Recognizing that the United States needs to support and strengthen mothers in the workforce by investing in the Mom Economy.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Res. 1582 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1582

Recognizing that the United States needs to support and strengthen mothers in the workforce by investing in the Mom Economy.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 24, 2026

Ms. Meng (for herself, Ms. Chu, Ms. Clarke of New York, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

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RESOLUTION

Recognizing that the United States needs to support and strengthen mothers in the workforce by investing in the Mom Economy.

Whereas mothers are an essential part of the workforce and economy of the United States; Whereas the labor force participation of mothers and fathers differs by nearly 20 percentage points, with participation rates of 73.9 percent for mothers and 93.7 percent for fathers; Whereas at least 4 out of every 10 women report having experienced gender discrimination at work; Whereas single female headed households with children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty (at 100 percent of the Federal poverty threshold) than single male headed households with children; Whereas the median earnings for women who work full-time is 84 cents and for women who work part-time is 78 cents compared to every dollar paid to men; Whereas Black women, Latinas, Native women, and many communities of Asian American and Pacific Islander women experience higher poverty rates and higher wage gaps compared to White, non-Hispanic men; Whereas women occupy close to \2/3\ of jobs that pay the Federal minimum wage or just a few dollars above it; Whereas most recent studies indicate that 45 percent of mothers who are either single working mothers or married contribute to at least half of their family's income; Whereas mothers of color play a vital role in the financial stability of their families with most recent studies showing that 69 percent of Black mothers, 56 percent of Native American mothers, 45 percent of Latina mothers, and 35 percent of Asian American and Pacific Islander mothers serve as breadwinners; Whereas, in addition to the economic security that mothers provide for their families, mothers are more than 2 times as likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the housework and caregiving in their households; Whereas, in addition to caregiving for children, mothers disproportionately shoulder unpaid caregiving responsibilities for older relatives and other family members with disabilities; Whereas 44 percent of workers are not eligible for unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons as provided for by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); Whereas 3 out of 10 women without access to paid leave exit the workforce after giving birth; Whereas paid leave policies can reduce the number of women leaving their jobs by 20 percent in the first year after welcoming a child and up to 50 percent after 5 years; Whereas mothers sometimes find childcare costs are almost as much as their paychecks, creating a financial incentive for mothers to leave the workforce in exchange for childcare duties; Whereas the average parent spends 20 percent of their annual income on childcare, causing 16 percent of parents to go into debt and 31 percent of parents to dip into savings due to the high costs of childcare; Whereas the childcare crisis costs the United States $172,000,000,000 each year, including $134,000,000,000 in lost earnings and job search expenses and $38,000,000,000 in lost workforce productivity, and $37,000,000,000 in lost tax revenue; Whereas a significant investment in childcare is simultaneously job creating and job enabling, creating good jobs and supporting parental employment; Whereas, by encouraging women to remain in the workforce full time, access to paid leave and childcare significantly boosts the lifetime earning potential of mothers; Whereas, in 2021, the temporary expansion of the child tax credit lifted 2,900,000 children out of poverty; Whereas families used the child tax credit to cover routine expenses, improve nutrition, decrease reliance on credit cards and other high-risk financial services, and make long-term educational investments; and Whereas families of color saw the largest quality of life improvements due to the expansion of the child tax credit in 2021: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that-- (1) the United States needs to prioritize a Mom Economy that invests in the caregiving infrastructure required to adequately support and empower mothers in the workforce and sustain a thriving economy; (2) mothers, especially mothers of color, face systemic economic and social inequalities that restrict their ability to balance parenting responsibilities with workplace roles and limit their professional advancement; (3) mothers play an integral role not only in the financial well-being of their families but in the productivity of the economy of the United States as a whole; (4) the United States should invest in its mothers by expanding and developing the social safety net in order to secure meaningful and sustainable economic growth by investing, at a minimum-- (A) in programs-- (i) including-- (I) robust paid family and medical leave plans for all workers, including-- (aa) paid parental leave following the birth of a child or the placement of a child in adoption or foster care, provided in equal amounts for all parents regardless of gender; and (bb) paid leave policies that can be used for family caregiving and medical leave for workers; and (II) paid menstrual leave and remote work accommodations for workers experiencing debilitating menstrual or menopause symptoms; and (ii) that-- (I) invest in the childcare industry with the goal of providing universal childcare and early learning, including programs that-- (aa) robustly increase funding for the Head Start and Early Head Start programs; (bb) increase Federal financial support for childcare programs to guarantee that all families have access to affordable and high quality child care; and (cc) commit to pay childcare workers a dignified, living wage; (II) increase access to nutritious food and make access to such food a health and human right, including through-- (aa) boosting maximum and minimum benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (commonly referred to as ``SNAP'') and removing barriers of access to SNAP, including time restrictions and additional work requirements; and (bb) increasing funds for school meals and other nutrition programs to combat child hunger and make school meals more accessible; (III) implement and expand child poverty reduction tools that improve income security, infant and maternal health, and educational and economic outcomes into the second generation, including through implementation of-- (aa) a permanent expansion of the child tax credit; and (bb) improvements regarding the earned income tax credit, which lifts millions of people above the poverty line each year and boosts labor force participation among single mothers; (IV) address the maternal mortality crisis of the United States through critical investments in maternal health care, including programs that ensure access to the full range of reproductive health care and family planning; and (V) raise the Federal minimum wage for all workers, including tipped workers, and adjust the Federal minimum wage on a yearly basis to keep pace with inflation; and (B) in legislation that-- (i) ensures protections for LGBTQ+ mothers in the workplace, such as the Equality Act; and (ii) reduces wage discrimination, such as the Paycheck Fairness Act; and (5) United States policymakers should include a specific focus on working mothers in future policymaking, beyond the aforementioned policies, including by focusing on economic policy, fiscal policy, and social safety net policy, in order to ensure that working mothers and other caregivers can continue to balance their roles as family anchors and caregivers with their work and economic contributions, both to their families and the economy of the United States. <all>