Federal advocacy

Advocacy has been central to the March of Dimes mission since the Foundation was created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his second term in office.  Roosevelt’s strong belief in the ability of government to make a positive difference in Americans’ lives is reflected in the March of Dimes’ efforts to harness the power of public policy to improve maternal and child health.

March of Dimes Office of Government Affairs lobbies Congress and the Administration on a host of issues important to pregnant women, infants, children and families.  Our federal priorities include:

• Access to care,
• Research and surveillance,
• Prevention and education and,
• Issues important to tax-exempt organizations.

In each of these areas, we build and maintain strong bipartisan relationships with Members of Congress and Administration officials. Download March of Dimes Federal Advocacy Agenda 2019. 

For the 116th Congress, March of Dimes' top federal priorities are:

• Ensuring access to health care for all women, children and families, and
• Supporting healthy women and healthy babies Advancing research and surveillance efforts.

Programs important to the March of Dimes include:

• CDC’s National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and Safe Motherhood efforts,
• Child health research at the NIH’s National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, and
• HRSA’s title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and newborn screening programs. 

The March of Dimes will work to protect investments in these programs from unwarranted cuts and ensure they have appropriate funding to improve the wellbeing and quality of life for women, infants, children, and families.

The March of Dimes also maintains strong relationships with officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, including CDC, CMS, NIH, HRSA, FDA, and other agencies.  The March of Dimes meets with officials and provides both formal and informal input and feedback on dozens of federal regulations and initiatives each year. Learn more about the March of Dimes policies and positions on a range of maternal and child health issues.

For additional information, please check out the following resources and browse the articles In this topic:

• Medicaid, Work Requirements, and Maternal and Child Health Issue Brief
• Fortification of Corn Masa Flour with Folic Acid Fact Sheet
• Why Everyone Needs Maternity Coverage Fact Sheet
• Medicaid Financing Reform Proposals Fact Sheet
• Maternity and Newborn Care in Medicaid Fact Sheet
• Health Care for Mothers and Newborns Fact Sheet
• Affordable Care for Pregnant Women and Infants Fact Sheet
• Preventive Care for Women Fact Sheet
• Patient Protections for Pregnant Women and Infants Fact Sheet
• Access to Care Fact Sheet
• Zika Advocacy Fact Sheet 

See also: Advocacy and Government Affairs Issues and Priorities, Policies and positions and Victories and achievements.

In This Topic

• Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Commemorating the Polio Vaccine
• Funding for Maternal and Child Health Research and Prevention
• PREEMIE Act 2018
• Protecting Our Infants Act
• Zika Coalition

• Federal advocacy

Other Advocacy topics