To: Interested Parties From: Gail Ravnitzky Legislative Director for Rep. Carolyn Maloney Date: February 26, 1999 RE: breastfeeding/lactation legislation in the 106th Congress The "Breastfeeding Promotion and Employers' Tax Incentive Act of 1999," will be introduced in Congress on March 16. (It will be assigned an H.R. # on March 16.) This bill was included as part of a comprehensive breastfeeding bill introduced by Rep. Maloney last year. This is the first of several smaller bills on lactation that will be introduced by Rep. Maloney this year. The "Breastfeeding Promotion and Employers' Tax Incentive Act of 1999" encourages employers to set up a safe, private, and sanitary environment for women to express (or pump) breast milk by providing a tax credit for employers who set up a lactation location, purchase or rent lactation-related equipment, hire a lactation consultant, or otherwise promote a lactation-friendly environment. The bill will be referred to the Ways and Means Committee. The Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources will be holding a hearing on "Tax Policy and Child Care" on March 16. As a Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, Rep. Maloney will be testifying at this hearing on several child care initiatives including the "Breastfeeding Promotion and Employers' Tax Incentive Act of 1999." >From now until March 16, you have an opportunity to contact Members of the Subcommittee to let them know that this bill will be brought before them on that day. (NOTE: there will not be a vote on this bill, but you can encourage Members of Congress to learn about this issue as it will be discussed by Rep. Maloney during her testimony.) It is also important to show Members of the Subcommittee how this bill will benefit businesses in their districts. If you know of a company in the areas listed below, please let me know as soon as possible. If you are sending me information about a company with a lactation program, please include ALL of the following info: name of company, full address of company, phone/fax/email, contact person, and a very brief description of the program. The Members of the Subcommittee are: Nancy Johnson (New Britain, CT area) Phil English (Erie, PA and Butler, PA areas) Wes Watkins (McAlester, OK and Stillwater, OK areas) Ron Lewis (Elizabethtown, KY and Bowling Green, KY areas) Mark Foley (Palm Beach Gardens, FL and Port St. Lucie, FL areas) Scott McInnis (Glenwood Springs, CO and Durango, CO areas) Jim McCrery (Shreveport, LA area) Dave Camp (Midland, Mich. and Owosso, Mich. areas) Ben Cardin (Baltimore, MD area) Pete Stark (Fremont, Calif. area) Bob Matsui (Sacramento, Calif. area) Bill Coyne (Pittsburgh, Penn. area) Bill Jefferson (New Orleans, Louisiana area) If you would like to be added to or deleted from our e-mail update list, please contact: [log in to unmask] Please be sure to include your full e-mail address in the text of the message. -- Cindy Curtis,RN,IBCLC Virginia,USA mailto:[log in to unmask] Benefits of Breastfeeding Page http://www.erols.com/cindyrn