Title: Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2017
This bill establishes a tax credit, a tax exclusion, and requirements that apply to the purchase or distribution of menstrual hygiene products.
The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand the tax exclusion for reimbursements from a health flexible spending arrangement to include amounts paid or incurred for menstrual hygiene products, and (2) allow a refundable tax credit of $120 for certain individuals who use menstrual hygiene products, subject to adjustments for inflation and a limitation based on adjusted gross income.
The bill amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to require the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board to establish written guidelines for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program to ensure that funds provided under the program to private nonprofit organizations and local governments may be used to provide menstrual hygiene products.
Each state that receives a grant under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program must annually certify to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that all female inmates and detainees in that state have access to menstrual hygiene products on demand and at no cost to the inmates and detainees. If a state does not submit the required certification, DOJ must reduce the state's grant funding under the program by 20% and reallocate the funding to states that submitted certifications.
This bill also amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to require the Department of Labor to issue a rule requiring private employers with not less than 100 employees to provide free menstrual hygiene products for their employees.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 972 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 972

  To increase the availability and affordability of menstrual hygiene 
    products for women and girls with limited access, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2017

Ms. Meng (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Norton, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, 
Ms. Moore, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Lee, Ms. Bonamici, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney 
of New York, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. McCollum, Mr. 
 Meeks, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Payne, Mr. Hastings, and 
   Ms. Clarke of New York) introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the 
Committees on Financial Services, the Judiciary, and Education and the 
 Workforce, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To increase the availability and affordability of menstrual hygiene 
    products for women and girls with limited access, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Menstrual Equity For All Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS REIMBURSEMENT FROM HEALTH FLEXIBLE 
              SPENDING ARRANGEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 106 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Menstrual Hygiene Products.--
            ``(1) In general.--Amounts paid or incurred for menstrual 
        hygiene products shall be treated as a qualified medical 
        expense eligible for reimbursement from a health flexible 
        spending arrangement.
            ``(2) Menstrual hygiene products defined.--For purposes of 
        paragraph (1), the term `menstrual hygiene products' means 
        tampons, pads, liners, cups, sponges, douches, wipes, sprays, 
        and similar products used by women with respect to menstruation 
        or other genital-tract secretions.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS REFUNDABLE CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to refundable credits) 
is amended by inserting after section 36B the following new section:

``SEC. 36C. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS.

    ``(a) In General.--There shall be allowed as a credit against the 
tax imposed by this subtitle with respect to each eligible individual 
for whom the taxpayer is allowed a deduction under section 151 an 
amount equal to $120.
    ``(b) Limitation Based on Adjusted Gross Income.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of any taxpayer whose 
        modified adjusted gross income exceeds the threshold amount, 
        the amount of the credit allowable under subsection (a) shall 
        be zero. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 
        `modified adjusted gross income' means adjusted gross income 
        increased by any amount excluded from gross income under 
        section 911, 931, or 933.
            ``(2) Threshold amount.--For purposes of paragraph (1), the 
        term `threshold amount' means--
                    ``(A) $47,520 in the case of a joint return,
                    ``(B) $35,640 in the case of a head of household, 
                and
                    ``(C) $23,760 in the case of a separate return.
    ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Eligible individual.--The term `eligible individual' 
        means an individual who uses menstrual hygiene products.
            ``(2) Menstrual hygiene products defined.--The term 
        `menstrual hygiene products' shall be determined by the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services by regulation and 
        provided to the Secretary, and shall include tampons, pads, 
        liners, cups, and similar products used by women with respect 
        to menstruation.
    ``(d) Adjustment for Inflation.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each taxable year beginning after 
        2017, the dollar amounts in subsections (a) and (b)(2) shall 
        each be increased by an amount equal to the product of--
                    ``(A) such dollar amount, and
                    ``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined 
                under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year, determined 
                by substituting `calendar year 2016' for `calendar year 
                1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.
            ``(2) Rounding.--If any increase determined under paragraph 
        (1)--
                    ``(A) in the case of the dollar amount in 
                subsection (a) is not a multiple of $5, such increase 
                shall be rounded to the next highest multiple of $5, 
                and
                    ``(B) in the case of the dollar amount in 
                subsection (b)(2), is not a multiple of $1,000, such 
                increase shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple 
                of $1,000.
    ``(e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations 
as may be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is 
        amended by inserting ``36C,'' after ``36B,''.
            (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
        is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 36B 
        the following new item:

``Sec. 36C. Menstrual hygiene products.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016.

SEC. 4. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS AVAILABILITY FOR HOMELESS 
              INDIVIDUALS UNDER EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    Subsection (a) of section 316 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11346(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) guidelines that ensure that amounts provided under 
        the program to private nonprofit organizations and local 
        governments may be used to provide menstrual hygiene products, 
        including tampons, pads, liners, cups, and similar products 
        used by women with respect to menstruation.''.

SEC. 5. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS FOR INMATES AND DETAINEES.

    (a) Requirement.--Beginning on the date that is 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the chief 
executive officer of each State that receives a grant under subpart 1 
of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) (commonly referred to as the ``Edward 
Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program'') shall submit to the 
Attorney General a certification, in such form and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may require, that all female 
inmates and detainees in that State have access to menstrual hygiene 
products on demand and at no cost to the inmates and detainees.
    (b) Reduction in Grant Funding.--In the case of a State whose chief 
executive officer fails to submit a certification required under 
subsection (a) in a fiscal year, the Attorney General shall reduce the 
amount that the State would have otherwise received under section 505 
of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 3755) by 20 percent for the following fiscal year.
    (c) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated to a State under section 
505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) for a fiscal year pursuant to subsection (b) 
shall be reallocated under such section to States that submit such 
certifications.
    (d) Determination of Menstrual Hygiene Products.--For the purposes 
of subsection (a), the term ``menstrual hygiene products'' shall be 
determined by the Attorney General of the United States.

SEC. 6. MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS FOR EMPLOYEES.

    Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 655) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) The Secretary shall by rule promulgate a requirement that 
each employer with not less than 100 employees provide menstrual 
hygiene products free of charge for employees of the employer.''.
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