I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 1646
To amend title 38, United States Code, to require a lactation space in
each medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY27, 2025
Ms. U
NDERWOODintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to require a lactation
space in each medical center of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lactation Spaces for 4
Veteran Moms Act’’. 5
SEC. 2. LACTATION SPACES IN MEDICAL CENTERS OF THE 6
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 7
(a) I
NGENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 17 of 8
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 9
end the following new section: 10
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1646.IH H1646
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
•HR 1646 IH
‘‘§ 1720M. Lactation spaces in medical centers of the 1
Department 2
‘‘(a) L
ACTATIONSPACEREQUIRED.—The Secretary 3
shall ensure that each medical center of the Department 4
contains a lactation space. 5
‘‘(b) N
OUNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.—Nothing in this 6
section shall be construed to authorize an individual to 7
enter a medical center of the Department or portion there-8
of that the individual is not otherwise authorized to enter. 9
‘‘(c) L
ACTATIONSPACEDEFINED.—In this section, 10
the term ‘lactation space’ means a hygienic place, other 11
than a bathroom, that— 12
‘‘(1) is shielded from view; 13
‘‘(2) is free from intrusion; 14
‘‘(3) is accessible to disabled individuals (in-15
cluding such individuals who use wheelchairs); 16
‘‘(4) contains a chair and a working surface; 17
‘‘(5) is easy to locate; 18
‘‘(6) is clearly identified with signage; and 19
‘‘(7) is available for use by women veterans and 20
members of the public to express breast milk.’’. 21
(b) C
LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 22
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 23
after the item related to section 1720L the following new 24
item: 25
‘‘1720M. Lactation spaces in medical centers of the Department.’’.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1646.IH H1646
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
•HR 1646 IH
(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The Secretary of Veterans 1
Affairs shall carry out section 1720M of title 38, United 2
States Code, as added by this section, not later than two 3
years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 4
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1646.IH H1646
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS