Motion to Discharge

Floor Speech

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Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, it was 10 years ago that we all got together and passed a bill to help women, when they go back to work, to be able to pump breast milk at work. We have 80 percent of women who are having babies today striving to breastfeed. Half of the women who have babies are going back to work within a very short period of time, and the only way they can breastfeed is to pump milk at work. This was a beautiful, bipartisan vision, and it was Dr. Coburn who educated us all about the tremendous benefits of breast milk for babies.

But, in that work we did 10 years ago, we left out a significant group of women in America--those who work according to a manager's salary rather than according to wage. So now we have a bill that has come out of committee, by voice vote, to fix that, and here we are talking about baby formula.

Truly, what is better, in terms of baby formula, than a mother's milk?

Let us stand with the babies; let us stand with the mothers; let us stand with the families and fix this so that every single mother in America who wishes to breastfeed can do so.

65, S. 1658; further, that the committee-reported substitute be withdrawn and that the Merkley substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, a huge thanks to my colleague from Alaska, Senator Murkowski, who has partnered with me in this effort.

We have worked through the flexibility needed in every setting, and I must say the railroads weren't the folks who came to us and said they needed help. In the past, we worked out every possible way to address this for fast-food locations and for all kinds of industries that said, ``We need special arrangements,'' and we worked them out. We have worked them out in this version for the airlines.

It really is beyond the world of reasonableness to keep saying and to keep finding some excuse that we can't--with the innovation, the inventiveness, and the ingenuity of Americans--find the ability for a woman to be able to express breast milk. We have solved this problem in much more difficult situations. I am very disappointed that, today, because of my colleague from Wyoming's objection, the women, the mothers, the babies, and the families, lose. Let's win next time. Vote on Motion to Discharge

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