I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3614 

To increase the availability and affordability of menstrual products for 

individuals with limited access, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2021 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. 

BEATTY, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. 

CARSON, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK

of Massachusetts, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. 

DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELBENE, 

Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. GARCIA

of Texas, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mrs. HAYES, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. KEATING, Ms. 

KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LARSEN

of Washington, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of 

California, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of 

New York, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. 

NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAPPAS, 

Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, 

Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH

of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SUOZZI, 

Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. 

TORRES of New York, Mr. TRONE, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. 

WELCH, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in 

addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Energy 

and Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 


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A BILL 

To increase the availability and affordability of menstrual 

products for individuals 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 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Menstrual products are a necessity each 

9 month for millions of individuals across the United 

10 States. 

11 (2) More than half of the United States popu12 lation will likely menstruate every month for decades 

13 of their lives. 

14 (3) This lack of menstrual products, often 

15 called ‘‘period poverty’’, can adversely affect an indi16 vidual’s health and well-being. 

17 (4) Period poverty exacerbates the vicious cycle 

18 of poverty by further marginalizing individuals who 

19 menstruate, causing them to withdraw from daily 

20 life, forego pay, or miss educational opportunities. 


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1 (5) Period poverty existed long before the 

2 COVID–19 pandemic. 

3 (6) The COVID–19 pandemic has forced mil4 lions of individuals out of work, thereby exacerbating 

5 the socioeconomic and health challenges of individ6 uals facing period poverty. 

7 (7) Addressing period poverty is essential to en8 suring educational equity for diverse populations. 

9 (8) Studies have shown that 1 in 4 women and 

10 girls reports struggling to afford menstrual prod11 ucts. 

12 (9) Studies have shown that 1 in 10 college stu13 dents in the United States are affected by period 

14 poverty. 

15 (10) Period poverty disproportionately affects 

16 Black, Latina, immigrant, and first-generation stu17 dents at higher rates than other cohorts. 

18 (11) Individuals living in period poverty are 

19 more likely to experience depression than individuals 

20 with access to period products. 

21 (12) Period poverty can increase the risk of in22 fections due to— 

23 (A) the use of substitutes for menstrual 

24 products (such as paper towels or toilet paper); 

25 and 


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1 (B) the inability to change menstrual prod2 ucts as frequently as recommended. 

3 SEC. 3. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS FOR STUDENTS AT ELE4 MENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4108(5)(C) of the Ele6 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 7118(5)(C)) is amended— 

8 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

9 semicolon; 

10 (2) in clause (vii), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the 

11 semicolon; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(viii) provide free menstrual products 

14 to students who use menstrual products;’’. 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 4102 of the Elementary 

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7112) 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

19 (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and 

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(6) MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘men23 strual products’ means sanitary napkins and tam24 pons that conform to applicable industry stand25 ards.’’. 


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1 (c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, 

3 in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

4 Services, shall promulgate rules with respect to the defini5 tion of ‘‘menstrual products’’ in paragraph (6) of section 

6 4102 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7112), as amended by section 3(b). 

8 SEC. 4. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS FOR STUDENTS AT INSTI9 TUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

10 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to al11 leviate— 

12 (1) the barriers to academic success faced by 

13 many college and graduate students due to the in14 ability of such students to afford to purchase men15 strual products; and 

16 (2) the unique set of burdens that college and 

17 graduate students experiencing period poverty face 

18 that can be compounded by lack of access to basic 

19 needs such as housing, food, transportation, and ac20 cess to physical and mental health services. 

21 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

22 establish a program to award grants, on a competitive 

23 basis, to at least 4 institutions of higher education (as 

24 such term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), to— 


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1 (1) support programs that provide free men2 strual products to students; and 

3 (2) report on best practices of such programs. 

4 (c) APPLICATION.—To apply for a grant under this 

5 section, an institution of higher education shall submit to 

6 the Secretary an application in such form, at such time, 

7 and containing such information as the Secretary deter8 mines appropriate, including an assurance that such grant 

9 will be used to carry out the activities described in sub10 section (e). 

11 (d) COMMUNITY COLLEGES.—At least 50 percent of 

12 the grants awarded under this section shall be awarded 

13 to community colleges. 

14 (e) GRANT USES.—A grant awarded under this sec15 tion may only be used to— 

16 (1) carry out or expand activities that fund pro17 grams that support direct provision of free men18 strual products to students in appropriate campus 

19 locations, including— 

20 (A) campus restroom facilities; 

21 (B) wellness centers; and 

22 (C) on-campus residential buildings; 

23 (2) report on best practices of such programs; 


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1 (3) conduct outreach to students to encourage 

2 participation in menstrual equity programs and serv3 ices; 

4 (4) help eligible students apply for and enroll in 

5 local, State, and Federal public assistance programs; 

6 and 

7 (5) coordinate and collaborate with government 

8 or community-based organizations to carry out the 

9 activities described in paragraphs (1) through (4). 

10 (f) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec11 tion, the Secretary shall prioritize— 

12 (1) institutions with Federal Pell Grant enroll13 ment that is at least 25 percent of the total enroll14 ment of such institution; and 

15 (2) historically Black colleges and universities, 

16 Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American and 

17 Native American Pacific Islander-serving institu18 tions, and other minority serving institutions. 

19 (g) MENSTRUAL PRODUCT DEFINED.—In this sec20 tion, the term ‘‘menstrual product’’ means a sanitary nap21 kin or tampon that conforms to industry standards. 

