The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“FAIRNESS FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS ACT OF 2019” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1371-H1372 on Feb. 6, 2019.
The Department is primarily focused on food nutrition, with assistance programs making up 80 percent of its budget. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department implements too many regulations and restrictions and impedes the economy.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FAIRNESS FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS ACT OF 2019
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 866) to provide a lactation room in public buildings.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 866
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness For Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. LACTATION ROOM IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
(a) Lactation Room in Public Buildings.--Chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3318. Lactation room in public buildings
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Appropriate authority.--The term `appropriate authority' means the head of a Federal agency, the Architect of the Capitol, or other official authority responsible for the operation of a public building.
``(2) Covered public building.--The term `covered public building' means a public building (as defined in section 3301) that is open to the public and contains a public restroom, and includes a building listed in section 6301 or 5101.
``(3) Lactation room.--The term `lactation room' means a hygienic place, other than a bathroom, that--
``(A) is shielded from view;
``(B) is free from intrusion; and
``(C) contains a chair, a working surface, and, if the public building is otherwise supplied with electricity, an electrical outlet.
``(b) Lactation Room Required.--Except as provided in subsection (c), the appropriate authority of a covered public building shall ensure that the building contains a lactation room that is made available for use by members of the public to express breast milk.
``(c) Exceptions.--A covered public building may be excluded from the requirement in subsection (b) at the discretion of the appropriate authority if--
``(1) the public building--
``(A) does not contain a lactation room for employees who work in the building; and
``(B) does not have a room that could be repurposed as a lactation room or a space that could be made private using portable materials, at a reasonable cost; or
``(2) new construction would be required to create a lactation room in the public building and the cost of such construction is unfeasible.
``(d) No Unauthorized Entry.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize an individual to enter a public building or portion thereof that the individual is not otherwise authorized to enter.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item related to section 3316 the following new item:
``3318. Lactation room in public buildings.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Michigan
(Mr. Mitchell) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 866.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of my bill, the Fairness For Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2019, a bill that would require buildings that are either federally owned or leased to provide designated private and hygienic lactation spaces for nursing mothers.
The House passed this bill by voice vote when I offered it last Congress. The House also passed this bill in the 114th Congress as an amendment to the Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act of 2016. I appreciate the prior support of my colleagues, and I hope they will join me today in support of this important legislation once again.
For years, Federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have encouraged breastfeeding. The benefits are so great that the Affordable Care Act amended Federal law to require employers to provide a designated, non-bathroom space for returning employees to pump breast milk for their newborns, ensuring that new mothers would be able to continue the essential practice even after returning to work.
My bill would extend this requirement to include not only employees, but visitors and guests to Federal facilities across the Nation. Actually, Federal facilities visited by millions of Americans and others should lead the way.
My bill does not require the expenditure of Federal funds or require space to be mandated. It would simply allow visitors to Federal buildings to make use of spaces that are already available to Federal employees or to access similar spaces within those buildings.
In Washington, D.C., alone, there are millions of tourists who visit Federal sites, such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian Institution. Increasingly, families understand the unique benefits of breastfeeding as encouraged by Federal agencies and programs, and visitors to these buildings who have newborns and babies should have a private space to breastfeed or pump.
The benefits of breastfeeding are well-documented. Breast milk contains antibodies and hormones that boost babies' immune systems. Studies have shown lower risks of asthma, diabetes, respiratory infections, and other diseases among breastfed babies.
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Breastfeeding also has benefits for nursing mothers, who, research has shown, have lower risks of diabetes and certain forms of cancer.
Given the significant health benefits of breastfeeding for both baby and mother already recognized in Federal policy, my bill is a logical step to ensure that visitors to Federal sites have access to clean, hygienic, and private spaces to nurse or pump.
It is also important to ensure that lactation spaces are accessible to individuals with disabilities. While the Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to Federal buildings, the lactation spaces required by my bill would be subject to a similar law, the Architectural Barriers Act, which requires buildings and facilities that are designed, built, or altered with Federal dollars or leased by Federal agencies, to be accessible to individuals with disabilities whenever possible.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I join my colleague in support of H.R. 866, which provides that federally managed buildings or federally owned buildings open to the public nursing rooms that are available.
The bill would apply to buildings that are already open to the public and which have nursing rooms for employees yet somehow do not manage to provide those to the general public, and they should. The requirements would not apply if the existing space cannot feasibly be opened.
As the gentlewoman notes, it does not create additional cost.
The legislation passed the House last Congress by voice vote and, if enacted, will help visiting mothers to our facilities in both the capital here and throughout the Nation.
Madam Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I urge the Senate to finally take up this legislation. To move it forward, I join my colleague in saying that it is about time that we open up the nursing rooms in Federal facilities to the general public in support of the care of newborns and young children.
Madam Speaker, I have no remaining speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, we have had this act come up in a Republican House. It has now come up in a Democratic House. What more do we need in order for it to be clear that this is, shall we say, motherhood legislation and that the whole House is for it?
Madam Speaker, I have no remaining speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 866.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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