In a message dated 7/1/99 9:44:25 PM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << > To: Interested Parties > From: Gail Ravnitzky > Legislative Director for Rep. Carolyn Maloney > Date: July 1, 1999 > RE: GOOD NEWS -- a big victory on lactation legislation > > > Rep. Maloney recently introduced legislation (the Right to Breastfeed Act, > H.R. 1848) to protect a woman's right to breastfeed on federal property > where she and her child have a right to be. This bill was referred to the > Government Reform Committee. > > > WHAT HAPPENED > Today, Thursday, July 1, 1999, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the > Interior (which funds the National Park Service, Smithsonian Museums, and > several other federal museums) accepted an amendment similar to the Maloney > bill. The amendment, offered by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), (a > member of the subcommittee) said: > > "A woman may breastfeed her child at any location in a > building or on property that is part of the National Park System, the > Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, > the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, or the National Gallery of Art, > if the woman and her child are otherwise permitted to be present at the > location." > > > WHAT HAPPENS NOW > Although the amendment was accepted by voice vote (unanimously), there are > still many ways in which the language can be killed, so it is critical to > make a very strong statement to Members of Congress about why this provision > is so important. > > The remaining process on the Interior bill is as follows: The Rules > Committee will meet to decide whether the Roybal-Allard amendment will be > "protected" and allowed to continue on to the House Floor as an amendment to > the Interior bill. (Reps. Maloney and Roybal-Allard will speak to the Rules > Committee and ask them to protect it, but your Representatives need to hear > from you!) Then, the bill will move to the House floor (hopefully with the > new provision), and there will be a final vote on the Interior bill. Then, > the bill moves to the Senate. > > > WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW > NOW IS THE TIME to write to your Representative in Congress and ask him/her > to: > 1. Cosponsor H.R. 1848 > 2. Support the Roybal-Allard language in the Interior > Appropriations bill when it comes to the floor. > [You can reach your Congressperson by writing to The Honorable > _________________, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. Or > call 202-225-3121 to find out who it is.] > > Also, feel free to send a letter of thank you to Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard > for her work on this issue. Her address: The Honorable Lucille > Roybal-Allard, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. > > > OTHER NEWS > *Sorry to say that so many bad stories keep coming in about people being > fired and/or harassed at work. However, we are also hearing from lots of > companies who are investing in lactation programs, and the moms who have > benefited. > *The most updated state law information is available on our website. > *Also, many of you (now over 1300!) have suggested new issues for us to > tackle, and although many are worthwhile, it is overwhelming, so please > understand that we'd like to focus on the legislation at hand before taking > on more issues. > *Why does this legislation only apply to federal property? Because we don't > have jurisdiction over states, unless we tie the bill to a federal funding > stream. So, it is much much harder to do. > *Today's news is a tremendous start, and we look forward to more victories > during the next few months. Thanks to everyone who has helped to put this > together and sent stories about breastfeeding on federal property. You made > the difference! > > > OTHER LEGISLATION > Pregnancy Discrimination Act Amendment of 1999, (H.R. 1478) - Clarifies > the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to protect breastfeeding under civil rights > law, requiring that women cannot be fired or discriminated against in the > workplace for expressing breast milk (or directly breastfeeding) during her > own lunch time or break time. Until now, courts have not interpreted the PDA > definition of "pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions" to > include breastfeeding. > > Breastfeeding Promotion and Employers' Tax Incentive Act of 1999, (H.R. > 1163) - 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. For example, some larger companies > will set up a nursing mothers' room and buy equipment for the room. Smaller > companies may just purchase or rent breast pumps, and pay for lactation > support. The tax credit is for 50% of what a company spends on these > "qualified expenses." Many companies are already doing this and many want to > expand their programs. > > Safe and Effective Breastpumps Act, (H.R. _____ -- not yet introduced) - > Requires the FDA to develop minimum quality standards for breast pumps to > ensure that products on the market are safe and effective. > > > 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. NOTE: If you > are receiving this message from someone other than Gail, she cannot delete > your name from the e-mail update list. > ------------------------------ >> *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html