Small Airport Mothers' Rooms Act of 2019

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3362, the Small Airport Mothers' Rooms Act of 2019. This bill passed unanimously out of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in June, and I am pleased it is finally being brought to the floor.

While a growing number of airports have designated mothers' rooms, many nursing mothers still end up in a restroom or on the airport floor. When delays happen, passengers often have no control over how long they will be at the airport. For nursing mothers, these delays can make a difficult trip even more stressful. Making certain accommodations within the airport terminal is essential.

The bill extends the requirements of the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 by requiring small hub airports to provide clean facilities for mothers to nurse their children. The law requires that the area be located outside of a restroom and include a place to sit, a table, a sink or sanitizing equipment, and an electrical outlet. Importantly, the room must also be fully accessible to passengers with disabilities.

When fully enacted, this bill will ensure that 97 percent of airline passengers will have access to clean, sanitary, and accessible mothers' rooms.

The bill before us today also contains a provision recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration that will give airports that grow into small hubs sufficient time to comply with the law.

The bill has been endorsed by nearly 60 international, national, regional, State, and Tribal organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support from these organizations. Washington, DC, July 15, 2019.

Dear Congresswoman Miller: We, the undersigned organizations, thank you for introducing the Small Airports Mothers' Rooms Act of 2019. By leading Congress to protect and support breastfeeding, you demonstrate a commitment to our nation's families. Breastfeeding is a proven primary prevention strategy, building a foundation for life-long health and wellness. Breastfeeding parents who choose or need to travel should not have to struggle to find lactation spaces--no matter the size of the airport, risking their milk supply and thereby their ultimate breastfeeding success.

Building on the success of the Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Act, already being implemented in airports across the nation well ahead of the required 2021 implementation date, the Small Airport Mothers' Room Act of 2019 (H.R. 3362) would extend these provisions to small airports. Small airports would have two additional years to come into compliance, and would be able to use Airport Improvement Program funds for the purpose of complying with the new requirement.

Small hub airports would be required to provide a private, non-bathroom space in each terminal for breastfeeding people to express breast milk. The space must be accessible to persons with disabilities, available in each terminal building after the security checkpoint, and include a place to sit, a table or other flat surface, and an electrical outlet.

Human milk is the preferred and most appropriate ``First Food,'' adapting over time to meet the changing needs of the growing child. The United States Breastfeeding Committee joins the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and all major medical authorities in recommending that infants get no food or drink other than human milk for their first six months and continue to receive human milk for at least the first 1-2 years of life.

The evidence for the value of breastfeeding to children's and mother's health is scientific, solid, and continually being reaffirmed by new research. Compared with formula-fed children, those who are breastfed have a reduced risk of ear, skin, stomach, and respiratory infections; diarrhea; sudden infant death syndrome; and necrotizing enterocolitis. In the longer term, breastfed children have a reduced risk of obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, asthma, and childhood leukemia. Women who breastfed their children have a reduced long-term risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast and ovarian cancers.

Breastfeeding also provides a range of benefits for employers and society. A 2016 study of both maternal & pediatric health outcomes and associated costs based on 2012 breastfeeding rates showed that, if 90% of infants were breastfed according to medical recommendations, 3,340 deaths, $3 billion in medical costs, and $14.2 billion in costs of premature death would be prevented, annually!

For all of these reasons, The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding; the Institute of Medicine report, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention; and the National Prevention Strategy each call for promotion of breastfeeding-friendly environments. Yet in spite of this tremendous recognition--and laws in 50 states that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location--lactating people continue to face barriers, even harassment, when breastfeeding in public. And when away from their babies, airports are just one of many public places where they face challenges finding a clean, private space to pump.

We know that 80% of mothers intend to breastfeed, and 82.5% actually do breastfeed at birth. Yet only 25% of U.S. infants are still exclusively breastfed at six months of age. Most families today choose to breastfeed, but a range of obstacles can make it difficult to fit breastfeeding into parents' lives.

