Hill Wants to Pair Maternal Health DataWith FCC Broadband Reporting

By
published

Legislators from both houses of Congress and both parties have introduced legislation that would investigate any possible correlation between the health of new mothers and the availability of high-speed broadband. 

The “Data Mapping to Save Moms' Lives Act” was introduced in the Senate Jan. 7 and a similar bill in the House a week later. 

The bill, introduced in the Senate by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), would require the FCC to incorporate maternal health outcomes (mortality and health of new mothers) for at least one year post-birth into its broadband mapping tools. It would also have to consult with the Centers for Disease Control about what health outcomes should be included in that mapping. 

FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is all for it, tweeting: 

[embed]https://twitter.com/JRosenworcel/status/1214983896363917312[/embed]

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.