This hearing was held in response to a request from the Congressional Black Caucus, which asked the subcommittees to find out if the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was doing everything possible to reduce infant mortality, especially the high death rate experienced by Blacks. The hearing opened with statements by both subcommittee chairmen, after which congressional Representatives and the chief of Maternal and Child Health, Michigan Department of Public Health testified to the benefits of various maternal and child programs and the effects of federal and state funding cuts on these programs. The assistant secretary for HHS discussed current programs and stated that more research was necessary to find out the causes of the discrepancy between Black and White mortality rates. Questions to him focused on planned merging of existing programs into block grants and subsequent loss of funds, the possibilities for increasing the accessibility of health services and nutrition programs, coordinating research efforts with the Public Health Service, and problems in receiving information from his agency. Representatives from the Children's Defense Fund, the Food Research and Action Center, Public Advocates, Inc., and Satellite Clinic, Harlem Hospital also testified. Material submitted for the record was from organizations which gave oral testimony and from the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Mexican American Legal Defence and Educational Fund. (CB)