[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 121 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 121

 Recognizing that the United States needs a Marshall Plan for Moms in 
       order to revitalize and restore mothers in the workforce.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 2021

  Ms. Meng (for herself, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Nadler, Mr. 
 Khanna, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mrs. Carolyn 
B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Norton, Ms. Speier, 
 Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Escobar, Mrs. 
 Watson Coleman, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Clarke of 
  New York, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Beatty, and Mr. Bowman) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
 and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Ways and 
    Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing that the United States needs a Marshall Plan for Moms in 
       order to revitalize and restore mothers in the workforce.

Whereas any relief and long-term recovery from the economic fallout of the 
        COVID-19 pandemic must recognize, rebuild, and return mothers to the 
        workforce;
Whereas women, and especially working mothers, are facing the brunt of the 
        economic fallout of the pandemic as a result of existing social barriers 
        and policy failures that have been compounded by enduring racism and 
        gender injustices, such as--

    (1) the lack of a care infrastructure, including high child care costs 
and child care deserts;

    (2) the lack of family-supportive workplaces;

    (3) the lack of a national paid leave policy; and

    (4) gender and racial pay inequities;

Whereas, at the beginning of 2020, women made up the majority of the workforce 
        for the first time in almost a decade, even as they continued to 
        unjustly face gender and racial wage gaps;
Whereas women are overrepresented in low-wage jobs and underrepresented in high-
        wage jobs, making up two-thirds of minimum-wage earners;
Whereas Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair 
        Pay Act in 2009, but the gender and racial wage gaps still persist in 
        every industry, at every level of employment, regardless of education 
        level or experience;
Whereas women's wages are key to their families' economic security and survival;
Whereas, in 2019, before COVID-19 hit the United States, there were roughly 
        9,700,000 working mothers with a child under the age of 6;
Whereas mothers' earnings are inextricably linked to the families' earnings, 
        such that per parents' labor force participation rates--

    (1) even 1 percent of mothers leaving the workforce would result in an 
estimated $8,700,000,000 economic fallout for working families; and

    (2) even 1 percent of full-time working mothers reducing their work to 
part-time would mean an estimated $5,000,000,000 less in wages per year;

