Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3646 To increase the availability and affordability of menstrual products for individuals with limited access, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 24, 2023 Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CHU, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. LEE of Pennsyl- vania, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. NAPOLI- TANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PETTERSEN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. TRONE, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. BALINT, and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Ways and Means, and the Budget, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To increase the availability and affordability of menstrual products for individuals with limited access, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3646 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Menstrual products for students at elementary and secondary schools. Sec. 4. Menstrual products for students at institutions of higher education. Sec. 5. Menstrual products for incarcerated individuals and detainees. Sec. 6. Menstrual products availability for homeless individuals under Emer- gency Food and Shelter Grant Program. Sec. 7. Menstrual products covered by Medicaid. Sec. 8. Menstrual products for employees. Sec. 9. Menstrual products in Federal buildings. Sec. 10. Menstrual products in the Social Services Block Grant Program. Sec. 11. Menstrual products and taxation. Sec. 12. Menstrual products in TANF. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 8 Congress finds the following: 9 (1) Menstrual products are a necessity each 10 month for millions of individuals across the United 11 States. 12 (2) More than half of the United States popu- 13 lation will likely menstruate every month for decades 14 of their lives. 15 (3) A lack of menstrual products, often called 16 ‘‘period poverty’’, can adversely affect an individual’s 17 health and well-being. 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3646 IH (4) Period poverty exacerbates the vicious cycle 1 of poverty by further marginalizing individuals who 2 menstruate, causing them to withdraw from daily 3 life, forego pay, or miss educational opportunities. 4 (5) Addressing period poverty is essential to en- 5 suring educational equity for diverse populations. 6 (6) Studies have shown that 1 in 4 women and 7 girls report struggling to afford menstrual products. 8 (7) Studies have shown that 1 in 10 college stu- 9 dents in the United States are affected by period 10 poverty. 11 (8) Period poverty disproportionately affects 12 Black, Latina, immigrant, and first-generation stu- 13 dents at higher rates than other cohorts. 14 (9) Individuals living in period poverty are more 15 likely to experience depression than individuals with 16 access to period products. 17 (10) Period poverty can increase the risk of in- 18 fections due to— 19 (A) the use of substitutes for menstrual 20 products (such as paper towels or toilet paper); 21 and 22 (B) the inability to change menstrual prod- 23 ucts as frequently as recommended. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3646 IH SEC. 3. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS FOR STUDENTS AT ELE- 1 MENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4108(5)(C) of the Ele- 3 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 4 7118(5)(C)) is amended— 5 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 6 semicolon; 7 (2) in clause (vii), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the 8 semicolon; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(viii) provide free menstrual products 11 to students who use menstrual products;’’. 12 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 4102 of the Elementary 13 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7112) 14 is amended— 15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 16 (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and 17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘(6) MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘men- 20 strual products’ means sanitary napkins and tam- 21 pons that conform to applicable industry stand- 22 ards.’’. 23 (c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, 25 in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3646 IH Services, shall promulgate rules with respect to the defini- 1 tion of ‘‘menstrual products’’ in paragraph (6) of section 2 4102 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7112), as amended by section 3(b). 4 SEC. 4. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS FOR STUDENTS AT INSTI- 5 TUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 6 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to al- 7 leviate— 8 (1) the barriers to academic success faced by 9 many college and graduate students due to the in- 10 ability of such students to afford to purchase men- 11 strual products; and 12 (2) the unique set of burdens that college and 13 graduate students experiencing period poverty face 14 that can be compounded by lack of access to basic 15 needs such as housing, food, transportation, and ac- 16 cess to physical and mental health services. 17 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 18 establish a program to award grants, on a competitive 19 basis, to at least 4 institutions of higher education (as 20 such term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Edu- 21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), to— 22 (1) support programs that provide free men- 23 strual products to students; and 24 (2) report on best practices of such programs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3646 IH (c) APPLICATION.—To apply for a grant under this 1 section, an institution of higher education shall submit to 2 the Secretary an application in such form, at such time, 3 and containing such information as the Secretary deter- 4 mines appropriate, including an assurance that such grant 5 will be used to carry out the activities described in sub- 6 section (e). 7 (d) COMMUNITY COLLEGES.—At least 50 percent of 8 the grants awarded under this section shall be awarded 9 to community colleges. 10 (e) GRANT USES.