I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2790

To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding by new 

mothers; to provide for a performance standard for breast pumps; and 

to provide tax incentives to encourage breastfeeding. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 18, 2003

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. LEE, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. FRANK of 

Massachusetts, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 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 amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect 

breastfeeding by new mothers; to provide for a performance standard for breast pumps; and to provide tax 

incentives to encourage breastfeeding.

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 ‘‘Breastfeeding Pro5 motion Act’’. 
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1 TITLE I—AMENDMENT TO THE 

2 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pregnancy Discrimi5 nation Act Amendments of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 102. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Women with infants and toddlers are a rap9 idly growing segment of the labor force today. 

10 (2) Statistical surveys of families show that 

11 over 50 percent of mothers with children less than 

12 1 year of age are in the labor force. 

13 (3) The American Academy of Pediatrics rec14 ommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for six 

15 months but continuing for at least the 1st year of 

16 a child’s life and that arrangements be made to 

17 allow a mother’s expressing of milk if mother and 

18 child must separate. 

19 (4) Research studies show that children who are 

20 not breastfed have higher rates of mortality, menin21 gitis, some types of cancers, asthma and other res22 piratory illnesses, bacterial and viral infections, 

23 diarrhoeal diseases, ear infections, allergies, and obe24 sity. 
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1 (5) Research studies have also shown that 

2 breastmilk and breastfeeding have protective effects 

3 against the development of a number of chronic dis4 eases, including juvenile diabetes, lymphomas, 

5 Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, some chronic liver 

6 diseases, and ulcerative colitis. 

7 (6) Maternal benefits of breastfeeding include a 

8 reduced risk for postpartum hemorrhage and de9 creased risk for developing osteoporosis, ovarian can10 cer, and premenopausal breast cancer. 

11 (7) The health benefits to children from 

12 breastfeeding translate into a threefold decrease in 

13 parental absenteeism due to infant illness. 

14 (8) Congress intended to include breastfeeding 

15 and expressing breast milk as protected conduct 

16 under the amendment made by the Pregnancy Dis17 crimination Act of 1978 to title VII of the Civil 

18 Rights Act of 1964. 

19 (9) Although title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

20 1964, as so amended, applies with respect to ‘‘preg21 nancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions’’, a 

22 few courts have failed to reach the conclusion that 

23 breastfeeding and expressing breast milk in the 

24 workplace are covered by the such title. 

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—
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1 (1) to promote the health and well-being of in2 fants whose mothers return to the workplace after 

3 childbirth, and 

4 (2) to clarify that breastfeeding and expressing 

5 breast milk in the workplace are protected conduct 

6 under the amendment made by the Pregnancy Dis7 crimination Act of 1978 to title VII of the Civil 

8 Rights Act of 1964. 

9 SEC. 103. AMENDMENT TO TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS 

10 ACT OF 1964. 

11 Section 701(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

12 U.S.C. 2000e(k)) is amended—

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(including lactation)’’ after 

14 ‘‘childbirth’’, and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For 

16 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘lactation’ 

17 means a condition that may result in the feeding of 

18 a child directly from the breast or the expressing of 

19 milk from the breast.’’.
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1 TITLE II—CREDIT FOR EM2 PLOYER EXPENSES FOR PRO3 VIDING APPROPRIATE ENVI4 RONMENT ON BUSINESS 

5 PREMISES FOR EMPLOYED 

6 MOTHERS TO BREASTFEED 

7 OR EXPRESS MILK FOR THEIR 

8 CHILDREN

9 SEC. 201. ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT FOR EMPLOYER EX10 PENSES FOR PROVIDING APPROPRIATE ENVI11 RONMENT ON BUSINESS PREMISES FOR EM12 PLOYED MOTHERS TO BREASTFEED OR EX13 PRESS MILK FOR THEIR CHILDREN. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub15 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

16 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 45G. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYER EXPENSES INCURRED 

19 TO FACILITATE EMPLOYED MOTHERS WHO 

20 BREASTFEED OR EXPRESS MILK FOR THEIR 

21 CHILDREN. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

23 breastfeeding promotion and support credit determined 

24 under this section for the taxable year is an amount equal 

25 to 50 percent of the qualified breastfeeding promotion and
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1 support expenditures of the taxpayer for such taxable 

2 year. 

3 ‘‘(b) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The credit allowable 

4 under subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed 

5 $10,000. 

6 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION AND

7 SUPPORT EXPENDITURE.—For purposes of this section—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

9 breastfeeding promotion and support expenditure’ 

10 means any amount paid or incurred in connection 

11 with a trade or business of the taxpayer— 

12 ‘‘(A) for breast pumps and other equip13 ment specially designed to assist mothers who 

14 are employees of the taxpayer to breastfeed or 

15 express milk for their children but only if such 

16 pumps and equipment meet such standards (if 

17 any) prescribed by the Secretary of Health and 

18 Human Services, and 

19 ‘‘(B) for consultation services to the tax20 payer or employees of the taxpayer relating to 

21 breastfeeding.

22 ‘‘(2) COSTS OF OTHER EXCLUSIVE USE PROP23 ERTY INCLUDED.—Such term includes any amount 

24 paid or incurred for the acquisition or lease of tan25 gible personal property (not described in paragraph 
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1 (1)(A)) which is exclusively used by mothers who are 

2 employees of the taxpayer to breastfeed or express 

3 milk for their children unless such property is lo4 cated in any residence of the taxpayer or any em5 ployee of the taxpayer. 