Whereas total reductions in women in the workforce participation can lead to 
        $64,500,000,000 in lost income per year;
Whereas even before the pandemic, working mothers faced continued biases and 
        stigmas in the workplace that caregiving responsibilities will 
        negatively impact their work performance, and now these concerns are 
        intensified with increased family demands;
Whereas Asian-American and Pacific Islander women, in particular Southeast Asian 
        and Pacific Islander women, get paid as low as $0.50 for every dollar a 
        White man makes, illustrating some of the widest wage gaps among all 
        women and a pay gap that increases for Asian-American women even more 
        with age;
Whereas Black women make only $0.63 for every dollar a White man makes, and can 
        lose $946,000 in their lifetimes;
Whereas Latina women earn $0.55 for every dollar earned a White man, and may 
        lose over $1,100,000 in wages over the course of a 40-year career;
Whereas Native American women are paid $0.60 for every dollar a White man makes 
        and are murdered at 10 times the rate of the national average, even 
        though financial independence and security can increase chances of 
        escaping violence for these women;
Whereas women of color play a vital role in the financial stability of their 
        families, and any disruptions to their earnings would be detrimental to 
        the welfare of their families;
Whereas American mothers are breadwinners in nearly half of families with 
        children under 18, including 48 percent of White mothers, 43 percent of 
        Asian-American and Pacific Islander mothers, 79 percent of Black 
        mothers, 48 percent of Latina mothers, and 64 percent of Native American 
        mothers, and yet the wage gap for mothers is larger than for women 
        overall, such that mothers with full-time, year-round jobs are paid 70 
        cents for every dollar paid to fathers;
Whereas women of color experience higher poverty rates and higher wage gaps than 
        their White counterparts due to disproportionate representation in 
        minimum wage jobs;
Whereas women have suffered the majority of pandemic-related job losses, wherein 
        since February 2020, women have lost over 5,400,000 net jobs and account 
        for 55 percent of overall net job loss since the start of the crisis;
Whereas during the pandemic, mothers permanently leaving the workforce or 
        reducing work hours are disrupting their career trajectory and 
        endangering their future Social Security earnings and other potential 
        retirement income;
Whereas child nutrition is inextricably and intimately related to mothers in the 
        workforce, such that almost one in four children experienced food 
        insecurity in 2020;
Whereas mothers are more than 3 times as likely as fathers to be responsible for 
        most of the housework and caregiving, and are 1.5 times more likely than 
        fathers to be spending an extra 3 or more hours a day on housework and 
        child care, which is equivalent to 20 hours a week, or half a full-time 
        job;
Whereas single mothers are more likely than other parents to do all the 
        housework and child care in their household, and are more likely than 
        mothers overall to claim financial insecurity as one of their top 
        concerns;
Whereas the pandemic has signaled a financial and emotional calamity for 
        America's mothers, who are shouldering the majority of child care, 
        domestic work, and remote schooling responsibilities;
Whereas throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, women of color work on the frontlines 
        as essential workers and across a variety of industries, such as nursing 
        assistants, home health aides, and child care educators and providers;
Whereas millions of Americans are suffering financially due to the COVID-19 
        pandemic, but women of color are experiencing job loss at higher rates 
        than their White counterparts;
Whereas 100 percent of net jobs lost in December 2020 were jobs held by women of 
        color, with women losing 156,000 jobs, and there were over 2,000,000 
        fewer women in the labor force in December than there were before the 
        pandemic began;
Whereas women of color are disproportionately represented in many industries 
        that lack critical benefits like paid sick leave, including food 
        services, hospitality, retail, and social assistance, and are 
        experiencing significant job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics January 2021 unemployment 
        data, the jobless rate for Black women and Latina women aged 20 and over 
        is over 60 percent higher than their White counterparts;
Whereas Asian Americans recorded the highest jobless rates among women in the 
        last 6 months of 2020, even though prepandemic, their average 
        unemployment rate was the lowest, and Asian-American women aged 16 and 
        above were hit hardest, making up 44 percent of unemployed women for at 
        least 6 months;
Whereas child care is the lifeline for working mothers, and over three-fourths 
        of mothers with children under age 10 say child care is one of their top 
        3 challenges during COVID-19;
Whereas it is estimated that as many as 4,500,000 child care slots could be 
        permanently lost due to the pandemic, affecting at least 2,250,000 
        families;
Whereas as many as 55,000,000 students were forced into remote learning as a 
        result of abrupt school closures;
Whereas many parents are providing remote learning supervision for younger 
        children, and 80 percent of mothers of kids under 12 years of age have 
        said they are the lead parent supervising remote learning;
Whereas interruptions by school closures and child care have disproportionately 
        impacted more women than men, forcing women to reduce work hours, take a 
        leave of absence, or permanently leave the workforce;
Whereas 95 percent of the child care workforce is comprised of women, and nearly 
        two-thirds of child care workers with children report accessing public 
        support programs and often struggle to afford high-quality child care 
        for their own families;
Whereas 60 percent of businesses in the child care industry are minority owned;
Whereas essential workers who are single parents face additional challenges and 
        financial burdens regarding their need for affordable child care;
Whereas a significant investment in child care is simultaneously job creating 
