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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E335-E336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN CELEBRATION OF CONGRESSWOMAN GRACE MENG'S ACHIEVEMENTS
______
HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY
of new york
in the house of representatives
Monday, March 25, 2019
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I, along with
Representative Ocasio-Cortez, rise to recognize our colleague,
Congresswoman Grace Meng, who received a women's history month award
from us and from Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas at a ceremony in Queens
on March 22nd in recognition of her passionate advocacy for women.
Congresswoman Meng has been fearless in standing up for women, taking
on issues that are critical for women's health and well-being.
Congresswoman Meng has been a force for greater diversity, inclusion
and change. She is the first and only Asian American member of Congress
from New York State. As a member of the New York State Assembly and as
a member of Congress, she worked to strike the term ``Oriental'' from
New York State and federal statutes. Congresswoman Meng is also First
Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific Americans Caucus, which
works to reflect the needs of the Asian American and Pacific Islander
communities.
Congresswoman Meng has been a champion for women. She has passed
legislation to expand child care services for women in the military,
and required the Department of Defense to review military uniforms for
pregnant women to ensure proper fit, design, price, availability and
utility. Understanding that menstrual health is critical to women's
lives, she has been particularly concerned with menstrual equity,
working to outlaw the tampon tax, to ensure access by inmates to
menstrual hygiene products, and to enable homeless shelters to use
federal funds to provide tampons and pads. When women lack access to
proper hygienic products, they face embarrassment, ridicule and
possible health consequences. Fortunately, Congresswoman Meng is
winning the battle to ensure that vulnerable women are no longer denied
full participation in society because they lack access to feminine
hygiene products.
Recognizing that traveling mothers often lack safe places to pump
milk, Congresswoman Meng has introduced legislation to require that
airports set aside private spaces for nursing mothers. Working mothers
need to pump both to provide their infants with milk when they return
home and to ensure that their milk supply does not dry up. Travelers
may spend hours waiting at airports in large public areas with no
privacy, and women could use the time to pump milk if they have access
to a secure private space.
Congresswoman Meng was elected to represent the 6th Congressional
District of New York in the House of Representatives in 2012. She
serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and its
Subcommittees on
[[Page E336]]
State and Foreign Operations, Homeland Security, and Commerce, Justice,
Science and Related Agencies. Congresswoman Meng is also a Senior Whip
and a Regional Whip for New York. She has also served as a Vice Chair
of the Democratic National Committee since 2016.
Before being elected to the House, Congresswoman Meng served in the
New York State Assembly for two terms, and before that she was a public
interest attorney. Congresswoman Meng is married to her high school
sweetheart, Wayne Kye and has two children, Tyler and Brandon.
Madam Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us in recognizing
Congresswoman Meng's efforts to expand access to basic hygienic
supplies and ensure that women are not denied essential products
because of low income, lack of housing, incarceration or military
service.
____________________