—A grant awarded under this sec- 11 tion may only be used to— 12 (1) carry out or expand activities that fund pro- 13 grams that support direct provision of free men- 14 strual products to students in appropriate campus 15 locations, including— 16 (A) campus restroom facilities; 17 (B) wellness centers; and 18 (C) on-campus residential buildings; 19 (2) report on best practices of such programs; 20 (3) conduct outreach to students to encourage 21 participation in menstrual equity programs and serv- 22 ices; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3646 IH (4) help eligible students apply for and enroll in 1 local, State, and Federal public assistance programs; 2 and 3 (5) coordinate and collaborate with government 4 or community-based organizations to carry out the 5 activities described in paragraphs (1) through (4). 6 (f) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 7 tion, the Secretary shall prioritize— 8 (1) institutions with Federal Pell Grant enroll- 9 ment that is at least 25 percent of the total enroll- 10 ment of such institution; and 11 (2) historically Black colleges and universities, 12 Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American and 13 Native American Pacific Islander-serving institu- 14 tions, and other minority serving institutions. 15 (g) MENSTRUAL PRODUCT DEFINED.—In this sec- 16 tion, the term ‘‘menstrual product’’ means a sanitary nap- 17 kin or tampon that conforms to industry standards. 18 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 19 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 out of funds 20 appropriated for a fiscal year to the Fund for the Improve- 21 ment of Postsecondary Education under section 741 of the 22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1138) to carry 23 out the grant program under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3646 IH SEC. 5. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS FOR INCARCERATED INDI- 1 VIDUALS AND DETAINEES. 2 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STATES.—Beginning on the 3 date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of 4 this Act, and annually thereafter, the chief executive offi- 5 cer of each State that receives a grant under subpart 1 6 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 7 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) (com- 8 monly referred to as the ‘‘Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 9 Assistance Grant Program’’) shall submit to the Attorney 10 General a certification, in such form and containing such 11 information as the Attorney General may require, that all 12 incarcerated individuals and detainees in that State have 13 access to menstrual products on demand and at no cost 14 to the incarcerated individuals and detainees, and that no 15 visitor is prohibited from visiting an incarcerated indi- 16 vidual due to the visitor’s use of menstrual products. 17 (b) REDUCTION IN GRANT FUNDING.—In the case 18 of a State whose chief executive officer fails to submit a 19 certification required under subsection (a) in a fiscal year, 20 the Attorney General shall reduce the amount that the 21 State would have otherwise received under section 505 of 22 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 23 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) by 20 percent for the following 24 fiscal year. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3646 IH (c) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated to a 1 State under section 505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 2 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) 3 for a fiscal year pursuant to subsection (b) shall be reallo- 4 cated under such section to States that submit such cer- 5 tifications. 6 (d) MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.—For the purposes of 7 subsection (a), the term ‘‘menstrual products’’ means san- 8 itary napkins and tampons that conform to applicable in- 9 dustry standards. 10 (e) AVAILABILITY FOR FEDERAL PRISONERS.—The 11 Attorney General shall make rules requiring, and the Di- 12 rector of the Bureau of Prisons shall take such actions 13 as may be necessary to ensure, the distribution and acces- 14 sibility without charge of menstrual products to prisoners 15 in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, including any 16 prisoner in a Federal penal or correctional institution, any 17 Federal prisoner in a State penal or correctional institu- 18 tion, and any Federal prisoner in a facility administered 19 by a private detention entity, to ensure that each prisoner 20 who requires these products may receive them in sufficient 21 quantity. 22 (f) AVAILABILITY FOR DETAINEES.—The Secretary 23 of Homeland Security shall take such actions as may be 24 necessary to ensure that menstrual products are distrib- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3646 IH uted and made accessible to each alien detained by the 1 Secretary of Homeland Security, including any alien in a 2 facility administered by a private detention entity, at no 3 expense to the alien. 4 SEC. 6. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS AVAILABILITY FOR HOME- 5 LESS INDIVIDUALS UNDER EMERGENCY 6 FOOD AND SHELTER GRANT PROGRAM. 7 Subsection (a) of section 316 of the McKinney-Vento 8 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11346(a)) is amend- 9 ed— 10 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 11 end; 12 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 14 (3) by adding at the end the following new 15 paragraph: 16 ‘‘(7) guidelines that ensure that amounts pro- 17 vided under the program to private nonprofit organi- 18 zations and local governments may be used to pro- 19 vide sanitary napkins and tampons that conform to 20 applicable industry standards.’’. 21 SEC. 7. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS COVERED BY MEDICAID. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1905 of the Social Secu- 23 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d) is amended— 24 (1) in subsection (a)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3646.IH H3646 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3646 IH (A) by redesignating paragraphs (30) and 1 (31) as paragraphs (31) and (32), respectively; 2 and 3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (29) the 4 following new paragraph: 5 ‘‘(30) menstrual products (as defined in sub- 6 section (jj));’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 8 section: 9 ‘‘(jj) MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.—For purposes of sub- 10 section (a)(30), the term ‘menstrual products’ means men- 11 strual cups, menstrual discs, menstrual und [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]