        and job enabling, creating good jobs and supporting parental employment;
Whereas access to paid leave in the pandemic has been linked to a reduction in 
        the spread of COVID-19 by as many as 15,000 new cases per day where 
        people were able to use paid leave, and paid leave has prevented 
        countless evictions, hospitalizations, hungry children, and compounded 
        stressors;
Whereas paid leave saves jobs, keeps women and caregivers in the workforce, and 
        is a cost-effective tool for public health and economic recovery;
Whereas the unprecedented burdens of child care, work, and remote learning have 
        strained mental and emotional health for mothers;
Whereas the stressors on mothers are further multiplied by poverty, race, 
        ethnicity, being a single parent, or having children who have special 
        needs, but lack social support during COVID-19; and
Whereas more than three quarters of parents with children ages 8 to 12 say the 
        uncertainty of the school year is causing them stress: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the United States needs a Marshall Plan for Moms in 
        order to revitalize and restore mothers in the workforce;
            (2) mothers, especially mothers of color, have been pushed 
        to the brink of economic, social, and emotional collapse during 
        the pandemic because of the existing economic and social 
        inequalities women have long faced;
            (3) any relief and long-term recovery package to address 
        the COVID-19 crisis must recognize and rebuild moms in the 
        workforce, in order to secure meaningful and sustainable 
        economic recovery, by including, at a minimum--
                    (A) a robust paid leave plan, which is essential to 
                securing families' physical and financial health, 
                including emergency paid leave policies that would 
                create a path toward permanent paid leave solutions, 
                such as reinstating the mandate on emergency paid 
                leave, and ensuring that it includes employers with 
                more than 500 employees, and that it can be used for 
                paid sick, family, and medical leave to help parents 
                with additional caregiving responsibilities, 
                including--
                            (i) when a child or loved one's school or 
                        care center is closed, participating in remote 
                        learning when given a choice, or a hybrid 
                        learning model;
                            (ii) for people who have or are caring for 
                        people with COVID-19 symptoms or are 
                        quarantining due to exposure;
                            (iii) for people who themselves are 
                        experiencing health issues due to COVID-19; and
                            (iv) for people needing to take time to get 
                        the vaccine;
                    (B) rebuilding and stabilizing the child care 
                industry, with a vision toward universal child care and 
                early learning, which are essential to economic 
                recovery and bolstering women in the labor force, 
                including immediate investments to--
                            (i) support and ensure child care programs 
                        do not close their doors permanently and can 
                        reopen;
                            (ii) provide essential duty pay for child 
                        care workers in programs that remain open 
                        during the crisis;
                            (iii) safely meet all new regulations; and
                            (iv) fund Head Start and Early Head Start 
                        to meet sanitation, personnel costs, and 
                        infrastructure needs to deliver programs that 
                        safely serve families during the pandemic;
                    (C) major investments in our education systems, 
                which must be made in order to safely reopen schools 
                and campuses, by providing funding to support and 
                protect the safety and health of educators, support 
                staff, students, and families through--
                            (i) equipping students with hotspots and 
                        devices to help narrow the digital divide and 
                        close the homework gap;
                            (ii) directing funds for personal 
                        protective equipment and building upgrades;
                            (iii) putting in place the infrastructure 
                        and resources to test, trace, and isolate new 
                        cases;
                            (iv) offering mental health resources for 
                        students, families, and staff; and
                            (v) supplying other investments for 
                        children with disabilities;
                    (D) access to nutritious food as a health and human 
                right, including through--
                            (i) boosting SNAP maximum and minimum 
                        benefits;
                            (ii) rescinding all SNAP rule changes that 
                        would limit, terminate, or compromise benefits; 
                        and
                            (iii) increasing funds for school meals and 
                        other nutrition programs to meet an 
                        unprecedented demand;
                    (E) child poverty reduction tools that are 
                necessary for families' economic security and must 
                include recurring child benefits and an expanded and 
                improved child tax credit and earned income tax credit;
                    (F) an expanded unemployment insurance program that 
                must benefit struggling workers, including those 
                experiencing long-term unemployment;
                    (G) raising the Federal minimum wage to $15 per 
                hour or higher for all minimum wage workers; and
                    (H) access to mental health support for mothers, 
                which is essential to maintaining the health of the 
                family; and
            (4) United States employers and policymakers must 
        prioritize addressing the economic cliff facing mothers and 
        make permanent the aforementioned policies so that mothers are 
        protected against any future economic calamities.
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