IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 406 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Menstrual Hygiene Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2019 
Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. MOORE, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. SCHA-
KOWSKY, Ms. TITUS, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. CAROLYN 
B. MALONEY of New York, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY 
of New York, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Menstrual Hygiene Day. 
Whereas, since 2013, Menstrual Hygiene Day is annually 
commemorated on May 28 to raise awareness and cata-
lyze political action around the challenges menstruating 
women and girls around the world face; 
Whereas the Joint Monitoring Programme of the World 
Health Organization and UNICEF defines menstrual hy-
giene management as when ‘‘women and adolescent girls 
are using a clean menstrual management material to ab-
sorb or collect menstrual blood, that can be changed in 
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privacy as often as necessary for the duration of a men-
strual period, using soap and water for washing the body 
as required, and having access to safe and convenient fa-
cilities to dispose of used menstrual management mate-
rials’’; 
Whereas 500,000,000 women and girls around the world lack 
adequate facilities for menstrual health and hygiene man-
agement; 
Whereas cultural stigma and lack of access to menstrual 
health and hygiene education, sanitation, and infrastruc-
ture can limit access to schools, jobs, and religious activi-
ties; 
Whereas, around the world, 1 in 3 girls have access to inad-
equate toilets, and many others face social and cultural 
restrictions when they have their periods; 
Whereas displaced women and adolescent girls, whether by 
conflict, climate, or natural disaster, face significant bar-
riers to managing monthly menstruation in a safe, pri-
vate, and dignified manner; 
Whereas failing to provide disposal facilities for used sanitary 
pads or cloths can result in a significant solid waste 
issue, causing blockage of latrines and pits; 
Whereas 25,000,000 women in the United States live at or 
below the poverty line, often without consistent access to 
menstrual hygiene products; 
Whereas a survey of low-income women in a large United 
States city published in January 2019 found that nearly 
two-thirds couldn’t afford menstrual hygiene products 
during the previous year; 
Whereas estimates reveal that a woman may spend over 
$1,700 in her lifetime on tampons, a figure that is multi-
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plied for women who also support children who are men-
struating; 
Whereas incarcerated women have illustrated that their dig-
nity has been compromised as they seek to access men-
strual hygiene products; and 
Whereas, in the United States, a school’s failure to provide 
a supportive environment for menstruating students can 
have negative consequences: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the need to break the silence, 
raise awareness, and change negative social norms 
surrounding menstrual hygiene around the world; 
(2) recognizes the need for increased research 
on access to menstrual health management both in 
the United States and around the world; 
(3) recognizes the barriers that vulnerable pop-
ulations face to access menstrual hygiene manage-
ment products, including in schools, employment fa-
cilities, prisons, homeless shelters, after natural dis-
asters, and in refugee camps; 
(4) encourages the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development to in-
tegrate menstrual hygiene services in settings includ-
ing conflict, natural disaster response, refugee and 
internally displaced persons response, and in devel-
opment activities in low-income countries; 
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(5) urges policymakers and decisionmakers to 
enact laws to comprehensively address the challenges 
menstruating women and girls face in the United 
States and around the world; and 
(6) encourages the people of the United States 
to observe Menstrual Hygiene Day. 
Æ 
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