Bobby Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Education and Labor be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 8472) to provide that, due to the disruptions caused by COVID-19, applications for impact aid funding for fiscal year 2022 may use certain data submitted in the fiscal year 2021 application, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a co-chair of the Chesapeake Watershed Task Force in support of the Chesapeake Bay Provisions within America's Conservation Enhancement Act. I am proud to represent Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, located near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay which President Reagan declared a ``national treasure'' in 1984, a declaration President Obama echoed in 2009. Unfortunately, President Trump has not supported the bipartisan effort to restore the Bay, proposing to slash funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program, a misguided step that I am proud to have worked with my colleagues across the aisle to correct. America's Conservation Enhancement Act represents a crucial opportunity to support the ongoing restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Under the Environmental Protection Agency's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) mandate, some progress has been made in restoring the Bay. Current increases in underwater grasses and the blue crab population indicate these efforts are working, however, more resources and continued partnership are necessary to ensure that these gains are maintained and that the Chesapeake Bay is restored. The Chesapeake Bay provisions included in this bill would make significant progress, not just in improving the health of the Bay, but also in conserving habitat and increasing access to restoration throughout its 64,000 square-mile watershed. I am especially pleased the America's Conservation Enhancement Act includes Chesapeake WILD, a bill I introduced with Reps. Wittman and Sarbanes, fellow co-chairs of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Taskforce, and Senator Van Hollen. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is well equipped to leverage their expertise in wildlife and habitat conservation beyond their reserves and throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. My bill fosters such partnerships by creating a grant program for on the ground restoration efforts to be carried out by the FWS. In addition to conserving fish and wildlife habitat; increasing access to recreation; mitigating flooding; and improving drinking water quality, the grant program this bill creates will also contribute to the precedent-setting effort to conserve the Chesapeake Bay. America's Conservation Enhancement Act also includes a bill led by Rep. Sarbanes and Sen. Cardin that would reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails grant program. The pandemic has reminded many of the many benefits of outdoor recreation yet, for far too many, parks, trails, beaches, and other recreational areas are largely inaccessible. The reauthorization of this grant program will help remedy that by increasing access to recreation in the Bay Watershed and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the bill. America's Conservation Enhancement Act also includes critical legislation, led by my colleagues Rep. Luria and Sen. Cardin, to reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Program. In 1978, my first year as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, I was part of a joint Virginia-Maryland legislative advisory commission focused on determining what actions were necessary to address Bay issues. We concluded that restoring the Bay would require more than just Virginia and Maryland, but rather, the collaboration of the entire watershed. That remains true today and the level of collaboration required is made possible by the Chesapeake Bay Program. I am also proud to have introduced this legislation with my colleagues which would also authorize an incremental increase in spending for the Bay Program, reaching $92 million annually by 2025. Strong funding for the Bay Program leading up to 2025 is essential because that is the date by which the EPA, along with the six Bay watershed states and the District of Columbia have committed to making the Bay fishable and swimmable. Passage of America's Conservation Enhancement Act is a major step towards meeting that agreement. As critical as these measures are to the ecological and economic health of the region, we also recognize that pollution knows no boundaries. As Wendell Berry, the great poet, philosopher, and farmer wrote, we all ought to ``do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.'' The restoration this bill supports throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed does more than just improve the health of the Bay--it enhances carbon sequestration, protects wildlife, improves the quality of water entering the Atlantic, and sets an important precedent for the restoration of other large watersheds and multi-jurisdictional cooperative environmental agreements. I thank the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Energy and Commerce for their work on this essential legislation and urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. And since House Democrats first passed the Heroes Act in May, congressional Republicans and administration officials have refused to advance any meaningful COVID-19 relief plan that would help our community survive this pandemic. As a result, the American people are continuing to bear the brunt of an economic and public health crisis that is needlessly dragging on and getting worse. State and local governments are still facing massive budget shortfalls. Without Federal support, these