IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 121 
Recognizing that the United States needs a Marshall Plan for Moms in 
order to revitalize and restore mothers in the workforce. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2021 
Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. 
KHANNA, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. 
CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. NOR-
TON, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TORRES of New 
York, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. 
BEATTY, and Mr. BOWMAN) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition 
to the Committees on Agriculture, Ways and Means, and Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing that the United States needs a Marshall Plan 
for Moms in order to revitalize and restore mothers 
in the workforce. 
Whereas any relief and long-term recovery from the economic 
fallout of the COVID–19 pandemic must recognize, re-
build, and return mothers to the workforce; 
Whereas women, and especially working mothers, are facing 
the brunt of the economic fallout of the pandemic as a 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:17 Feb 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR121.IH
HR121
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 121 IH 
result of existing social barriers and policy failures that 
have been compounded by enduring racism and gender 
injustices, such as— 
(1) the lack of a care infrastructure, including high 
child care costs and child care deserts; 
(2) the lack of family-supportive workplaces; 
(3) the lack of a national paid leave policy; and 
(4) gender and racial pay inequities; 
Whereas, at the beginning of 2020, women made up the ma-
jority of the workforce for the first time in almost a dec-
ade, even as they continued to unjustly face gender and 
racial wage gaps; 
Whereas women are overrepresented in low-wage jobs and 
underrepresented in high-wage jobs, making up two- 
thirds of minimum-wage earners; 
Whereas Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and 
the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, but the gender 
and racial wage gaps still persist in every industry, at 
every level of employment, regardless of education level or 
experience; 
Whereas women’s wages are key to their families’ economic 
security and survival; 
Whereas, in 2019, before COVID–19 hit the United States, 
there were roughly 9,700,000 working mothers with a 
child under the age of 6; 
Whereas mothers’ earnings are inextricably linked to the fam-
ilies’ earnings, such that per parents’ labor force partici-
pation rates— 
(1) even 1 percent of mothers leaving the workforce 
would result in an estimated $8,700,000,000 economic 
fallout for working families; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:17 Feb 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR121.IH
HR121
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 121 IH 
(2) even 1 percent of full-time working mothers re-
ducing their work to part-time would mean an estimated 
$5,000,000,000 less in wages per year; 
Whereas total reductions in women in the workforce partici-
pation can lead to $64,500,000,000 in lost income per 
year; 
Whereas even before the pandemic, working mothers faced 
continued biases and stigmas in the workplace that 
caregiving responsibilities will negatively impact their 
work performance, and now these concerns are intensified 
with increased family demands; 
Whereas Asian-American and Pacific Islander women, in par-
ticular Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women, get 
paid as low as $0.50 for every dollar a White man makes, 
illustrating some of the widest wage gaps among all 
women and a pay gap that increases for Asian-American 
women even more with age; 
Whereas Black women make only $0.63 for every dollar a 
White man makes, and can lose $946,000 in their life-
times; 
Whereas Latina women earn $0.55 for every dollar earned a 
White man, and may lose over $1,100,000 in wages over 
the course of a 40-year career; 
Whereas Native American women are paid $0.60 for every 
dollar a White man makes and are murdered at 10 times 
the rate of the national average, even though financial 
independence and security can increase chances of escap-
ing violence for these women; 
Whereas women of color play a vital role in the financial sta-
bility of their families, and any disruptions to their earn-
ings would be detrimental to the welfare of their families; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:17 Feb 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR121.IH
HR121
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 121 IH 
Whereas American mothers are breadwinners in nearly half 
of families with children under 18, including 48 percent 
of White mothers, 43 percent of Asian-American and Pa-
cific Islander mothers, 79 percent of Black mothers, 48 
percent of Latina mothers, and 64 percent of Native 
American mothers, and yet the wage gap for mothers is 
