[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 125 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S3463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 306--RECOGNIZING THAT THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO 
 SUPPORT AND EMPOWER MOTHERS IN THE WORKFORCE BY INVESTING IN THE MOM 
                                ECONOMY

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. Duckworth) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 306

       Whereas mothers are an essential part of the workforce and 
     economy of the United States;
       Whereas 2,500,000 women left the workforce in the first 
     year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to 1,800,000 men, 
     largely as a result of the burdens of childcare, work, and 
     remote learning;
       Whereas maternal employment fell by 15.7 percent as a 
     result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to paternal 
     employment, which fell by 9.6 percent in the same time 
     period;
       Whereas at least \4/10\ of women report having experienced 
     gender discrimination at work;
       Whereas, on average, women are paid 77 cents for every 
     dollar paid to men;
       Whereas Black women, Latinas, Native women, and many 
     communities of Asian-American and Pacific-Islander women 
     experience higher poverty rates and higher wage gaps compared 
     to White, non-Hispanic men;
       Whereas women occupy close to \2/3\ of jobs that pay the 
     Federal minimum wage or just a few dollars above it;
       Whereas even 1 percent of mothers leaving the workforce 
     would result in an estimated $8,700,000,000 economic fallout 
     for families;
       Whereas strong investments in childcare are essential for 
     the full employment of women, and the gross domestic product 
     of the United States would increase by 10 to 15 basis points 
     with such investments;
       Whereas \1/2\ of the families in the United States with 
     children under the age of 18 years have a mother who 
     contributes at least 40 percent of household earnings;
       Whereas mothers of color play a vital role in the financial 
     stability of their families, with 79 percent of Black 
     mothers, 64 percent of Native American mothers, 49 percent of 
     Latina mothers, and 43 percent of Asian-American and Pacific-
     Islander mothers serving as breadwinners;
       Whereas, in addition to the economic security that mothers 
     provide for their families, mothers are more than 3 times as 
     likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the housework 
     and caregiving in their households;
       Whereas, in addition to caregiving for children, mothers 
     disproportionately shoulder unpaid caregiving 
     responsibilities for older relatives and other family members 
     with disabilities;
       Whereas women are twice as likely as men to say that taking 
     time off had a negative impact on their professional 
     development;
       Whereas industries dominated by women disproportionately 
     fail to provide family-friendly workplace benefits such as 
     paid family and medical leave, health insurance, and 
     retirement plans;
       Whereas 44 percent of workers are not eligible for unpaid, 
     job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons 
     under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
     2601 et seq.);
       Whereas 3 of 10 women without access to paid leave exit the 
     workforce after giving birth;
       Whereas paid leave policies can reduce the number of women 
     leaving their jobs by 20 percent during the first year after 
     welcoming a child and up to 50 percent after 5 years;
       Whereas mothers sometimes find childcare costs are almost 
     as much as their paychecks, creating a financial incentive 
     for mothers to leave the workforce in exchange for childcare 
     duties;
       Whereas 40 percent of parents have gone into debt due to 
     the high costs of childcare;
       Whereas the childcare crisis costs the United States 
     $122,000,000,000 each year, including $78,000,000,000 in lost 
     earnings and job search expenses, $23,000,000,000 in lost 
     workforce productivity, and $21,000,000,000 in lost tax 
     revenue;
       Whereas a significant investment in childcare is 
     simultaneously job creating and job enabling, creating good 
     jobs and supporting parental employment;
       Whereas, by encouraging women to remain in the workforce 
     full time, access to paid leave and childcare significantly 
     boosts mothers' lifetime earning potential;
       Whereas the 2021 temporary expansion of the child tax 
     credit lifted 3,700,000 children out of poverty;
       Whereas families used the child tax credit to cover routine 
     expenses, improve nutrition, decrease reliance on credit 
     cards and other high-risk financial services, and make long-
     term educational investments; and
       Whereas families of color saw the largest quality of life 
     improvements due to the expansion of the child tax credit in 
     2021: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States needs to prioritize a Mom Economy 
     that invests in the caregiving infrastructure required to 
     adequately support and empower mothers in the workforce and 
     sustain a thriving economy;
       (2) mothers, especially mothers of color, face systemic 
     economic and social inequalities that restrict their ability 
     to balance parenting responsibilities with workplace roles 
     and limit their professional advancement;
       (3) mothers play an integral role not only in the financial 
     well-being of their families but in the productivity of the 
     American economy as a whole;
       (4) the United States should invest in its mothers by 
     expanding and developing the social safety net in order to 
     secure meaningful and sustainable economic growth, 
     including--
       (A) robust paid family and medical leave plans for all 
     workers, including--
       (i) paid parental leave following the birth of a child or 
     the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, 
     provided in equal amounts for all parents regardless of 
     gender; and
       (ii) paid leave policies that can be used for family 
     caregiving and workers' own medical leave;
       (B) paid menstrual leave and remote work accommodations for 
     workers experiencing debilitating menstrual or menopause 
     symptoms;
       (C) investment in the childcare industry with the goal of 
     providing universal childcare and early learning, including--
       (i) robust funding for Head Start and Early Head Start 
     programs;
       (ii) Federal financial support for childcare programs to 
     guarantee all families have access to affordable and high 
     quality child care; and
       (iii) commitments to pay childcare workers a dignified, 
     living wage;
       (D) access to nutritious food as a human right, including 
     through--
       (i) boosting SNAP maximum and minimum benefits and removing 
     barriers to access, including time restrictions and 
     additional work requirements; and
       (ii) increasing funds for school meals and other nutrition 
     programs to combat child hunger and making school meals more 
     accessible;
       (E) the implementation and expansion of child poverty 
     reduction tools that improve income security, infant and 
     maternal health, and educational and economic outcomes into 
     the second generation, including--
       (i) a permanent expansion of the child tax credit; and
       (ii) improvements in the earned income tax credit, which 
     lifts millions of people above the poverty line each year and 
     boosts labor force participation among single mothers;
       (F) addressing the Nation's maternal mortality crisis 
     through critical investments in maternal health care, 
     including ensuring access to the full range of reproductive 
     health care and family planning;
       (G) raising the Federal minimum wage for all workers, 
     including tipped workers, and adjusting it on a yearly basis 
     to keep pace with inflation; and
       (H) investments in legislation that ensures protections for 
     LGBTQ+ mothers in the workplace, such as the Equality Act, 
     and reduces wage discrimination, such as the Paycheck 
     Fairness Act; and
       (5) United States policymakers should include a specific 
     focus on working mothers in future policymaking, beyond the 
     aforementioned policies, including with regard to economic 
     policy, fiscal policy, and social safety net policy, in order 
     to ensure that working mothers and other caregivers can 
     continue to balance their roles as family anchors and 
     caregivers with their work and economic contributions to both 
     their families and the economy of the United States.

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