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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 21, 2023 03:35 PM |
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| From: | Representative Darisha K. Parker and Rep. Carol Hill-Evans |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Accessibility to Menstrual Hygiene Products |
| In 2021, two in five people struggled to purchase period products, an increase of 35% from 2018. Individuals that cannot afford period products can be found using newspapers, rags, and socks instead of pads, pantiliners, or tampons, leading to health problems. Further, period poverty disproportionately impacts Black and Latinx communities: nearly a quarter of menstruating individuals within these communities struggled to afford period products in 2021. It is for these reasons we plan to introduce legislation that would require our Department of Human Services to apply to the federal government if a waiver is made available to states to allow those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to use the two programs for menstrual hygiene products. Currently, these programs do not allow for the purchase of menstrual hygiene products, despite being a necessity. Moreover, our other bill would create a grant program to provide eligible public-school entities with funding to acquire and distribute menstrual hygiene products at no expense to students. People who menstruate should not have to miss work, school, or other life events due to not having access to period products. More than half of the world’s population are menstruating individuals and it is time that period poverty comes to the forefront of discussion. Please consider joining Representative Hill-Evans and I in co-sponsoring this much needed legislation and provide individuals with accessibility to a necessity, period products, for whenever they may be in need. |
Document #1
Introduced as HB850
| Description: | This bill would require the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to apply for a waiver if the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service creates and makes a waiver available to the states that would allow those receiving SNAP and WIC to use those programs for menstrual hygiene products. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Document #2
Introduced as HB851
| Description: | This bill would establish the Menstrual Hygiene Products Accessibility Grant Program. | |
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| View Attachment | ||