Feminine hygiene products to be available to House lawmakers using congressional funds

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration, said Monday that lawmakers will be able to use congressional funds to purchase feminine hygiene products after three Democratic lawmakers requested the materials be more readily available to members.

Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) praised Lofgren’s announcement, which said that the House Office Supply Store would begin carrying the products “effective immediately,” and could be purchased with Members’ Representational Allowance.

“This decision is a tremendous step forward in providing greater access to menstrual hygiene products on Capitol Hill,” Meng said in a statement. “It will ensure that House offices are able to provide these necessary items to staff and visitors who require them.”

Saying tampons are superfluous but other hygiene products like hand sanitizer and tissues are totally necessary reinforces the idea that our rules are written by men, for men, & that women are merely second-class citizens on Capitol Hill. That’s changing thanks to @RepZoeLofgren https://t.co/A3wkI8u0Gs

— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) February 12, 2019

{mosads}Lawmakers will be able to use their Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA), an annual allotment provided to each Congressional office to pay staff, fund travel and cover the purchase of necessary supplies.

Maloney, Meng and Wasserman Schultz requested the change from Lofgren on Monday. 

Maloney and Meng had raised concerns last summer over the accessibility of feminine hygiene products after Maloney’s office purchased the products and was denied a request for reimbursement. 

The two lawmakers called on then-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to provide the products in all bathrooms operated by the House. Maloney noted at the time that congressional funds can be used on “executive tissue holders, embellished letter openers and brass bookends,” but not tampons.