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. ABER-
CROMBIE, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of Cali-
fornia, 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 Edu-
cation and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in 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 perform-
ance standard for breast pumps; and to provide tax 
incentives to encourage breastfeeding.
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 ‘‘Breastfeeding Pro-
motion Act’’.
TITLE I—AMENDMENT TO THE 
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pregnancy Discrimi-
nation Act Amendments of 2003’’. 
SEC. 102. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Women with infants and toddlers are a rap-
idly growing segment of the labor force today. 
(2) Statistical surveys of families show that 
over 50 percent of mothers with children less than 
1 year of age are in the labor force. 
(3) The American Academy of Pediatrics rec-
ommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for six 
months but continuing for at least the 1st year of 
a child’s life and that arrangements be made to 
allow a mother’s expressing of milk if mother and 
child must separate. 
(4) Research studies show that children who are 
not breastfed have higher rates of mortality, menin-
gitis, some types of cancers, asthma and other res-
piratory illnesses, bacterial and viral infections, 
diarrhoeal diseases, ear infections, allergies, and obe-
sity.
(5) Research studies have also shown that 
breastmilk and breastfeeding have protective effects 
against the development of a number of chronic dis-
eases, 
including 
juvenile 
diabetes, 
lymphomas, 
Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, some chronic liver 
diseases, and ulcerative colitis. 
(6) Maternal benefits of breastfeeding include a 
reduced risk for postpartum hemorrhage and de-
creased risk for developing osteoporosis, ovarian can-
cer, and premenopausal breast cancer. 
(7) The health benefits to children from 
breastfeeding translate into a threefold decrease in 
parental absenteeism due to infant illness. 
(8) Congress intended to include breastfeeding 
and expressing breast milk as protected conduct 
under the amendment made by the Pregnancy Dis-
crimination Act of 1978 to title VII of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964. 
(9) Although title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964, as so amended, applies with respect to ‘‘preg-
nancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions’’, a 
few courts have failed to reach the conclusion that 
breastfeeding and expressing breast milk in the 
workplace are covered by the such title. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—