Carolyn Maloney

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and in support of the underlying resolution, H. Res. 789. This is an extraordinary measure, and I do not support it lightly. As chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, I support and defend the rights of all committee members to express their views, even if I disagree with them. But the honest exchange of ideas cannot happen when one committee member promotes violence against another. No other workplace in America would tolerate such dangerous conduct, and neither should the House of Representatives. What Representative Gosar did is both despicable and beneath the office he holds. But make no mistake about it: Promoting political violence has real consequences. Many of our colleagues, including myself, and the Capitol Police have received credible death threats. Rejecting violence should not be a partisan issue. I call on my Republican colleagues to join us today in demanding accountability for those who promote it.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair of the Financial Services Committee for her leadership and support on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2989, the Financial Transparency Act of 2021, a bipartisan bill I introduced with Financial Services Committee Ranking Member McHenry. The Financial Transparency Act would require our Nation's financial regulators to adopt a set of data collection and dispersion standards for the information they collect under current law, including the adoption of electronic forms to replace paper-based forms. All data would be made available in an open-source format that is electronically searchable, downloadable in bulk, and without license restrictions. Under the bill, Treasury is tasked with establishing common data standards that would allow the standardization and sharing of data across our financial regulators and the public at large. Such data standards would include a common legal entity identifier that would give Treasury an increased ability to provide effective oversight across our financial markets. The legal entity identifier is used throughout our financial markets and regulations today, and this bill would encourage agencies to continue moving in that direction. Each financial regulator is then tasked with adopting standards for the data reported to each agency. The regulators maintain the ability to tailor its regulations as needed to fit the unique needs of each entity and have the ability to scale any regulatory requirements in order to reduce regulatory burdens on smaller entities. I also want to be clear that this is not imposing new regulatory burdens on market participants. This is modernizing and making more transparent the data that is already reported to our regulators and that the regulators publish today. The bill also contains important protections to ensure confidential business and supervisory information remains protected. The end result of this bill will be more transparent and open data sources and data that is readily comparable across businesses and sectors. This is a win-win for regulators, for investors, for the public, for accuracy, and for industry. For regulators, they will more easily be able to analyze and search the data its regulated entities are reporting. This will improve efficiency and overall government operations. For investors, open-data publications will allow for easy searchability and comparability of companies and sectors, empowering investors to act on up-to-date information. Industries will be able to automatically report required information using software in the format required by their regulators. Mr. Speaker, the Financial Transparency Act builds on past congressional efforts to make data more accessible, useful, and more accurate. This has clear benefits for our regulators, investors, and market participants and would improve the ability of our regulators to monitor financial stability and therefore the safety and soundness of our financial markets. Before I close, I want to take a moment to thank Ranking Member McHenry and his staff for their work and coordination on this important effort. I also want to thank Chairwoman Waters and her staff for working with me on advancing this bill. This was truly a bipartisan effort, and we would not be here without everyone working in the same direction. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting the Financial Transparency Act.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his incredible leadership in this body. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3110, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, a bipartisan bill I authored with Representative Herrera Beutler. Our bill has also been introduced in the Senate by Senators Merkley and Murkowski. When I first came to Congress, working mothers would come to me, often in tears, and advocate for a place to safely pump breast milk. Often, they were fired, ridiculed, forbidden, or forced to pump milk in bathrooms. Since those years, I have worked for on-site lactation rooms, here in government and really everywhere in our country. In 1998, I passed a provision allowing State WIC agencies to purchase breast pumps for new mothers, making it easier for low-income moms to choose breastfeeding. In 1999, Congress passed my bill to guarantee the right to breastfeed on Federal property. Most recently, Senator Merkley and I passed the Break Time for Nursing Mothers as part of the Affordable Care Act. This act provides employees with critical protections to provide break time for nursing mothers and a private place to pump milk. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act we are considering today builds on the Break Time Act by protecting the nearly 9 million employees who were not originally included in these protections. Those covered by the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act now include teachers, nurses, farmworkers, and software engineers, to name a few. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act would also ensure that nursing mothers have remedies if their employers fire them or violate these breastfeeding protections. In addition, if an employee is fired for taking a break, the PUMP Act ensures that workers can seek reinstatement. It also extends breastfeeding protections for 2 years, in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization. Over 150 organizations have endorsed this important legislation. I include in the Record letters of support from some of those organizations, including the Center for WorkLife Law, and MomsRising, to name a few. Written Statement of the Center for WorkLife Law Before the United States House of Representatives--September 24, 2021 Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives: The Center for WorkLife Law submits this letter to the U.S. House of Representatives in full support of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (H.R. 3110). The Center for WorkLife Law is a research and advocacy organization that seeks to advance gender, racial, and class equity in employment and education. We collaborate with employees, employers, attorneys, and government officials to identify