larger than for women overall, such that mothers with 
full-time, year-round jobs are paid 70 cents for every dol-
lar paid to fathers; 
Whereas women of color experience higher poverty rates and 
higher wage gaps than their White counterparts due to 
disproportionate representation in minimum wage jobs; 
Whereas women have suffered the majority of pandemic-re-
lated job losses, wherein since February 2020, women 
have lost over 5,400,000 net jobs and account for 55 per-
cent of overall net job loss since the start of the crisis; 
Whereas during the pandemic, mothers permanently leaving 
the workforce or reducing work hours are disrupting their 
career trajectory and endangering their future Social Se-
curity earnings and other potential retirement income; 
Whereas child nutrition is inextricably and intimately related 
to mothers in the workforce, such that almost one in four 
children experienced food insecurity in 2020; 
Whereas mothers are more than 3 times as likely as fathers 
to be responsible for most of the housework and 
caregiving, and are 1.5 times more likely than fathers to 
be spending an extra 3 or more hours a day on house-
work and child care, which is equivalent to 20 hours a 
week, or half a full-time job; 
Whereas single mothers are more likely than other parents to 
do all the housework and child care in their household, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:17 Feb 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR121.IH
HR121
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 121 IH 
and are more likely than mothers overall to claim finan-
cial insecurity as one of their top concerns; 
Whereas the pandemic has signaled a financial and emotional 
calamity for America’s mothers, who are shouldering the 
majority of child care, domestic work, and remote school-
ing responsibilities; 
Whereas throughout the COVID–19 pandemic, women of 
color work on the frontlines as essential workers and 
across a variety of industries, such as nursing assistants, 
home health aides, and child care educators and pro-
viders; 
Whereas millions of Americans are suffering financially due 
to the COVID–19 pandemic, but women of color are ex-
periencing job loss at higher rates than their White coun-
terparts; 
Whereas 100 percent of net jobs lost in December 2020 were 
jobs held by women of color, with women losing 156,000 
jobs, and there were over 2,000,000 fewer women in the 
labor force in December than there were before the pan-
demic began; 
Whereas women of color are disproportionately represented in 
many industries that lack critical benefits like paid sick 
leave, including food services, hospitality, retail, and so-
cial assistance, and are experiencing significant job losses 
due to the COVID–19 pandemic; 
Whereas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Janu-
ary 2021 unemployment data, the jobless rate for Black 
women and Latina women aged 20 and over is over 60 
percent higher than their White counterparts; 
Whereas Asian Americans recorded the highest jobless rates 
among women in the last 6 months of 2020, even though 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:17 Feb 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR121.IH
HR121
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 121 IH 
prepandemic, their average unemployment rate was the 
lowest, and Asian-American women aged 16 and above 
were hit hardest, making up 44 percent of unemployed 
women for at least 6 months; 
Whereas child care is the lifeline for working mothers, and 
over three-fourths of mothers with children under age 10 
say child care is one of their top 3 challenges during 
COVID–19; 
Whereas it is estimated that as many as 4,500,000 child care 
slots could be permanently lost due to the pandemic, af-
fecting at least 2,250,000 families; 
Whereas as many as 55,000,000 students were forced into re-
mote learning as a result of abrupt school closures; 
Whereas many parents are providing remote learning super-
vision for younger children, and 80 percent of mothers of 
kids under 12 years of age have said they are the lead 
parent supervising remote learning; 
Whereas interruptions by school closures and child care have 
disproportionately impacted more women than men, forc-
ing women to reduce work hours, take a leave of absence, 
or permanently leave the workforce; 
Whereas 95 percent of the child care workforce is comprised 
of women, and nearly two-thirds of child care workers 
with children report accessing public support programs 
and often struggle to afford high-quality child care for 
their own families; 
Whereas 60 percent of businesses in the child care industry 
are minority owned; 
Whereas essential workers who are single parents face addi-
tional challenges and financial burdens regarding their 
need for affordable child care; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:17 Feb 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR121.IH
HR121
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS