Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, every mom returning to the workforce after childbirth should be provided the time and space that they need to safely and privately pump breast milk at work.
As a nurse, I understand how critical breastfeeding is to the health of both mom and baby.
Without sufficient workplace protections, breastfeeding employees are at risk of serious and painful health consequences and reduced milk supply. They can also face harassment, docked pay, and even job loss.
Yet each year, millions of workers, including teachers, nurses, farmworkers, and salaried employees are denied this basic protection due to an unintended loophole in current law.
I am grateful to Chairwoman Maloney for her leadership, and I am proud to join her in leading the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act to close the coverage gap and ensure all breastfeeding moms are protected and supported as they return to work.
This bill is bipartisan and has a broad coalition of support from public health, labor, and civil rights groups, as well as from the business community.
It is also urgently needed, providing commonsense, necessary protections for working moms, as well as more clarity and predictability for employers.
Returning to work after childbirth already poses many inherent challenges for moms and their families, and we must remove barriers for parents making the best choices for their families and themselves.
I urge my colleagues to join me and vote ``yes'' on this important legislation.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record three letters in support of the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act from the National Education Association, the National Partnership for Women and Families, and the March of Dimes. National Education Association, Washington, DC, September 24, 2021. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: The 3 million members of the National Education Association, who educate and support 50 million students across the nation, urge you to vote YES on the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act, H.R. 3110. Votes on this issue may be included in the NEA Report Card for the 117th Congress.
The 2010 Break Time law provided important protections that ensured employees would have reasonable break time and a private place to pump breast milk. However, the law excludes certain categories of employees, including educators; in fact, nearly one in four women of childbearing age is not covered by the Break Time law. The PUMP Act would:
Protect the nearly 9 million employees who are not now covered by the Break Time law;
Require employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space for breastfeeding employees to pump during the workday;
Provide employers with clarity on when pumping time must be paid and when it may be unpaid, leaving in place existing law protecting many salaried workers and clarifying that any time spent pumping while the employee is working must be counted as hours worked; and
Ensure that nursing mothers have access to remedies that are available for other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Decades of scientific research tell us that breastfeeding helps put children on the path to life-long health and wellness. This strong foundation, in turn, can pave the way for their future success in school. The PUMP Act supports children's early development, while also recognizing that breastfeeding mothers are crucial breadwinners for their families. We urge you to vote YES on the PUMP Act. Sincerely, Marc Egan, Director of Government Relations, National Education Association. ____ September 24, 2021.
Dear Members of Congress: The National Partnership for Women & Families is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization committed to improving the lives of women and families by achieving equity for all women. Since our creation as the Women's Legal Defense Fund in 1971, we have fought for every significant advance for equal opportunity in the workplace, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). We write in strong support of H.R. 3110, Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act. This bipartisan legislation will support breastfeeding employees and their families, improving infant health and the economic security of women and families.
Once pregnant workers return to the workplace after giving birth, many will need the ability to pump breastmilk during the workday. While the Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space for certain breastfeeding employees to pump, persistent coverage gaps exist. Roughly one in four women of childbearing age are not covered by current law. Since breastfeeding is associated with a host of improved health outcomes, expanding these protections to the 9 million workers currently excluded from the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law is essential to support mothers in the workplace. In addition to closing the coverage gap, the PUMP Act will also clarify for employers when pumping time must be paid and when it may be unpaid, and extend the remedies available for other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act to nursing employees, ensuring that working parents' rights are protected.
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act is crucial because it will fill the gaps in the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law, allowing breastfeeding employees to remain in the workforce while keeping their families healthy. It is time to clarify and strengthen existing federal protections for breastfeeding employees by passing the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. Sincerely, Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families. ____ March of Dimes, September 24, 2021. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Hon. Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader Schumer and Leader McConnell: On behalf of March of Dimes, the nonprofit organization leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies, we urge swift passage of the bi-partisan Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (S. 1658/H.R. 3110).
We began that fight more than 80 years ago as an organization dedicated to eradicating polio in the U.S., a goal that we achieved. We continue that fight today as we work to address some of the biggest threats to moms and babies, such as premature birth and maternal mortality, through research, education, programs and advocacy.
March of Dimes' ongoing work to improve maternal and infant health is more important than ever as our nation is in the midst of a dire maternal and infant health crisis. Rates of preterm birth are increasing, the U.S. is one of the most dangerous places to give birth in the developed world, and there are unacceptable disparities in birth outcomes between women and infants of color and their White peers. We also know, the health and well-being of mothers and infants are inextricably linked. By improving the health of, and conditions for, women before, during and between pregnancies, we can improve outcomes for both them and their infants. But we have many challenges before us.
One of those challenges is ensuring the ability for a mother to feed her infant after returning to the workplace. When a new mother returns to work after having a baby, she will need continued support in the workplace to ensure she can continue to breastfeed her child if she chooses. Exclusive breastfeeding has a significant impact the health of the baby, as well as benefits for moms. However, returning to work can make continuing the breastfeeding relationship between mothers and their infants very difficult, especially if employers don't provide employees with adequate break time and an appropriate space to express breastmilk during the workday.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) included provisions that required certain employers to provide break time and a place for most hourly wage-earning and some salaried employee to pump at work. The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act would extend those supports to the 9 million employees that were excluded from the ACA's protections and provide for enforcement of this benefit. These nurses, teachers, retail workers, and managers across a number of industries deserve the same protections as other working mothers. March of Dimes proudly endorses the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (S. 1658/H.R. 3110).
Thank you again for the opportunity to express March of Dimes' strong support for this bipartisan legislation under consideration, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (S. 1658/H.R. 3110). We urge the swift advancement of this important bill and look forward to its passage. Sincerely, Stacey Brayboy, Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Government Affairs.
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Ms. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I thank these groups for their support of the bill and for their tireless efforts on behalf of working moms.
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