No matter what they're doing or where they are, breastfeeding people need to express milk every few hours in order to keep up their supply. Missing even one needed pumping session can have several undesirable consequences, including discomfort, leaking, inflammation and infection, decreased supply, and ultimately, breastfeeding cessation. As a result, returning to work often presents a significant barrier to breastfeeding.

Current federal law requires employers to provide nursing mothers who are nonexempt employees a private, non-bathroom location to express breast milk. Airport lactation spaces are therefore an important step to support employers that need to accommodate lactating travelers as well as lactating employees of the airport.

A growing number of airports have designated lactation spaces, yet many lactating people still end up in restrooms or on airport floors. Travelers rarely have control over how long they are in transit, making accessible accommodations within airports a critical priority. We are heartened to see the implementation of the FAM Act in large and medium hub airports and look forward to expanding similar requirements to small airports. This expansion supports, promotes, and protects breastfeeding in rural areas, further contributing to national public health goals.

The Small Airports Mothers' Rooms Act would help keep our nation's families healthy by ensuring that breastfeeding travelers and airport employees (in airports of all sizes) have access to appropriate facilities. This is an important step toward ensuring all families have the opportunity to reach their personal breastfeeding goals.

Again, we applaud your leadership in introducing the Small Airports Mothers' Rooms Act and stand ready to help you achieve its passage. Sincerely, CO-SIGNERS

International, National, & Tribal Organizations: 1000 Days; Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine; American Academy of Nursing; American Academy of Pediatrics; American Breastfeeding Institute; American College of Nurse-Midwives; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs; Association of State Public Health Nutritionists; Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal; Nurses; Baby-Friendly USA, Inc.; CHEER (Center for Health Equity, Education, and; Research); Every Mother, Inc.; HealthConnect One; Healthy Children Project, Inc.

Human Milk Banking Association of North America; International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners; Lamaze International; La Leche League Alliance for Breastfeeding Education; La Leche League USA, MomsRising; National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners; National WIC Association; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Breastfeeding Coalition; Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere, Inc.; United States Breastfeeding Committee; United States Lactation Consultant Association; Women-Inspired Systems' Enrichment.

Regional, State, & Local Organizations: Alabama Breastfeeding Committee; Alaska Breastfeeding Coalition; Alimentacion Segura Infantil (ASI); Appalachian Breastfeeding Network; Baobab Birth Collective; The Breastfeeding Center of Pittsburgh; Breastfeeding Coalition of Delaware; Breastfeeding Coalition of South Central Wisconsin; BreastfeedLA; Coalition of Oklahoma Breastfeeding Advocates; Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition; Colorado Lactation Consultant Association; Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition; Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics; Indiana Breastfeeding Coalition.

The Institute for the Advancement of Breastfeeding and Lactation Education; Kentuckiana Lactation Improvement Coalition; Lactation Improvement Network of Kentucky; Maine State Breastfeeding Coalition; Maryland Breastfeeding Coalition; Michigan Breastfeeding Network; Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition; Missouri Breastfeeding Coalition; Montana State Breastfeeding Coalition; Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast; New Hampshire Breastfeeding Task Force; New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force; New York City Breastfeeding Leadership Council, Inc.; New York Statewide Breastfeeding Coalition, Inc.; Ohio Breastfeeding Alliance; Southern Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition; Wisconsin Breastfeeding Coalition; Women's Rights and Empowerment Network.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3362 is a good bill and will make it easier for mothers traveling by air.

I want to thank the sponsor of this legislation, Mrs. Miller, for her leadership on this issue. I also want to thank Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Larsen of the Aviation Subcommittee for their bipartisan effort to bring this legislation to the floor.

I urge all Members to support H.R. 3362.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank Representative Miller for introducing this important bill that ensures mothers are accommodated, whether they are traveling to or from large, medium, or small hub airports.

As a father of two daughters and a grandfather of seven granddaughters, I believe it is vitally important that, when traveling, the stress level can be reduced tremendously if these rooms are available.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source