III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 306 

Recognizing that the United States needs to support and empower mothers 

in the workforce by investing in the Mom Economy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2023 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing that the United States needs to support and 

empower mothers in the workforce by investing in the 

Mom Economy. 

Whereas mothers are an essential part of the workforce and 

economy of the United States; 

Whereas 2,500,000 women left the workforce in the first year 

of the COVID–19 pandemic, as compared to 1,800,000 

men, largely as a result of the burdens of childcare, work, 

and remote learning; 

Whereas maternal employment fell by 15.7 percent as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic, as compared to paternal employment, which fell by 9.6 percent in the same 

time period; 


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Whereas at least 4⁄10 of women report having experienced 

gender discrimination at work; 

Whereas, on average, women are paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to men; 

Whereas Black women, Latinas, Native women, and many 

communities of Asian-American and Pacific-Islander 

women experience higher poverty rates and higher wage 

gaps compared to White, non-Hispanic men; 

Whereas women occupy close to 2⁄3 of jobs that pay the Federal minimum wage or just a few dollars above it; 

Whereas even 1 percent of mothers leaving the workforce 

would result in an estimated $8,700,000,000 economic 

fallout for families; 

Whereas strong investments in childcare are essential for the 

full employment of women, and the gross domestic product of the United States would increase by 10 to 15 basis 

points with such investments; 

Whereas 1⁄2 of the families in the United States with children 

under the age of 18 years have a mother who contributes 

at least 40 percent of household earnings; 

Whereas mothers of color play a vital role in the financial 

stability of their families, with 79 percent of Black mothers, 64 percent of Native American mothers, 49 percent 

of Latina mothers, and 43 percent of Asian-American 

and Pacific-Islander mothers serving as breadwinners; 

Whereas, in addition to the economic security that mothers 

provide for their families, mothers are more than 3 times 

as likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the 

housework and caregiving in their households; 


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Whereas, in addition to caregiving for children, mothers disproportionately shoulder unpaid caregiving responsibilities for older relatives and other family members with 

disabilities; 

Whereas women are twice as likely as men to say that taking 

time off had a negative impact on their professional development; 

Whereas industries dominated by women disproportionately 

fail to provide family-friendly workplace benefits such as 

paid family and medical leave, health insurance, and retirement plans; 

Whereas 44 percent of workers are not eligible for unpaid, 

job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 

(29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); 

Whereas 3 of 10 women without access to paid leave exit the 

workforce after giving birth; 

Whereas paid leave policies can reduce the number of women 

leaving their jobs by 20 percent during the first year 

after welcoming a child and up to 50 percent after 5 

years; 

Whereas mothers sometimes find childcare costs are almost 

as much as their paychecks, creating a financial incentive 

for mothers to leave the workforce in exchange for 

childcare duties; 

Whereas 40 percent of parents have gone into debt due to the 

high costs of childcare; 

Whereas the childcare crisis costs the United States 

$122,000,000,000 each year, including $78,000,000,000 

in lost earnings and job search expenses, 


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$23,000,000,000 in lost workforce productivity, and 

$21,000,000,000 in lost tax revenue; 

Whereas a significant investment in childcare is simultaneously job creating and job enabling, creating good jobs 

and supporting parental employment; 

Whereas, by encouraging women to remain in the workforce 

full time, access to paid leave and childcare significantly 

boosts mothers’ lifetime earning potential; 

Whereas the 2021 temporary expansion of the child tax credit 

lifted 3,700,000 children out of poverty; 

Whereas families used the child tax credit to cover routine expenses, improve nutrition, decrease reliance on credit 

cards and other high-risk financial services, and make 

long-term educational investments; and 

Whereas families of color saw the largest quality of life improvements due to the expansion of the child tax credit 

in 2021: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the United States needs to prioritize a Mom 

3 Economy that invests in the caregiving infrastruc4 ture required to adequately support and empower 

5 mothers in the workforce and sustain a thriving 

6 economy; 

7 (2) mothers, especially mothers of color, face 

8 systemic economic and social inequalities that re9 strict their ability to balance parenting responsibil10 ities with workplace roles and limit their professional 

11 advancement; 


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1 (3) mothers play an integral role not only in the 

2 financial well-being of their families but in the pro3 ductivity of the American economy as a whole; 

4 (4) the United States should invest in its moth5 ers by expanding and developing the social safety net 

6 in order to secure meaningful and sustainable eco7 nomic growth, including— 

8 (A) robust paid family and medical leave 

9 plans for all workers, including— 

10 (i) paid parental leave following the 

11 birth of a child or the placement of a child 

12 for adoption or foster care, provided in 

13 equal amounts for all parents regardless of 

14 gender; and 

15 (ii) paid leave policies that can be 

16 used for family caregiving and workers’ 

17 own medical leave; 

18 (B) paid menstrual leave and remote work 

19 accommodations for workers experiencing de20 bilitating menstrual or menopause symptoms; 

21 (C) investment in the childcare industry 

22 with the goal of providing universal childcare 

23 and early learning, including— 

24 (i) robust funding for Head Start and 

25 Early Head Start programs; 


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1 (ii) Federal financial support for 

2 childcare programs to guarantee all fami3 lies have access to affordable and high 

4 quality child care; and 

5 (iii) commitments to pay childcare 

6 workers a dignified, living wage; 

7 (D) access to nutritious food as a human 

8 right, including through— 

9 (i) boosting SNAP maximum and 

10 minimum benefits and removing barriers to 

11 access, including time restrictions and ad12 ditional work requirements; and 

13 (ii) increasing funds for school meals 

14 and other nutrition programs to combat 

15 child hunger and making school meals 

16 more accessible; 

17 (E) the implementation and expansion of 

18 child poverty reduction tools that improve in19 come security, infant and maternal health, and 

20 educational and economic outcomes into the 

21 second generation, including— 

22 (i) a permanent expansion of the child 

23 tax credit; and 

24 (ii) improvements in the earned in25 come tax credit, which lifts millions of peoVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR306.IS SR306

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1 ple above the poverty line each year and 

2 boosts labor force participation among sin3 gle mothers; 

4 (F) addressing the Nation’s maternal mor5 tality crisis through critical investments in ma6 ternal health care, including ensuring access to 

7 the full range of reproductive health care and 

8 family planning; 

9 (G) raising the Federal minimum wage for 

10 all workers, including tipped workers, and ad11 justing it on a yearly basis to keep pace with 

12 inflation; and 

13 (H) investments in legislation that ensures 

14 protections for LGBTQ+ mothers in the work15 place, such as the Equality Act, and reduces 

16 wage discrimination, such as the Paycheck 

17 Fairness Act; and 

18 (5) United States policymakers should include a 

19 specific focus on working mothers in future policy20 making, beyond the aforementioned policies, includ21 ing with regard to economic policy, fiscal policy, and 

22 social safety net policy, in order to ensure that work23 ing mothers and other caregivers can continue to 

24 balance their roles as family anchors and caregivers 


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1 with their work and economic contributions to both 

2 their families and the economy of the United States. 

Æ 


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