[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 26 (Thursday, February 11, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E123-E124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MARSHALL PLAN FOR MOMS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 11, 2021

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a desperate cry for help 
and a call to action for the millions of moms who have been pushed to 
the brink of economic, social, and emotional disaster due to the COVID-
19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, moms--especially moms of 
color--have been facing the brunt of the economic fall out of this 
pandemic as a result of existing social barriers and policy failures 
that have been compounded by enduring racism and gender injustices.
  What a year can do. At the beginning of 2020, even in the face of 
continued gender and racial wage gaps, women made up the majority of 
the workforce for the first time in almost a decade. A year later, 
women have lost over 5.4 million net jobs and account for 55 percent of 
overall net job loss since the start of the pandemic. Today, there are 
over 2 million fewer women in the labor force than there were before 
the pandemic. The pandemic has triggered a financial and emotional 
calamity for America's moms, who are shouldering the majority of child 
care, domestic work, and remote school responsibilities--and this 
against the backdrop of women who were already overrepresented in low-
wage jobs and underrepresented in high-wage jobs.
  We know that mother's wages are key to their families' economic 
security and survival, even as they are leaving the workforce in droves 
or are reducing work hours--otherwise known as the ``she-cession''. 
American moms are breadwinners in nearly half of families with children 
under 18, and yet the wage gap for moms is larger than for women 
overall, such that moms with full-time, year-round jobs are paid 70 
cents for every dollar paid to dads. Adding to the tragedy is that moms 
permanently leaving the workforce are disrupting their career 
trajectory and endangering their future Social Security earnings and 
other potential retirement income. Furthermore, child nutrition is 
inextricably linked to mothers in the workforce, such that almost one 
in four children experienced food insecurity in 2020. This is a moral 
failure.
  Madam Speaker, moms are screaming out for help. I hear constantly 
from other moms that this is just not sustainable. The unprecedented 
burdens of child care, work, remote learning--on top of the social 
isolation--have strained the mental and emotional health of moms. As a 
mom of two young boys, this issue is especially personal to me. Moms 
everywhere are saying: something has to give, before something 
ultimately breaks.

[[Page E124]]

  That is why I am introducing the Marshall Plan for Moms to revitalize 
and restore moms in the workforce. After all, any meaningful and 
sustainable economic recovery from this pandemic must recognize and 
rebuild moms in the labor force. As such, the Marshall Plan calls for 
robust paid leave; saving our child care industry, with a vision toward 
universal child care and early learning; investment in our education 
system, including broadband connections; strengthening child poverty 
tools, such as child tax credit and earned income tax credit; expanded 
unemployment insurance benefits; strong SNAP benefits; federal minimum 
wage increase to $15; and mental health support for moms.
  We need a Marshall Plan for Moms because we need transformational 
structural change. Moms, especially moms of color, were already 
fighting an uphill battle against societal norms and economic 
injustices. They are hurting today, because, like so many other things, 
this pandemic has exacerbated already existing injustices and 
inequities.
  Madam Speaker, as you have always said: When Women Succeed, America 
Succeeds. For the sake of our economy, we must prioritize addressing 
this precipice facing moms and immediately implement the Marshall Plan 
for Moms, so that moms have a fighting chance, and that they are 
protected against any future economic calamities. I urge all my 
colleagues to support this legislation.

                          ____________________