shortfalls will slash public education funding and other critical public services. School districts are starting the new academic year without resources they need to open safely, keep their staff on payroll, operate high- quality programs remotely, and other things that they need to make sure that our students can become the best that they can be. Millions of workers are still unemployed and can no longer access the enhanced unemployment benefits that kept them afloat before they expired in July. Those working during the pandemic are suffering from unsafe working conditions with little protection from COVID-19 infections. Most significantly, more than 7 million Americans have been infected, and over 200,000 have lost their lives due to the pandemic, and we still do not have a coherent strategy to deal with COVID-19. Moreover, far too many people still do not have access to affordable healthcare as the virus continues to accelerate in 32 States and in Puerto Rico, according to ABC News. The updated Heroes Act offers us another chance to get meaningful relief into the hands of students, educators, workers, and families. First, the updated Heroes Act dedicates over $400 billion to help State and local governments avert massive budget shortfalls. You cannot evaluate any relief package without first looking at what you are doing for State and local support. That is because if you don't have State and local support, there will be massive cuts. For example, budget shortfalls projected right now for State and local governments suggest that education budgets for State and local governments will be cut by hundreds of billions of dollars. This package protects and expands student access to quality education by increasing the relief for students, K-12 districts, and institutions of higher learning by more than $200 billion. The updated Heroes Act also ensures that no Federal student loan borrower has to worry about loan payments, interest accrual, or collections through September of next year. This package also invests $58 billion to save our childcare industry from collapse and ensures essential workers will be able to access affordable childcare and early learning options. The estimates are that, if we don't put $10 billion a month into the childcare industry, it will slowly dissolve. The updated Heroes Act supports individuals and families hit by the economic downturn of this crisis by putting money directly into their pockets. The legislation includes a second round of stimulus checks and extends the $600 weekly enhanced unemployment benefits through next January, and it also helps in the housing crisis. To protect workers who have to work during this pandemic, the legislation directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to finally issue enforceable Federal workplace standards that protect all workers from contracting COVID-19. Presently, in spite of all the problems in the meatpacking industries, prisons, nursing homes, and healthcare, there is still no enforceable standard to protect workers from COVID-19. This legislation also puts the medical and family back into medical and family leave, like expanding access to emergency paid FMLA, family leave protections that were passed in previous relief bills. The legislation also provides access to healthcare by creating a broad, open enrollment period so that individuals and families can obtain coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and offers enhanced subsidies for many workers who have lost their jobs. Regrettably, Mr. Speaker, in America, most workers who lose their jobs also lose their health insurance, and this is a safety net to help them maintain their health insurance coverage. Finally, the legislation provides robust investments in some of our vital community programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, better known as LIHEAP, and the Older Americans Act programs like Meals on Wheels.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. The House first passed the Heroes Act 4 months ago because we have a responsibility to help our constituents recover from this global health emergency. Since then, the need has only grown. Instead of denying the consequences of this pandemic, we must put politics aside and pass this Heroes Act. The economists have told us, if we don't spend the money now, the economic downturn will be much worse in the future, and so we have to pass this bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I urge the Senate to take it up immediately.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of two amendments to H.R. 4447, the Clean Energy Jobs and Innovation Act. I am honored to represent Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, which is on the front lines of sea-level rise. Recognizing the urgent action needed to mitigate the worst of the climate crisis, I am pleased that this bill includes support for climate-informed building codes to improve energy efficiency as well as resilience, issues on which Norfolk, Virginia is leading the way. My district is also home to the Port of Virginia and other facilities--as well as workers--that played a critical role in installing the first offshore wind turbines in federal waters this summer. On and offshore, wind energy presents an incredible opportunity to generate clean, renewable energy, and to create good, green, family-sustaining jobs in Hampton Roads and across the country. I was pleased to submit an amendment encouraging the use of modeling and simulation technologies in wind energy, along with Representative Stephanie Murphy. As co-chairs of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus, we submitted this amendment to support the development and deployment of modeling and simulation tools to aid in rapidly transitioning our economy away from fossil fuels. Modeling and simulation have been very thoughtfully incorporated into many aspects of this bill--ensuring technologies are effectively deployed, risks to our electric grid are understood, and community resilience is enhanced. Modeling and simulation technologies also have incredible potential to contribute to every step of wind energy generation: the design and siting of turbines, wind power forecasting, construction of turbines, and even projecting the need for turbine maintenance and repair. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to increase our understanding of each of these areas. I also rise in support of my amendment which would support research into rethinking, reducing, and reusing critical materials in wind energy. The widespread deployment of current wind energy technology requires aluminum and rare-earth elements. The increasing demand for these elements and issues within their supply chains is a concern for all of us concerned about the environment, human rights, and our clean energy future to action. For years, the Department of Energy has acknowledged that ``supply challenges'' for certain rare earth metals could negatively affect clean energy technology development. The United States is currently largely dependent on other nations, especially China, for rare earth minerals. These minerals may not be quite as finite as their name implies; however, they are generally difficult to mine and require extensive processing. In some places, the industry lacks protections for workers and the environment, jeopardizing communities' drinking water and soil. We can alleviate these concerns by investing in research to rethink turbine design, reduce the use of such materials, and reuse products which are no longer need. Wind energy prices have fallen significantly fallen in the past decade. The levelized cost, which does not account for federal tax credits, decreased from about $90 per megawatt-hour to $30 per megawatt-hour last year. This is an exciting and encouraging trend for consumers, our climate, and communities, like Hampton Roads, that are both threatened by climate change and poised to create good green wind energy jobs. This amendment would facilitate research on the reuse of such materials and the design of turbines that require less of these materials, ensuring that this trend towards more affordable wind energy continues. In addition to creating jobs here in the United States, supporting the future of wind energy ensures that Americans will have increasing access to energy that is clean, renewable, reliable, and affordable. I urge my colleagues to support these amendments.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1107, I call up the bill (H.R. 2694) to eliminate discrimination and promote women's health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko), the lead Republican sponsor of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Schrier), a distinguished member of the Education and Labor Committee.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, can you advise how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), the chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Nadler and Mr. Katko for their leadership on this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), the sponsor of this legislation and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 2694, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2694, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. No one should have to choose between financial security and a healthy pregnancy. Unfortunately, our pregnancy antidiscrimination laws urgently need to be updated to provide reasonable accommodations for workers. Current Federal law does not clearly guarantee pregnant workers' rights to reasonable accommodations in the workplace, such as water, seating, bathroom breaks, and lifting restrictions. These basic protections are critical to protecting pregnant workers from the tragic consequences of unsafe working conditions, and they are particularly important today, as early evidence suggests that pregnancy leads to elevated risk of severe illness from COVID-19. In 2015, the Supreme Court allowed pregnant workers to bring claims for reasonable accommodations under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in the landmark case of Young v. UPS. However, that decision set an unreasonably high standard for pregnancy discrimination. Under the Young standard, workers must prove that the accommodations they were denied were provided to other workers who were similar in their inability to work. This standard is onerous, in part, because it assumes that workers can access their coworkers' personal health information and establish a comparable group of workers. It also creates a perverse legal framework in which companies that treat all of their workers poorly can treat their pregnant workers poorly as well. Since the Young decision, courts have ruled against pregnant workers seeking accommodations most of the time. In the absence of Federal action, nearly three dozen States and localities have filled the void by establishing their own protections for pregnant workers. This patchwork approach is bad for workers who are frequently left without strong protections and bad for multistate employers who have to comply with different States' workplace standards. