[House Report 115-24]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 115-24
======================================================================
FAIRNESS FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS ACT OF 2017
_______
March 7, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Shuster, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1174]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 1174) to provide a lactation room
in public buildings, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of Legislation........................................... 1
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Legislative History and Consideration............................ 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Advisory of Earmarks............................................. 4
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 4
Federal Mandate Statement........................................ 4
Preemption Clarification......................................... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Applicability of Legislative Branch.............................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation....................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
Purpose of Legislation
H.R. 1174, the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of
2017, provides for lactation rooms in publicly accessible
public buildings.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 1174, the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of
2017 would require public buildings, where it is feasible, to
provide designated private and hygienic lactation spaces for
nursing mothers that are available to the public. This bill
would only require nursing spaces if a building is open to the
public and if lactation rooms are available for federal
employees.
Under current practice, federal agencies provide a
designated, non-bathroom space for returning employees to pump
breastmilk for their newborns, ensuring that new mothers are
able to continue this practice even after returning to work.
This bill extends this requirement to include not just
employees, but visitors to federal facilities.
In Washington, D.C. alone, there are millions of tourists
who visit federal facilities. There are also visitors to
federal agencies for meetings and events. Increasingly,
families understand the unique benefits of breastfeeding, and
visitors to these buildings who have newborns and babies should
have a private space to breastfeed or pump. The benefits of
breastfeeding are well-documented--breastmilk contains
antibodies and hormones that boost babies' immune systems, and
studies have shown lower risks of asthma, diabetes, respiratory
infections, and other diseases among breastfed babies.
Moreover, breastfeeding also has benefits for nursing mothers,
who, research has shown, have lower risks of diabetes and
certain forms of cancer.
Hearings
No hearings were held on H.R. 1174.
Legislative History and Consideration
On February 16, 2017, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
introduced H.R. 1174, the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers
Act of 2017.
On February 28, 2017, the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure met in open session. The Committee ordered the
bill reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a
quorum present.
In 2016, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced H.R.
4439, the ``Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2016''. A
version of that language was included in H.R. 4487, the
``Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act of 2016'', which
passed the House of Representatives by voice vote on May 23,
2016.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires each committee report to include the
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for
and against. There were no recorded votes taken in connection
with consideration of H.R. 1174.
Committee Oversight Findings
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is
included in this report.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1174 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, March 6, 2017.
Hon. Bill Shuster,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1174, the Fairness
for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2017.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall, Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1174--Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2017
H.R. 1174 would require that all federal buildings that are
open to the public provide a space (other than a bathroom) to
be used by members of the public as a lactation area. This
requirement would only apply if federal employees working in
such a federal building have access to a lactation room. Under
current law, federal agencies are required to provide such a
room in federal workplaces that is shielded from view and free
from intrusion from coworkers and the public. In addition,
standards for the General Services Administration (GSA)
currently require the installation of lactation stations for
all newly constructed federal buildings, as well as those
undergoing building repairs, alterations, and modernizations.
Information from GSA suggests that a small percentage of
the total federal inventory is open to the public and, of
those, few have lactation rooms designated for use by federal
employees. CBO is unaware of any comprehensive information on
the number of lactation rooms in public buildings. Because CBO
expects that the bill's requirements would not affect many
buildings, we estimate that implementing H.R. 1174 would cost
less than $500,000 annually; such spending would be subject to
the availability of appropriated funds. That amount would cover
installation costs for a few federal facilities that either do
not currently have lactation rooms or would not otherwise be
covered by current GSA standards.
Enacting H.R. 1174 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting H.R. 1174 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1174 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to
provide lactation rooms in public buildings.
Advisory of Earmarks
Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit,
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of
rule XXI.
Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision
of H.R. 1174 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal
program, a program that was included in any report from the
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
Pursuant to section 3(i) of H. Res. 5, 115th Cong. (2017),
the Committee finds that enacting H.R. 1174 does not direct the
completion of a specific rule making within the meaning of
section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
Federal Mandate Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (Public Law 104-4).
Preemption Clarification
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local,
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 1174 does not
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this
legislation.
Applicability of Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law
104-1).
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 entitles the Act as the Fairness For
Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2017.
Section. 2. Lactation room in public buildings
Subsection (a) amends Chapter 33 of title 40, United States
Code by inserting at the end a new section on lactation rooms
in public buildings. The new section defines the covered
agencies, buildings, and lactation rooms. The new section also
requires public buildings to contain a lactation room for use
by the public if the building is publicly accessible, contains
a lactation room for employees, and is a reasonable cost and
feasible.
Subsection (b) makes a clerical amendment to the table of
sections in chapter 33 of title 40 to insert the new section.
Subsection (c) sets the effective date one year after
enactment of the Act.
Changes in Existing Law Made By The Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 40, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
SUBTITLE II--PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS
* * * * * * *
PART A--GENERAL
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 33--ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, AND ALTERATION
Sec.
3301. Definitions and nonapplication.
* * * * * * *
3317. Lactation room in public buildings.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 3317. Lactation room in public buildings
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate authority.--The term ``appropriate
authority'' means the head of a Federal agency, the
Architect of the Capitol, or other official authority
responsible for the operation of a public building.
(2) Covered public building.--The term ``covered
public building'' means a public building (as defined
in section 3301) that is open to the public and
contains a public restroom, and includes a building
listed in section 6301 or 5101.
(3) Lactation room.--The term ``lactation room''
means a hygienic place, other than a bathroom, that--
(A) is shielded from view;
(B) is free from intrusion; and
(C) contains a chair, a working surface, and,
if the public building is otherwise supplied
with electricity, an electrical outlet.
(b) Lactation Room Required.--Except as provided in
subsection (c), the appropriate authority of a covered public
building shall ensure that the building contains a lactation
room that is made available for use by members of the public to
express breast milk.
(c) Exceptions.--A covered public building may be excluded
from the requirement in subsection (b) at the discretion of the
appropriate authority if--
(1) the public building--
(A) does not contain a lactation room for
employees who work in the building; and
(B) does not have a room that could be
repurposed as a lactation room or a space that
could be made private using portable materials,
at a reasonable cost; or
(2) new construction would be required to create a
lactation room in the public building and the cost of
such construction is unfeasible.
(d) No Unauthorized Entry.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to authorize an individual to enter a public building
or portion thereof that the individual is not otherwise
authorized to enter.
* * * * * * *
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