I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 972 

To increase the availability and affordability of menstrual hygiene products 

for women and girls with limited access, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2017 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Ms. MOORE, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. LEE, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. LOFGREN, 

Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. HASTINGS, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, the 

Judiciary, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently 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 

hygiene products for women and girls with limited access, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Menstrual Equity For 

5 All Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS REIMBURSE2 MENT FROM HEALTH FLEXIBLE SPENDING 

3 ARRANGEMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106 of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(g) MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid or incurred 

9 for menstrual hygiene products shall be treated as a 

10 qualified medical expense eligible for reimbursement 

11 from a health flexible spending arrangement. 

12 ‘‘(2) MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS DE13 FINED.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term 

14 ‘menstrual hygiene products’ means tampons, pads, 

15 liners, cups, sponges, douches, wipes, sprays, and 

16 similar products used by women with respect to 

17 menstruation or other genital-tract secretions.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 3. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS REFUNDABLE 

22 CREDIT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub24 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

25 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by insert26 ing after section 36B the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 36C. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed as a cred3 it against the tax imposed by this subtitle with respect 

4 to each eligible individual for whom the taxpayer is allowed 

5 a deduction under section 151 an amount equal to $120. 

6 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN7 COME.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any taxpayer 

9 whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds the 

10 threshold amount, the amount of the credit allowable 

11 under subsection (a) shall be zero. For purposes of 

12 the preceding sentence, the term ‘modified adjusted 

13 gross income’ means adjusted gross income in14 creased by any amount excluded from gross income 

15 under section 911, 931, or 933. 

16 ‘‘(2) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

17 paragraph (1), the term ‘threshold amount’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) $47,520 in the case of a joint return, 

19 ‘‘(B) $35,640 in the case of a head of 

20 household, and 

21 ‘‘(C) $23,760 in the case of a separate re22 turn. 

23 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 

25 individual’ means an individual who uses menstrual 

26 hygiene products. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS DE2 FINED.—The term ‘menstrual hygiene products’ 

3 shall be determined by the Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services by regulation and provided to the 

5 Secretary, and shall include tampons, pads, liners, 

6 cups, and similar products used by women with re7 spect to menstruation. 

8 ‘‘(d) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each taxable year be10 ginning after 2017, the dollar amounts in sub11 sections (a) and (b)(2) shall each be increased by an 

12 amount equal to the product of— 

13 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, and 

14 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter15 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

16 year, determined by substituting ‘calendar year 

17 2016’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in subparagraph 

18 (B) thereof. 

19 ‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—If any increase determined 

20 under paragraph (1)— 

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of the dollar amount in 

22 subsection (a) is not a multiple of $5, such in23 crease shall be rounded to the next highest mul24 tiple of $5, and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of the dollar amount in 

2 subsection (b)(2), is not a multiple of $1,000, 

3 such increase shall be rounded to the next low4 est multiple of $1,000. 

5 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

6 such regulations as may be appropriate to carry out the 

7 purposes of this section.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) Section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 

10 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘36C,’’ after 

11 ‘‘36B,’’. 

12 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 

13 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 

15 item relating to section 36B the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 36C. Menstrual hygiene products.’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

18 December 31, 2016. 

19 SEC. 4. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS AVAILABILITY 

20 FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS UNDER EMER21 GENCY FOOD AND SHELTER GRANT PRO22 GRAM. 

23 Subsection (a) of section 316 of the McKinney-Vento 

24 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11346(a)) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(7) guidelines that ensure that amounts pro8 vided under the program to private nonprofit organi9 zations and local governments may be used to pro10 vide menstrual hygiene products, including tampons, 

11 pads, liners, cups, and similar products used by 

12 women with respect to menstruation.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS FOR INMATES 

14 AND DETAINEES. 

15 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Beginning on the date that is 

16 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

17 annually thereafter, the chief executive officer of each 

18 State that receives a grant under subpart 1 of part E of 

19 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 

20 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) (commonly referred to 

21 as the ‘‘Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 

22 Program’’) shall submit to the Attorney General a certifi23 cation, in such form and containing such information as 

24 the Attorney General may require, that all female inmates 

25 and detainees in that State have access to menstrual hyVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H972.IH H972

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1 giene products on demand and at no cost to the inmates 

2 and detainees. 

3 (b) REDUCTION IN GRANT FUNDING.—In the case 

4 of a State whose chief executive officer fails to submit a 

5 certification required under subsection (a) in a fiscal year, 

6 the Attorney General shall reduce the amount that the 

7 State would have otherwise received under section 505 of 

8 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 

9 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) by 20 percent for the following 

10 fiscal year. 

11 (c) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated to a 

12 State under section 505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

13 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) 

14 for a fiscal year pursuant to subsection (b) shall be reallo15 cated under such section to States that submit such cer16 tifications. 

17 (d) DETERMINATION OF MENSTRUAL HYGIENE

18 PRODUCTS.—For the purposes of subsection (a), the term 

19 ‘‘menstrual hygiene products’’ shall be determined by the 

20 Attorney General of the United States. 

21 SEC. 6. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS FOR EMPLOYEES. 

22 Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

23 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall by rule promulgate a re2 quirement that each employer with not less than 100 em3 ployees provide menstrual hygiene products free of charge 

4 for employees of the employer.’’. 

Æ 


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