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a bipartisan proposal that will finally establish clear, nationwide protections that guarantee pregnant workers the basic rights to reasonable accommodations. It will also grant victims of pregnancy discrimination the same remedies as victims of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin under Federal civil rights laws. Similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are not required to make accommodations if it imposes an undue hardship on the employer's business. This legislation has broad support across the political spectrum and across our communities. Labor unions, civil rights groups, and the business community, including the Chamber of Commerce, have all endorsed this proposal. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter led by the nonprofit A Better Balance and over 200 worker advocacy organizations calling for Congress to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. September 14, 2020. Re Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Dear Member of Congress: As organizations committed to promoting the health and economic security of our nation's families, we urge you to support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a crucial maternal and infant health measure. This bipartisan legislation promotes healthy pregnancies and economic security for pregnant women and their families and strengthens the economy. In the last few decades, there has been a dramatic demographic shift in the workforce. Not only do women now make up almost half of the workforce, but there are more pregnant workers than ever before and they are working later into their pregnancies. The simple reality is that some of these women--especially those in physically demanding jobs-- will have a medical need for a temporary job-related accommodation in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Yet, too often, instead of providing a pregnant worker with an accommodation, her employer will fire her or push her onto unpaid leave, depriving her of a paycheck and health insurance at a time when she needs them most. Additionally, pregnancy discrimination affects women across race and ethnicity, but women of color and immigrants may be at particular risk. Latinas, Black women and immigrant women are more likely to hold certain inflexible and physically demanding jobs that can present specific challenges for pregnant workers, such as cashiers, home health aides, food service workers, and cleaners, making reasonable accommodations on the job even more important, and loss of wages and health insurance due to pregnancy discrimination especially challenging. American families and the American economy depend on women's income: we cannot afford to force pregnant women out of work. In 2015, in Young v. United Parcel Service, the Supreme Court held that a failure to make accommodations for pregnant workers with medical needs will sometimes violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA). Yet, even after Young, pregnant workers are still not getting the accommodations they need to stay safe and healthy on the job and employers lack clarity as to their obligations under the law. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will provide a clear, predictable rule: employers must provide reasonable accommodations for limitations arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless this would pose an undue hardship. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and offers employers and employees a familiar reasonable accommodation framework to follow. Under the ADA, workers with disabilities enjoy clear statutory protections and need not prove how other employees are treated in order to obtain necessary accommodations. Pregnant workers deserve the same clarity and streamlined process and should not have to ascertain how their employer treats others in order to understand their own accommodation rights, as the Supreme Court's ruling currently requires. Evidence from states and cities that have adopted laws similar to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act suggests that providing this clarity reduces lawsuits and, most importantly, helps ensure that women can obtain necessary reasonable accommodations in a timely manner, which keeps pregnant women healthy and earning an income when they need it most. No woman should have to choose between providing for her family and maintaining a healthy pregnancy, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would ensure that all women working for covered employers would be protected. The need for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is recognized across ideological and partisan lines. Thirty states and D.C. have adopted pregnant worker fairness measures with broad, and often unanimous, bipartisan support. Twenty-five of those laws have passed within the last seven years. These states include: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Lawmakers have concluded that accommodating pregnant workers who need it is a measured approach grounded in family values and basic fairness. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is necessary because it promotes long-term economic security and workplace fairness. When accommodations allow pregnant women to continue to work, they can maintain income and seniority, while forced leave sets new mothers back with lost wages and missed advancement opportunities. When pregnant women are fired, not only do they and their families lose critical income, but they must fight extra hard to re-enter a job market that is especially brutal on the unemployed and on pregnant women. