WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrat Tammy Duckworth, a new mother, has introduced a bill that would require large- and medium-sized commercial airports to have a private lactation room for nursing mothers in every terminal.
“We would never ask our fellow travelers to eat their meals in bathroom stalls, yet we ask new mothers to feed their children while sitting on a toilet seat,” Duckworth said in a statement.
Duckworth, 47, gave birth to her first child, a girl, in November. She is among Democrats who have launched bids for the party’s nomination to run against fellow Illinoisan Sen. Mark Kirk, a Republican, in 2016.
The Friendly Airports for Mothers Act of 2015 follows state legislation on the issue passed this month by the Illinois legislature. Under the federal proposal (as well as the state’s), lactation rooms could not be located in restrooms. Duckworth’s bill would require the rooms to be shielded from public view and have a door that can be locked, a place to sit, a table and an electrical outlet. The rooms also would have to be accessible for people with disabilities.
The measure would apply to the nation’s 63 largest airports, said Anton Becker, a Duckworth spokesman. Airports would have two years to comply and would be able to use federal Airport Improvement Program funds to meet the requirement.
Chicago’s Midway Airport in 2014 opened a single-occupancy Mother’s Room in Concourse C for breast-feeding and pumping, said Karen Pride, director of media relations for the city’s Department of Aviation.
There will be a Mother’s Room in each of O’Hare’s four terminals in the “very near future,” Pride said, adding “there is no need for legislation to create nursing rooms at Chicago’s airports.”
Earlier this month, the Illinois legislature approved a measure that would require major airports to have lactation rooms by 2017. The measure would apply to airports with more than 1 million passenger boardings a year. Smaller airports would have to feature lactation rooms if they built a new terminal or renovated an existing one, under the state measure.
Catherine Kelly, press secretary for Gov. Bruce Rauner, would not say whether he will sign the measure into law.
Duckworth’s bill has 13 co-sponsors, including House Democrats Cheri Bustos, Dan Lipinski and Mike Quigley, all of Illinois. It was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Twitter @KatherineSkiba