practical and legal solutions to work-family issues. WorkLife Law's 2019 report Exposed: Discrimination Against Breastfeeding Workers found that shortcomings of the existing Break Time for Nursing Mothers law have caused lactating employees to face significant obstacles at work. Even with the current law's protections, breastfeeding employees leaking milk have been denied permission to take pumping breaks; they have been fired just for asking; and refused privacy, forcing them to pump milk with their breasts exposed to coworkers, clients, and the public in physically unsafe conditions. Employees who do not receive the break time and private space they need can face serious health consequences, including illness and painful infections, diminished milk supply, and weaning earlier than doctors recommend. Many employees also suffer economic losses when they are fired or forced to resign following a request for lactation accommodations. The PUMP Act would correct key shortcomings of existing law that undermine the economic security and health of women and their families. Closing the Coverage Gap that Excludes Millions of Workers Nearly 9 million women of childbearing age are currently excluded from the protections of the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law, meaning they have no clear federal right to receive break time and private space to pump milk during the workday. This exclusion was unintentional at the time the law was enacted. The resulting coverage gap is considerable and impacts employees in a wide range of occupations, including many of those working in the top two pink-collar occupations: nursing and teaching. The PUMP Act would correct this senseless exclusion to bring all workers whose employers are covered by the FLSA under the law's protection. Providing Appropriate Remedies to Encourage Compliance Even when clear violations occur, the Break Time for Nursing Mothers provision cannot be counted on to deliver appropriate remedies in a court of law. Because employers cannot be held accountable for intentional legal violations, noncompliance has been widespread. As one judge expressed in the case of an EMT who was fired simply for asking that she be given break time and space: ``While the Court is sympathetic to Plaintiff's argument that this renders [the Nursing Mothers law] ineffective, there is no support from the case law or DOL [Department of Labor]'' to provide a remedy. Another federal judge observed: ``An employer faced with a request to allow an employee to take breaks to breastfeed may simply fire the employee rather than attempt to accommodate the request for breaks. And indeed, the Center for WorkLife Law has heard from too many workers whose employers have done exactly that. The PUMP Act would correct this absurdity and encourage employers to follow the law by making remedies that are already available in other employment law contexts equally available to breastfeeding workers. However, the PUMP Act is not expected to lead to a significant increase in lawsuits. A recent analysis by the Center for WorkLife Law found that while enforceable laws increase breastfeeding rates, they do not cause a meaningful increase in litigation rates. The study reviewed all cases filed in each state with enforceable lactation break time and space laws (similar to the PUMP Act) through 2020 and found: Litigation rates for violations of the state laws were extremely low. Over the combined forty-seven years that the four jurisdictions' break time and space laws have been in effect, there were only six (6) cases total. The annual likeihood a private employer will be sued under a break time and space law is essentially zero (0.0002 percent). A business owner is over 25 times more likely to be struck by lightning in their lifetime. Notably, the state laws WorkLife Law studied do not include the additional employer protection found in the PUMP Act that gives businesses 10 days to correct space violations before any lawsuit can be filed, a provision that will further decrease the number of lawsuits that would be filed should the PUMP Act pass. The PUMP Act is a balanced approach that meets the needs of breastfeeding employees while also serving employers who make reasonable attempts to follow the law. When employers have clear standards to meet, and appropriate consequences if they don't, employers have shown that they are able to provide the break time and space that working mothers need. Complying with break time and space requirements is simple, and creative solutions exist in all industries. As described by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, employers that support breastfeeding with affordable solutions realize cost savings from increased loyalty and retention, reduced sick time, and decreased health care and insurance costs. Our organization urges all members of Congress to vote in support because the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act would ensure that all breastfeeding women have the full protection of the law and ability to meet their basic needs while away from their nursing babies during the workday. It is a simple solution that promotes maternal and child health, as well as the economic security of women and families. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Liz Morris, Center for WorkLife Law, UC Hastings College of the Law.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. As these organizations have demonstrated, without these protections, nursing mothers face serious health consequences, including the risk of painful illness and the inability to continue to breastfeed. Studies have shown the health benefits for breastfed infants. It is really important and can prevent other diseases. These basic protections would ensure that working moms who want to breastfeed can continue to do so and prevent nursing mothers from being singled out, ridiculed, or fired. This bill is an important step for work-family balance. We say we support families. Today is a vote for families, work-family balance, and mothers and infants. Madam Speaker, I urge a strong ``yes'' bipartisan vote.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise strongly in support of the amendment offered by Representative Deborah Ross from North Carolina, and I thank her for her leadership in North Carolina and here in Congress for working mothers, for infants, for families. We need more work-family balance. We need more support for working mothers. We now know with COVID that many families are not going back to work; they are reassessing their values. When you have a child and you want to breastfeed, and there is no accommodation, there really is no way you can go back to work, so this is pro-business, pro-worker, and pro- family. Her amendment directs the U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO, to conduct a study on how employers are complying with the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. Even the best legislation must be monitored. I am excited about the opportunity to ensure that employers are protecting the rights of nursing mothers. It is pro-family when you protect our mothers and our children.