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is vital because it supports healthy pregnancies. The choice between risking a job and risking the health of a pregnancy is one no one should have to make. Women who cannot perform some aspects of their usual duties without risking their own health or the health of their pregnancy, but whose families cannot afford to lose their income, may continue working under dangerous conditions. There are health consequences to pushing women out of the workforce as well. Stress from job loss can increase the risk of having a premature baby and/or a baby with low birth weight. In addition, women who are not forced to use their leave during pregnancy may have more leave available to take following childbirth, which in turn facilitates breastfeeding, bonding with and caring for a new child, and recovering from childbirth. For all of these reasons, we urge you to support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. We also welcome the opportunity to provide you with additional information. Sincerely, A Better Balance, American Civil Liberties Union, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women's Law Center, 1,000 Days, 9to5, 9to5 California, 9to5 Colorado, 9to5 Georgia, 9to5 Wisconsin, Advocates for Youth, AFL- CIO, African American Ministers In Action, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, All-Options, American Association of University Women (AAUW), American Association of University Women, Indianapolis (AAUW), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Association of Asian Pacific Community, Health Organizations (AAPCHO), Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Breastfeeding Mother, Building Pathways, California Breastfeeding Coalition, California Women's Law Center, California Work & Family Coalition, Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network, for Healthy Families and Communities, Center for American Progress, Center for Parental Leave Leadership, Center for Public Policy Priorities, Center for Reproductive Rights, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos (United Workers Center), Child Care Law Center, Child Welfare League of America, Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco), Church World Service, Citizen Action of NY, CLASP, Clearinghouse on Women's Issues, Closing the Women's Health Gap, Coalition on Human Needs, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Philadelphia Chapter, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Congregation of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces. DC Jobs with Justice, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Disciples Center for Public Witness, Economic Policy Institute, EMC Strategies, Equal Pay Today, Equal Rights Advocates, Family Equality, Family Values@ Work, Farmworker Justice, Feminist Majority Foundation, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Futures Without Violence, Gender Justice, Grassroots Maternal and Child Health, Leadership Initiative, Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc., Healthy and Free Tennessee, Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia, Healthy Work Campaign, Center for Social Epidemiology, HER Development, Hoosier Action, Illuminate Colorado, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda, Indiana AFL-CIO. Indiana Breastfeeding Coalition, Indiana Catholic Conference, Indiana Chapter of Unite Here Local 23. Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation, Indiana Institute for Working Families, Indiana Statewide Independent Living Council, Indianapolis Urban League, Indy Chamber, Interfaith Worker Justice, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), Jewish Women International Jobs With Justice, Justice for Migrant Women, Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, Inc., Kentucky Equal Justice Center, KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Labor Project, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Legal Aid at Work, Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund, Legal Voice, Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families. Main Street Alliance, Maine Women's Lobby, Majaica, LLC , Make the Road New York, MANA, A National Latina Organization March of Dimes, Marion County Commission on Youth, Inc. Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health, Metro-Detroit Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Michigan Immigrant Rights Center MOBB United for Social Change, MomsRising, Monroe County NOW, MS Black Women's Roundtable, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, NAACP, NARAL Pro-Choice America, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), National Center for Law and Economic Justice, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Consumers League. National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH), National Council of Jewish Women, National Council of Jewish Women--California, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Education Association, National Employment Law Project, National Employment Lawyers Association, National Health Law Program, National Immigration Law Center, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Organization for Women, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, National WIC Association, NC National Organization for Women (NC NOW), Nebraska Appleseed, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, New Working Majority, NJ Citizen Action; NJ Time to Care Coalition, North Carolina Justice Center, Oxfam America, PA NOW, Parent Voices CA, Path Ways PA, PhilaPOSH. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Prevent Child Abuse NC, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Poligon Education Fund, PowHer New York, Pride at Work, Public Citizen, Quetzal, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, RESULTS, RICLUW, San Francisco CLUW Chapter, Service Employees International Union, SEIU 32BJ, Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), SisterReach, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Silver in the City (Indianapolis, IN), Solutions for Breastfeeding, Southern CA Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health, Southwest Pennsylvania National Organization for Women, Southwest Women's Law Center, TASH, Technology Concepts Group International, LLC, The Greenlining Institute. