Lactation Spaces for Veteran Moms Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Lactation Spaces for Veteran Moms Act adds a new title 38 requirement for VA medical centers. The Veterans Affairs Secretary must ensure each VA medical center has a lactation space within two years. The space must be hygienic, not a bathroom, shielded from view, free from intrusion, accessible to disabled individuals including wheelchair users, contain a chair and working surface, be easy to locate, be clearly identified with signage, and be available for women veterans and members of the public to express breast milk. The bill also clarifies that the requirement does not authorize anyone to enter a VA medical center or portion of a facility where they are not otherwise allowed.
Who Benefits and How
Women veterans benefit because every VA medical center must provide a private, hygienic lactation space. Breastfeeding visitors benefit because members of the public may use the space to express breast milk when they are otherwise authorized to be in the facility. Disabled parents benefit because the lactation space must be accessible to wheelchair users and other disabled individuals. VA patient experience staff benefit from a clear facility standard for lactation access and signage.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Veterans Affairs must build, designate, sign, and maintain lactation spaces at every VA medical center. VA facility managers must ensure privacy, accessibility, furniture, location, and hygiene requirements are met within two years. Federal taxpayers bear any renovation, equipment, signage, and maintenance costs. Security staff must preserve existing facility access rules while allowing authorized users to reach lactation spaces.
Key Provisions
- Requires each VA medical center to contain a lactation space.
- Defines lactation space as hygienic, private, non-bathroom, accessible, signed, and equipped with a chair and working surface.
- Provides access for women veterans and members of the public to express breast milk.
- Requires implementation within two years while preserving existing facility access restrictions.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires every Department of Veterans Affairs medical center to contain a hygienic, private, accessible lactation space for women veterans and members of the public to express breast milk, implemented within two years.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Health Facilities, Maternal Health
Primary Purpose
Requires every Department of Veterans Affairs medical center to contain a hygienic, private, accessible lactation space for women veterans and members of the public to express breast milk, implemented within two years.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Women veterans
- Breastfeeding visitors
- Disabled parents
- VA patient experience staff
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- VA facility managers
- Federal taxpayers
- Security staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Ms. Underwood introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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