[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

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PART A--GENERAL

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         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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