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Little Timmy Project, The Ohio Women's Public Policy Network, The Zonta Club of Greater Queens, TIME'S UP Now, Ujima Inc: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community, Ultra Violet, UnidosUS, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, United Food and Commercial Workers, International Union (UFCW), United Food and Commercial Workers Local 227, Union for Reform Judaism, United for Respect, United State of Women, United States Breastfeeding Committee, United Steelworkers, United Way of Kentucky, University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, Division of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Vision y Compromiso, Voices for Children in Nebraska, Voices for Progress, Warehouse Worker Resource Center, Western Center on Law and Poverty. William E. Morris Institute for Justice, Arizona, Women4Change, Women's Achievement Network and Development Alliance, Women & Girls Foundation, Women Employed, Women of Reform Judaism, Women's Center for Education and Career Advancement, Women's Employment Rights Clinic Golden Gate University, Women's Foundation of California, Women's Fund of Greater Chattanooga, Women's Fund of Rhode Island, Women's Law Project, Women's March, Women's Rights and Empowerment Network, Work Equity, Workers' Center of Central New York, Worker Justice Center of New York, Worksafe, Workplace Fairness, YWCA Greater Cincinnati, YWCA Mahoning Valley, YWCA McLean County, YWCA New Hampshire, YWCA Northwestern Illinois, YWCA of Van Wert County, YWCA USA, ZERO TO THREE.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, section 702 is not repealed by this law, and according to the Congressional Research Service, which studied this issue, all in all, State statutes providing for pregnancy accommodation generally incorporate generalized longstanding religious exemptions. In most cases, exemptions allow religious institutions to favor coreligionists. States typically do not enact separate or specialized religious exemptions for pregnancy accommodation laws. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), the chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Connecticut.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter in support of the legislation from the National WIC Association, that is Women, Infants, and Children Association, in favor of the legislation, and another letter from the ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union. National WIC Association Letter in Support of H.R. 2694, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act On behalf of the National WIC Association, the 12,000 WIC state and local service provider agencies we represent, and the over six million mothers, babies, and young children our members serve, we enthusiastically support passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694). The accommodations established by this bill are urgently needed to assure healthy pregnancies for working mothers served by WIC. WIC providers serve approximately half of all babies born in the United States with nutrition support and counseling throughout pregnancy, the postpartum period, and early childhood. WIC's nutrition intervention has successfully supported positive birth outcomes by reducing preterm birth and other complications that can lead to lifelong health conditions and significant healthcare costs. Nutrition-- including adequate hydration--is vital for the health of a pregnancy, but additional protections are needed to address the factors that influence pregnancy and birth outcomes beyond nutrition. This bill wisely extends the workplace accommodations framework--first developed in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)--to ensure that employers are taking reasonable steps to minimize risks to employees' pregnancies. Simple modifications to the workplace such as a stool to sit on, relief from heavy lifting, or a water bottle to carry can contribute to the health of the pregnancy without taking drastic action that inhibits the pregnant worker's economic security, such as unpaid leave or termination. This balanced and effective approach, already familiar to employers from the ADA context, will work in tandem with other medical and nutrition precautions to ensure positive birth outcomes and healthy infants. Women now constitute the majority of the American workforce. Three-quarters of working women are expected to be both pregnant and employed during their adult lives. Without a clear legal standard, pregnant workers may be forced to choose between keeping a roof over their head, putting food on the table, and the health of their pregnancy. This burden is even more acute for the approximately twenty percent of working woment--a total of 15.2 million women--who live in households that earn less than 185 percent of the federal poverty line, which is the income threshold for WIC participation. Of these 15.2 million women, 59 percent (approximately nine million) are working part-time. No pregnant worker should have to choose between the health of their pregnancy and their livelihood. As direct-service providers that support almost two million pregnant and postpartum women, the WIC community strongly supports efforts that advance sensible policy to safeguard the health of pregnancies. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a thoughtful solution that will complement WIC's tireless efforts to support expectant mothers as they seek a healthy start for their babies. We urge swift passage of this critical legislation. Sincerely, Rev. Douglas Greenaway, President & CEO, National WIC Association.