I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1174 
To provide a lactation room in public buildings. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2017 
Ms. NORTON (for herself, Mr. DEFAZIO, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To provide a lactation room in public buildings. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness For 
Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. LACTATION ROOM IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
(a) LACTATION ROOM
IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS.— 
Chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 3317. Lactation room in public buildings 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY.—The term ‘ap-
propriate authority’ means the head of a Federal 
agency, the Architect of the Capitol, or other official 
authority responsible for the operation of a public 
building. 
‘‘(2) COVERED PUBLIC BUILDING.—The term 
‘covered public building’ means a public building (as 
defined in section 3301) that is open to the public 
and contains a public restroom, and includes a build-
ing listed in section 6301 or 5101. 
‘‘(3) LACTATION
ROOM.—The term ‘lactation 
room’ means a hygienic place, other than a bath-
room, that— 
‘‘(A) is shielded from view; 
‘‘(B) is free from intrusion; and 
‘‘(C) contains a chair, a working surface, 
and, if the public building is otherwise supplied 
with electricity, an electrical outlet. 
‘‘(b) LACTATION ROOM REQUIRED.—Except as pro-
vided in subsection (c), the appropriate authority of a cov-
ered public building shall ensure that the building contains 
a lactation room that is made available for use by mem-
bers of the public to express breast milk. 
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‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—A covered public building may be 
excluded from the requirement in subsection (b) at the dis-
cretion of the appropriate authority if— 
‘‘(1) the public building— 
‘‘(A) does not contain a lactation room for 
employees who work in the building; and 
‘‘(B) does not have a room that could be 
repurposed as a lactation room or a space that 
could be made private using portable materials, 
at a reasonable cost; or 
‘‘(2) new construction would be required to cre-
ate a lactation room in the public building and the 
cost of such construction is unfeasible. 
‘‘(d) NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to authorize an individual to 
enter a public building or portion thereof that the indi-
vidual is not otherwise authorized to enter.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 33 of title 40, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after the item related to 
section 3316 the following new item: 
‘‘3317. Lactation room in public buildings.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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