6 ‘‘(d) RECAPTURE OF CREDIT.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, during any taxable year, 

8 any property for which a credit was allowed under 

9 this section is disposed of or otherwise ceases to be 

10 used by the taxpayer as required by this section, 

11 then the tax of the taxpayer under this chapter for 

12 such taxable year shall be increased by an amount 

13 equal to the recapture percentage of the aggregate 

14 decrease in the credits allowed under section 38 for 

15 all prior taxable years which would have resulted 

16 solely from reducing to zero any credit determined 

17 under this section with respect to such property. The 

18 preceding sentence shall not apply to property leased 

19 to the taxpayer.

20 ‘‘(2) RECAPTURE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes 

21 of this subsection, the recapture percentage shall be 

22 determined in accordance with the following table:

The recapture 

‘‘If the recapture event occurs in: percentage is: 

Year 1 ........................................................................ 100

Year 2 ........................................................................ 60

Year 3 ........................................................................ 30

Year 4 or thereafter .................................................. 0.
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1 The references to years in the preceding table are 

2 references to the consecutive taxable years beginning 

3 with the taxable year in which the property is placed 

4 in service by the taxpayer as year 1. 

5 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar 

6 to the rules of paragraphs (3) and (4), and subpara7 graphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (5), of section 

8 50(a) shall apply for purposes of this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this sec10 tion—

11 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATION RULES.—For purposes of 

12 subsection (b), all persons which are treated as a 

13 single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of sec14 tion 52 shall be treated as a single taxpayer, and the 

15 dollar amount contained in such subsection shall be 

16 allocated among such persons under regulations pre17 scribed by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION IN BASIS.—Rules similar to 

19 the rules of paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 50(c),

20 and section 1016(a)(19), shall apply with respect to 

21 property for which a credit is determined under this 

22 section. 

23 ‘‘(3) OTHER DEDUCTIONS AND CREDITS.—No 

24 deduction or credit shall be allowed under any other 

25 provision of this chapter with respect to any expend-
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1 iture for which a credit is determined under this sec2 tion.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

4 (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para6 graph (14), 

7 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

8 paragraph (15) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(16) the breastfeeding promotion and support 

12 credit determined under section 45G(a).’’

13 (2) Subsection (d) of section 39 of such Code 

14 (relating to carryback and carryforward of unused 

15 credits) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(11) NO CARRYBACK OF SECTION 45G CREDIT

18 BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2003.—No portion of the un19 used business credit for any taxable year which is 

20 attributable to the credit determined under section 

21 45G may be carried back to a taxable year beginning 

22 before January 1, 2003.’’. 

23 (3) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

24 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 
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1 amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 item:

‘‘Sec. 45G. Credit for employer expenses incurred to facilitate employed mothers who breastfeed or express milk for 

their children.’’

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

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

5 December 31, 2002. 

6 TITLE III—SAFE AND EFFECTIVE 

7 BREAST PUMPS 

8 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Safe and Effective 

10 Breast Pumps Act’’. 

11 SEC. 302. BREAST PUMPS. 

12 (a) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—The Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services shall take such action as may 

14 be appropriate to put into effect a performance standard 

15 for breast pumps irrespective of the class to which the 

16 breast pumps have been classified under section 513 of 

17 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

18 360c). In establishing such standard, the Secretary shall 

19 identify those pumps appropriate for use on a regular 

20 basis in a place of employment based on the efficiency and 

21 effectiveness of the pump and on sanitation factors related 

22 to communal use. Action to put into effect a performance 

23 standard shall be taken within one year of the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act.
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1 (b) COMPLIANCE POLICY GUIDE.—The Secretary of 

2 Health and Human Services, acting through the Commis3 sioner of Food and Drugs, shall issue a compliance policy 

4 guide which will assure that women who want to 

5 breastfeed a child are given full and complete information 

6 respecting breast pumps. 

7 TITLE IV—DEFINITION OF MED8 ICAL CARE IN INTERNAL REV9 ENUE CODE EXPANDED TO 

10 INCLUDE BREASTFEEDING 

11 EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES 

12 SEC. 401. DEFINITION OF MEDICAL CARE EXPANDED TO IN13 CLUDE BREASTFEEDING EQUIPMENT AND 

14 SERVICES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 213(d) 

16 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining medical 

17 care) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara18 graph (C), by striking the period at the end of subpara19 graph (D) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by inserting after sub20 paragraph (D) the following: 

21 ‘‘(E) qualified breastfeeding equipment 

22 and services.’’. 

23 (b) QUALIFIED BREASTFEEDING EQUIPMENT AND

24 SERVICES.—Subsection (d) of section 213 of such Code 
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1 (relating to definitions) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(12) QUALIFIED BREASTFEEDING EQUIPMENT

4 AND SERVICES.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(E), 

5 the term ‘qualified breastfeeding equipment and 

6 services’ means—

7 ‘‘(A) breast pumps and other equipment 

8 specially designed to assist a mother to 

9 breastfeed or express milk for her child but only 

10 if such pumps and equipment meet such stand11 ards (if any) prescribed by the Secretary of 

12 Health and Human Services, and 

13 ‘‘(B) consultation services relating to 

14 breastfeeding.’’. 

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

16 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

17 December 31, 2002.

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