San Antonio Standard

 WASHINGTON – On April 28, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), and the Congressional Dads Caucus sent a letter urging the Committee on House Administration to expand access to diaper changing tables in restrooms across House office buildings.

 Castro and Gomez were inspired to write the letter after caring for their children in ill-equipped Capitol facilities during the extended 2023 vote to elect a House speaker.

In 2016, Congress passed legislation to require bathrooms in federal facilities to be equipped with baby-changing tables but exempted Congressional buildings. Congressman Castro initially brought attention to the lack of changing tables in the Capitol Complex after needing to change his then eight-month-old daughter on a bathroom floor during the days-long vote to elect a House speaker in January 2023.

“As working parents, we are intimately familiar with the challenges of balancing our professional and family responsibilities, and have joined together to form the Congressional Dads Caucus to uplift the needs of working families. Addressing the lack of diaper changing tables is one example of how we can improve upon a workplace that is not designed for working parents,” wrote the Members. “Since House offices are also open to the public, this creates an opportunity to help the thousands of families who come to Congress to expose their children to democracy in action.”

Congressional Dads Caucus members who signed on to the letter include Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Andy Kim, Dan Goldman, Jamaal Bowman, Robert Menendez Jr., Eric Swalwell, Ruben Gallego, Colin Allred, Raul Ruiz, Josh Harder, Chris DeLuzio, Kevin Mullin, Brendan Boyle, Seth Moulton, Jared Moskowitz, Wiley Nickel, Seth Magaziner, Pat Ryan, Morgan McGarvey, Ted Lieu, Greg Landsman, Mike Levin, Joe Neguse, and Jake Auchincloss.

The text of the letter is below and a PDF can be found HERE.

Dear Chairman Steil and Ranking Member Morelle,

As members of the Congressional Dads Caucus, we write to request that the House Administration Committee examine the need to ensure and expand access to diaper changing tables in restrooms across the House buildings. As brought to our attention by constituents and visitors to the House buildings, not every restroom has access to a diaper changing table—an experience shared by many of us and our staff. This deficiency hinders the ability of working parents from being easily able to manage parental responsibilities.

As working parents, we are intimately familiar with the challenges of balancing our professional and family responsibilities, and have joined together to form the Congressional Dads Caucus to uplift the needs of working families. Addressing the lack of diaper changing tables is one example of how we can improve upon a workplace that is not designed for working parents. Since House offices are also open to the public, this creates an opportunity to help the thousands of families who come to Congress to expose their children to democracy in action. Ensuring diaper changing tables are present and accessible in all restrooms is a commonsense addition to our buildings that will help our growing number of Members of Congress and staff who are parents to young children. Whether it is a staff member, a Member of Congress, or a visitor to our Congressional offices, we must ensure that everyone has access to diaper changing tables in the restroom.

The lack of changing tables in restrooms is not a new issue – in fact, it is an issue that families of all shapes and sizes face every day across the United States. In 2016, Congress passed into law the BABIES (Bathroom Accessible in Every Situation) Act, which requires that all federal public buildings be equipped with baby changing facilities. However, while Congressional office buildings have made great improvements in accessibility of diaper changing tables, they were not required to abide by this change.

Every staff member, Member of Congress, and visitor to our Congressional offices deserves access to an equitable workplace environment. Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to working with you to ensure our buildings are accessible for working parents and families.

Original source can be found here.