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership on this important bill. Madam Speaker, I strongly support the amendment offered by Representative Strickland from Washington. It is sensitive, important, and strengthens the bill. It directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study on racial disparities in breastfeeding and submit recommendations to Congress that address those disparities. As a member of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, we are studying disparities in this caucus on healthcare and the challenges that some women face. Breastfeeding contains many health benefits for children and for their mothers and should be accessible to all women no matter what their race, and we should study any disparity and try to strengthen access and availability. This is an excellent amendment, and I support the gentlewoman for her work and sensitivity.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include materials on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3419, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 66 Meserole Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, as the Joseph R. Lentol Post Office. Assembly Member Joseph R. Lentol represented the 50th Assembly District, comprised of the neighborhoods of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Fort Greene, and parts of Clinton Hill, for 48 years. After graduating from law school and passing the New York State bar, Joe began his government career as an assistant district attorney in the Kings County district attorney's homicide division. In 1973, he was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing north Brooklyn. Joe was the third member of his family to serve in the New York State Assembly, as his father and grandfather had also been elected to the assembly. During decades in public service, Joe was a recognized champion of fair labor practices, criminal justice reform, and environmental protection. Because of his knowledge, experience, and negotiation skills, Joe was appointed to serve on various commissions, committees, and panels. He chaired the Committee on Criminal and Civil Codes, the New York City Community Action Board, the assembly Public Protection Budget Committee, the assembly Committee on Public Employees, the assembly Administrative Regulations Commission to create the State's open meetings laws, and the Committee on Governmental Employees, which oversees the State's pension and employee benefits, presiding over the State's divestiture of its pension fund's investments in South Africa as well as a multitude of bills strengthening organized labor. Additionally, he chaired the assembly's Committee on Governmental Operations, monitoring and overseeing the operations of State agencies and departments. For more than 20 years, as chair of the influential Codes Committee, which has jurisdiction over criminal justice, Joe was an advocate for and led efforts to modernize the State's criminal justice system. Recognized for his leadership in correcting a system that unfairly penalized youth, people of color, and the economically disadvantaged, Joe was largely responsible for getting important legislation enacted into law by working with six Governors, his Democratic colleagues, and, often, members of the Republican majority in the State senate. Joe championed the reform of the Rockefeller drug laws, which mandated harsh sentences for possession and sale of drugs and disproportionately targeted people of color. In addition, Joe fought to raise the age in criminal law when a child must be treated as an adult in the criminal justice system and for other major criminal justice reforms that overhauled the State's criminal discovery and bail laws and that guaranteed speedy trials. Joe was also a member of the Governor's Commission on Sentencing Reform, the New York State Temporary Commission on Voting Machine Equipment, and the New York State Court of Appeals Justice Task Force, and the New York State Comptrollers Investment Advisory Board. Currently, Joe serves on the board of the New York State Public Defender Association. Naming a post office for Representative Joseph R. Lentol is entirely appropriate given his distinguished political career and contributions to New York State and our country. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 3419, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 767) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 40 Fulton Street in Middletown, New York, as the ``Benjamin A. Gilman Post Office Building''.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1444) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 132 North Loudoun Street, Suite 1 in Winchester, Virginia, as the ``Patsy Cline Post Office''.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3175) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 135 Main Street in Biloxi, Mississippi, as the ``Robert S. McKeithen Post Office Building''.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 960, and I want to compliment my colleague and friend, Mr. Wenstrup, on his bill. It is a very inspiring story. I intend to read their book, and I urge a ``yes'' vote. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, we have a choice. We can work to save our planet and become a global leader in green technology, or we can allow our planet to become uninhabitable. We must choose to protect our planet, the only home we have. Transitioning to electric vehicles will dramatically reduce carbon emissions and will create a cleaner world for our children. That is why my committee approved billions of dollars to transition the Postal Service and GSA fleets to electric vehicles and provide the necessary charging infrastructure across the country in the postal offices. This will fund more than 300,000 electric vehicles. That is more electric vehicles than were sold across the entire country last year. I urge my colleagues to support the Build Back Better plan, which includes funding for electric vehicles that will greatly help our environment.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1508) to require a guidance clarity statement on certain agency guidance, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 1508 would require Federal agencies to include a guidance clarity statement on the first page of guidance documents. I thank Representative Luetkemeyer and Ranking Member Comer for working with us to perfect this bill. Federal rules, regulations, and guidance are complex, even at the best of times. For most Americans who do not spend hours per day reading through the Federal Register, guidance documents can be very confusing. This simple, good government bill will help clarify for the public that agency guidance is intended to help guide the implementation of Federal regulations, not to act as additional legally binding rules. This is a bipartisan bill in both the House and the Senate, which passed a Senate companion out of committee by voice vote. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 1508. I thank Blaine Luetkemeyer for his leadership on this bill and the cooperation of Ranking Member Comer and all the teams on both sides working in support of it. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.