[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 97 (Friday, June 4, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MENSTRUAL EQUITY FOR ALL ACT OF 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 4, 2021

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise today to announce that on May 28th, 
Menstrual Hygiene Day, I introduced my Menstrual Equity for All Act of 
2021. No one should be inhibited from participating fully in daily life 
due to lack of access to menstrual products. Safe, affordable access to 
period products is a basic need for over half the population, moreover, 
it is a human right.
  Madam Speaker, period poverty permeates and cuts across a swath of 
issues--from educational equity to criminal justice reform; from 
economic and housing justice to immigration. The tragic reality for too 
many individuals in our nation, is that the cost of menstrual products 
is a barrier to managing monthly menstruation in a safe and dignified 
manner.
  In the United States, 25 million women live at or below the poverty 
line. A 2019 study found that among low-income women in a major U.S. 
city, nearly half had to choose between buying food and spending money 
on menstrual products. One in five teens have struggled to afford 
period products, or were not able to purchase them at all. As a result, 
over 80 percent of teens say they missed school or know someone else 
who has. A recent study revealed that 1 in 10 college students was 
unable to afford menstrual products, and those who experienced period 
poverty on a monthly basis, were more likely to experience moderate to 
severe depression.
  Madam Speaker, menstruators from all walks of life, across our 
country are having to choose between their period or their dignity. In 
fact, a lawsuit filed against DHS's monstrous treatment of migrant 
children in its custody found that girls with periods were left to 
bleed through their clothes and denied showers for days on end. This is 
unconscionable. We must break the silence, raise awareness, and fight 
for menstrual equity for all--each and every day.
  My Menstrual Equity for All Act, is the first of its kind to 
comprehensively address the challenges of those experiencing period 
poverty. My bill would provide students from elementary school through 
postsecondary education free menstrual products, ensure that 
incarcerated individuals and detainees in federal, state, and local 
facilities have access to free menstrual products, allow homeless 
assistance provides to provide these products with federal grant funds, 
require Medicaid to cover the cost of menstrual products, direct large 
employers to provide free menstrual products in the workplace, and 
ensure that all public federal buildings provide free menstrual 
products in restrooms.
  Madam Speaker, we cannot address educational equity, economic 
justice, or infrastructure reform without addressing the barriers that 
prevent our social infrastructure from caring for the basic health care 
rights of our population. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation and join me in upholding this human right. We must work to 
end period poverty once and for all.

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