Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act of 2021
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act of 2021
This bill establishes new requirements related to grants, programs, and reports to improve the treatment and care of pregnant and postpartum women who are incarcerated.
Specifically, the bill requires the following:
states must restrict the use of restraints on pregnant women in prison in order to receive full funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program;
the Bureau of Prisons must establish programs to optimize maternal health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women in federal prisons;
the Bureau of Justice Assistance must award state grants for programs to support pregnant and postpartum women in state and local prisons and jails;
the Government Accountability Office must report on adverse maternal and infant health outcomes among incarcerated individuals and infants born to such individuals, with a particular focus on racial and ethnic disparities; and
the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission must report on the impact of Medicaid ineligibility for pregnant and postpartum women in prison.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 8, 2021. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 23, 2021: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) introduced it on February 8, 2021, and 36 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 36 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 8, 2021, 2040 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1966 days ago, on April 23, 2021.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers