[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 187 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1496-E1497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING ROSIE HARRIS AND HER OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO MODEL 
                                CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 21, 2019

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, every so often I find myself in awe of 
our next generation. Just recently, I had the opportunity to read a 
presentation by Rosie Harris during her pa1iicipation in the Model 
Congress program as a member of the Dalton School Delegation. It was 
inspiring and so I would like to share her authorization speech as well 
as her legislative proposal, the Menstrual Parity Act of 2019. If this 
is the leadership and vision we can expect from the next generation, I 
believe we are indeed in good hands.
  ``Hello. I am Representative Harris. Friends, colleagues, I rise to 
introduce the Menstrual Parity Act of 2019. Half of our country is 
female and on average, female bodied people menstruate once a month for 
40 years. In this country, women have been treated as second class 
citizens since the beginning of time. While we have mad some progress, 
and there are plenty of other areas that need work. My bill proposes 
one small but incredibly important aspect of the fight towards 
equality--a step towards economic equality.''
  ``This is simple. The Menstrual Parity Act of 2019 does the 
following: In any place we have facilities open to the public (ie. 
parks, libraries, you name it), where toilets or bathrooms are made 
available, this act would require that if toilet paper is provided for 
free, menstrual products would be provided for free as well. It's 
simple but meaningful progress. At the federal level, we require it. At 
the state level, we will reimburse the entire costs of it. And that's 
that.''
  ``And you might ask, well, Harris, how would you guarantee this? 
Expansion of Title IX, a federal civil rights law passed in 1972 
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or 
federally funded programs. Here are a few facts just to put this in 
context: On average, women earn 80 cents on the dollar to men, 
according to the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, as 
reliable a source as exists; Women are 23.6 percent more likely to be 
in poverty than men; and it is estimated that the lifetime cost for 
only menstruation is over 18,000 dollars, which have the country 
doesn't have to pay, and is a whole lot of money for one individual.''
  ``Some concerns you might have. It's expensive. The Federal annual 
budget is over 3 trillion dollars, so in the big scheme of things, this 
is really not that much money for government. Surely the richest 
country in the history of the world could afford to make basic 
menstrual products available, as they do with toilet paper, another 
basic hygienic product. Toilet paper is expensive too, and it turns 
out, you need toilet paper much more often than menstrual products. It 
is cheaper to pay for a few more tampons than to cover an emergency 
room visit for a women suffering from Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) from a 
lack of access to sufficient menstrual products. You may say this is 
too big government. I would argue that it is not big government 
providing toilet paper, and once we enact this law, before you know it, 
it will be shocking to people that we didn't do this before.''
  ``Having access to hygienic products is a basic sanitary need so 
those of us who menstruate can stay healthy. When there is not access 
to appropriate menstrual products, often products are used for too 
long, which could lead to extreme risk of contracting TSS, or things 
like brown paper bags, or wash cloths are used in their place, which is 
not safe.''
  ``I'd ask you to consider, especially if you are not directly 
affected by the measures in this bill, what this bill might mean to 
your mothers, or daughters, or partners, and friends. Finally, this 
bill will be a message to all in our country of the importance of 
women's health--after all, you wouldn't be here without us. I ask for 
your support and thank you for your consideration. I yield back the 
balance of my time to the chair.''


 The Dalton Model Congress 2019--House Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

       Name: Rosie Harris.
       Title of the Bill: The Menstrual Parity Act of 2019.
       Delegation: The Dalton School.
       Committee: Education and the Workforce.
       Be It Enacted by the Dalton Model Congress . . .
       Preamble: Whereas women make up half of the population of 
     the United States, whereas women on average have their period 
     on a monthly basis for 40 years, whereas women on average 
     earn only 80 cents of every dollar men earn for the same 
     work, whereas 13.6% of women live in poverty, whereas women 
     are 23.6% more likely to be in poverty than men, whereas 
     17.5% of children Jive in poverty who are disproportionately 
     dependent on women to raise them, whereas menstruation 
     involves costs that generally incur every month, whereas 
     obtaining full equality for women necessitates economic 
     equality, whereas it is estimated that the lifetime cost of a 
     period can be over $18,000, and whereas toilet paper is 
     available in every public bathroom in the country, be it 
     resolved, that this committee authorizes such sums as 
     necessary so that every public bathroom that provides toilet 
     paper also provide appropriate menstrual products.
       Section 1 Short Title: This Act may be cited as the ``The 
     Menstrual Parity Act of 2019''.
       Section 2 Definitions: Accommodations include all public 
     facilities that are accessible to the general public, and 
     provide access to bathrooms with toilets.
       Section 2 Federal Accommodations: Every federal public 
     accommodation that provides free toilet paper must also 
     provide free menstrual products.
       Sub-Section A: Menstrual products must be refilled as often 
     as toilet paper.
       Section 3 State Accommodations: Every state public 
     accommodation that provides free toilet paper, who also 
     provide free menstrual products that are made as available as 
     toilet paper, will be reimbursed in full for the menstrual 
     products.
       Sub-Section A: Menstrual products must be refilled as often 
     as toilet paper.
       Section 4 Enforcement: Title IX of the Education Amendments 
     Act of 1972 shall be expanded to include enforcement of the 
     provisions from Sections 2 and 3.
       Section 5 Appropriations: The Committee on Appropriations 
     shall provide such sums as necessary for (1) public 
     accommodations that receive appropriations for toilet paper 
     to be able to meet this new mandate and (2) for the Title IX 
     expansion.
       Section 6 Enactment: This bill will be enacted 91 days 
     after passage.

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