parents and infants in the U.S. Months later, she is still using the vice presidential bully pulpit to push for policy and structural changes aimed at saving lives. 

“‘In our nation, we are looking at the fact that more women are facing death because of childbirth than in any other developed nation,’ Harris told journalists during a call on Thursday during Black Maternal Health Week. ‘We are looking at the likelihood that Black women are three times more likely to die in connection with childbirth, that Native women are twice as likely to die, that rural women are one and a half times more likely to die.’

“Black Maternal Health Week is an education and advocacy campaign founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance that is observed each April. The White House officially recognized the designated week in 2021, and President Joe Biden issued a proclamation for it this year.”

Spectrum News: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are working with 11 states, plus Washington, D.C., to expand postpartum coverage for new mothers to a full year after they give birth. Louisiana, Virginia, New Jersey and Illinois already offer such services to patients. The new states hoping to elongate postpartum healthcare coverage are California, the District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

“Should the efforts be successful, up to 720,000 people could benefit from guaranteed Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage for 12 months after birth. Typically, mothers are covered for a minimum of 60 days after birth.”

President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to advancing women’s health research and ensuring women have access to affordable reproductive health care. 

Planned Parenthood: “By expanding health coverage and access to birth control to millions, Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a game changer for women. Before the ACA, millions of women were denied coverage because of so-called ‘pre-existing conditions’ like breast cancer, pregnancy, or domestic abuse; some were forced to pay more for insurance just because they were women; and some were only allowed limited plans that excluded coverage for any health concerns they already had.”

Kaiser Family Foundation: “Federal Laws Require Most Employer-Sponsored Plans And All ACA-Compliant Individual Insurance Plans, Including Those Available Through The Marketplaces, To Cover Maternity Services Including Pregnancy, Childbirth, And Newborn Care.”

White House Fact Sheet: “The Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) are issuing new guidance to clarify standards and support expanded coverage of a broader range of FDA-approved contraceptives at no cost under the Affordable Care Act. This action builds on the progress already made by the Affordable Care Act to expand access to affordable contraception for millions of women nationwide.” 

Reuters: “President Joe Biden signed a new executive order on Monday that expands U.S. government research on women’s health, while pledging $200 million next year to better understand issues, including sexual and reproductive conditions. Biden is also ordering his administration to report on progress they are making to erase gender gaps in research and to study how to use artificial intelligence to improve women’s health research, according to a White House summary of the order.”

ABC News: “President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order Monday promoting women’s health research as the country continues to celebrate Women’s History Month. The White House described it as the ‘most comprehensive set of actions” taken by a president to advance women’s health research, which will focus on diseases and conditions that disproportionately affect women.‘

President Biden’s American Rescue Plan helped working mothers by expanding the Child Tax Credit for working families and lowering health insurance premiums for millions of Americans.

ABC News: “According to Census Bureau data, 3 million children were lifted out of poverty because of the expanded credit. The child poverty rate in 2021 dropped to a record low. The policy significantly increased the dollar amount that families with children received from $2,000 to $3,600 per year for kids under the age of 6 and $3,000 per year for kids between 6 and 18 years old. Checks were sent out monthly instead of once a year, which helped many households meet day-to-day expenses.”

White House Fact Sheet: “The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over the age of six and from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six, and raised the age limit from 16 to 17. All working families will get the full credit if they make up to $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent (also called Head of Household).

“The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides the largest child tax credit ever and historic relief to the most working families ever.”

White House Fact Sheet: “The American Rescue Plan will lower or eliminate health insurance premiums for millions of lower- and middle-income families enrolled in health insurance marketplaces. This will help well over a million uninsured Americans gain coverage.”

More than 15 million jobs have been created under President Biden, with the lowest unemployment rate among women in more than five decades.

U.S. Department of Labor: “Notably, the share of working age women in the labor force rose to a historic high of 78 percent. This is the highest the rate has been since we began tracking the data in 1948, and it is a welcome sign after the devastating effects that COVID-19 had on working women. Overall, the labor force participation rate among prime-age workers continues to outpace its pre-pandemic levels.”

And President Biden is passing legislation to ensure working mothers are thriving in their places of work.

White House Fact Sheet: “President Biden signed into law the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act as part of the bipartisan end-of-year omnibus law, which will provide basic, long-overdue protections to ensure that millions of pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. Under the new law, employers must make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers and job applicants, which may include light duty, breaks, or a stool to sit on, without discriminating or retaliating against them.”

“The President also signed into law the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act, which extends break time and private space protections for nursing parents to nearly 9 million workers, including teachers, nurses, and farmworkers. These protections will empower parents to continue expressing milk at work, so they do not have to choose between their job or their infant’s health.”

Meanwhile, Trump tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act and wants to terminate it in a second term, ripping away access to care from millions and allowing insurance companies to once again discriminate against women.

New York Times: “Attention All Women: Trump Is Coming for Your Health Care” 

“In the middle of a catastrophic public health crisis, the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act. This is dangerous for many reasons — but for women, it’s devastating. They would be stripped of the protections they have had in the decade since passage of the law, known as Obamacare.

“Before the law, insurance companies routinely discriminated against women. Those who didn’t work for employers that offered health coverage or who weren’t old enough or poor enough to qualify for Medicare or Medicaid struggled to buy health insurance in the private market, where insurance companies made all the rules.”

Associated Press: “Trump says he will renew efforts to replace ‘Obamacare’ if he wins a second term”

Washington Post: “Trump wants a do-over on repealing Obamacare. That seems unwise”

Trump’s child tax credit provisions excluded 10 million low income children, and did little to help low income families.

New York Times: “35% Of Children, Including A Majority Of Black And Latino Children, Did Not Get The Full Child Tax Credit From Trump’s Tax Bill Because Their Parents Earned Too Little.” 

“While Republicans say the increase shows concern for ordinary families, 35 percent of children fail to receive the full $2,000 because their parents earn too little, researchers at Columbia University found. A quarter get a partial sum and 10 percent get nothing. Among those excluded from the full credit are half of Latinos, 53 percent of blacks and 70 percent of children with single mothers.” 

New York Times: “The Tax Break For Children, Except The Ones Who Need It Most”

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “10 Million Children Under 17 In The Lowest-Income Families Received Little Or No Increase In The Child Tax Credit Under The TCJA.”

Tax Policy Center: “Trump’s Tax Law Did Not Significantly Expand The Refundable Portion Of The Child Tax Credit, Limiting The Benefits Of The Credit For Low-Income Families.”