22 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 out of funds 

24 appropriated for a fiscal year to the Fund for the Improve25 ment of Postsecondary Education under section 741 of the 


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1 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1138) to carry 

2 out the grant program under this section. 

3 SEC. 5. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS FOR INCARCERATED INDI4 VIDUALS AND DETAINEES. 

5 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STATES.—Beginning on the 

6 date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act, and annually thereafter, the chief executive offi8 cer of each State that receives a grant under subpart 1 

9 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

10 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) (com11 monly referred to as the ‘‘Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 

12 Assistance Grant Program’’) shall submit to the Attorney 

13 General a certification, in such form and containing such 

14 information as the Attorney General may require, that all 

15 incarcerated individuals and detainees in that State have 

16 access to menstrual products on demand and at no cost 

17 to the incarcerated individuals and detainees, and that no 

18 visitor is prohibited from visiting an incarcerated indi19 vidual due to the visitor’s use of menstrual products. 

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

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

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

23 the Attorney General shall reduce the amount that the 

24 State would have otherwise received under section 505 of 

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


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

2 fiscal year. 

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

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

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

6 for a fiscal year pursuant to subsection (b) shall be reallo7 cated under such section to States that submit such cer8 tifications. 

9 (d) MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.—For the purposes of 

10 subsection (a), the term ‘‘menstrual products’’ means san11 itary napkins and tampons that conform to applicable in12 dustry standards. 

13 (e) AVAILABILITY FOR FEDERAL PRISONERS.—The 

14 Attorney General shall make rules requiring, and the Di15 rector of the Bureau of Prisons shall take such actions 

16 as may be necessary to ensure, the distribution and acces17 sibility without charge of menstrual products to prisoners 

18 in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, including any 

19 prisoner in a Federal penal or correctional institution, any 

20 Federal prisoner in a State penal or correctional institu21 tion, and any Federal prisoner in a facility administered 

22 by a private detention entity, to ensure that each prisoner 

23 who requires these products may receive them in sufficient 

24 quantity. 


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1 (f) AVAILABILITY FOR DETAINEES.—The Secretary 

2 of Homeland Security shall take such actions as may be 

3 necessary to ensure that menstrual products are distrib4 uted and made accessible to each alien detained by the 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security, including any alien in a 

6 facility administered by a private detention entity, at no 

7 expense to the alien. 

8 SEC. 6. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS AVAILABILITY FOR HOME9 LESS INDIVIDUALS UNDER EMERGENCY 

10 FOOD AND SHELTER GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

12 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11346(a)) is amend13 ed— 

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

15 end; 

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

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(7) guidelines that ensure that amounts pro21 vided under the program to private nonprofit organi22 zations and local governments may be used to pro23 vide sanitary napkins and tampons that conform to 

24 applicable industry standards.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS COVERED BY MEDICAID. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1905 of the Social Secu3 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (30) and 

6 (31) as paragraphs (31) and (32), respectively; 

7 and 

8 (B) by inserting after paragraph (29) the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(30) menstrual products (as defined in sub11 section (hh));’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(hh) MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.—For purposes of 

15 subsection (a)(30), the term ‘menstrual products’ means 

16 sanitary napkins, tampons, liners, cups, and similar items 

17 used by individuals with respect to menstruation and that 

18 conform to industry standards.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 the amendments made by this section shall apply 

22 with respect to medical assistance furnished during 

23 or after the first calendar quarter beginning on or 

24 after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 

25 enactment of this Act. 


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1 (2) EXCEPTION FOR STATE LEGISLATION.—In 

2 the case of a State plan under title XIX of the So3 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) that the 

4 Secretary of Health and Human Services determines 

5 requires State legislation in order for the respective 

6 plan to meet any requirement imposed by amend7 ments made by this section, the respective plan shall 

8 not be regarded as failing to comply with the re9 quirements of such title solely on the basis of its 

10 failure to meet such an additional requirement be11 fore the first day of the first calendar quarter begin12 ning after the close of the first regular session of the 

13 State legislature that begins after the date of the en14 actment of this Act. For purposes of the previous 

15 sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year 

16 legislative session, each year of the session shall be 

17 considered to be a separate regular session of the 

18 State legislature. 

19 SEC. 8. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS FOR EMPLOYEES. 

20 Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

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

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(h) The Secretary shall by rule promulgate a re24 quirement that each employer with not less than 100 em25 ployees provide menstrual products free of charge for emVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3614.IH H3614

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1 ployees of the employer. For purposes of the preceding 

2 sentence, ‘menstrual products’ means sanitary napkins 

3 and tampons that conform to applicable industry stand4 ards.’’. 

5 SEC. 9. MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS IN FEDERAL BUILDINGS. 

6 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each appropriate authority 

7 shall ensure that menstrual products are stocked in, and 

8 available free of charge in, each covered restroom in each 

9 covered public building under the jurisdiction of such au10 thority. 

11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘ap13 propriate authority’’ means the head of a Federal 

14 agency, the Architect of the Capitol, or other official 

15 authority responsible for the operation of a covered 

16 public building. 

17 (2) COVERED PUBLIC BUILDING.—The term 

18 ‘‘covered public building’’ means a public building, 

19 as defined in section 3301 of title 40, United States 

20 Code, that is open to the public and contains a pub21 lic restroom, and includes a building listed in section 

22 6301 or 5101 of such title. 

23 (3) COVERED RESTROOM.—The term ‘‘covered 

24 restroom’’ means a restroom in a covered public 

25 building. 


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1 (4) MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘‘men2 strual products’’ means sanitary napkins and tam3 pons that conform to applicable industry standards. 

Æ 


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