Below are public statements we have developed, collaborated on, and/or endorsed in recent years. Click any topic below for more detail.
HC One has signed onto a letter for The Title V MCH Block Grant which is a cost-effective, accountable, and flexible funding source used to address the most critical, pressing, and unique needs of maternal and child health populations in each state, territory, and jurisdiction of the United States.
HC One has signed onto a letter by The United States Breastfeeding Committee to support and ensure employees have reasonable break time and a private place to pump during the work day. However, nearly one in four women of childbearing age are excluded from coverage and have no clear right to break time and space.
HC One has signed onto a letter by The United States Breastfeeding Committee to support the Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement Act. By leading Congress to protect and support breastfeeding, you demonstrate a commitment to our nation’s
families. Breastfeeding is a proven primary prevention strategy, building a foundation for life-long health and wellness. Breastfeeding parents who choose or need to travel should not have to struggle to find lactation spaces – no matter the size of the airport – risking painful engorgement, their milk supply, and possibly their breastfeeding success.
HC One has signed onto a letter by The United States Breastfeeding Committee to support of the Small Airports Mothers’ Rooms (SAMR) Act of 2019, recently introduced in the House by Congresswoman Carol Miller. The SAMR Act would require all small hub airports to meet the same lactation space requirements that large and medium hub airports must meet because of the FAM Act. These airports are required to provide a private, non-bathroom space in each terminal for mothers to express breast milk.
HC One has signed onto a letter by SisterSong to oppose House Bill 481. This bill could take away all access to abortion as early as 6 weeks. We know that many people are unaware that they are pregnant by 6 weeks, especially when the pregnancy is unplanned. With the significant systemic barriers that women – especially Black, Indigenous, Women of Color, and Queer and Transgender individuals face in accessing healthcare services, it is significantly more difficult to get to a clinic to confirm a pregnancy and talk through available options.
HC One has signed onto a letter by the USBC regarding the Federal budget negotiations for Fiscal Year 2020 are underway and it’s critical that the First Food field calls on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to support funding for breastfeeding. Starting in Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) and continuing every year since, funding has been allocated to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (FY14-FY19 = $8M/year). Appropriations for breastfeeding have helped build and strengthen critical programs and initiatives to improve maternity care practices, increase access to peer & professional support, ensure continuity of breastfeeding care, increase support for breastfeeding employees, and address disparities in breastfeeding rates. The letter urges that at least $13 million be directed in FY2020 for the CDC Hospital & Continuity of Care Breastfeeding Support program, to facilitate ongoing, critical efforts to build a strong public health infrastructure of breastfeeding support.
HC One has signed onto a letter by the USBC regarding the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act (H.R. 866/S. 528). It would require that certain public buildings that have a public restroom provide a lactation room, other than a bathroom, that is hygienic and is available for use by a member of the public. A building may be excluded from the requirement if the building does not contain a lactation room for employees who work in the building and does not have a room that could be repurposed as a lactation space at a reasonable cost; or if new construction would be required and the cost is unfeasible.
The House bill was introduced and swiftly passed, and the Senate bill has been introduced with bipartisan support and referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). The letter urges EPW leaders to discharge the bill from committee so that it can go to the Senate floor for a vote.
Welcome Congress 2019
HC One has signed onto a letter by the USBC. They are preparing to welcome Members of the new 116th Congress during our upcoming Welcome Congress Week event, to be held virtually (with in-person options) February 18-22.
Organizations are invited to sign on to the joint letter to welcome Senators and Representatives, educate them about their role in supporting breastfeeding, and highlight the specific policy priorities that they want them to support. The deadline for organizations to sign on to the letter is 2/14. Sign on today!
Health People 2030
HC One strongly concurs with Ifeyinwa Asiodu PhD, RN, IBCLC comment to “strongly support the inclusion of the MICH-2030-02: Reduce the rate of all infant deaths (within 1 year) objective. Black communities are disproportionately affected by poor maternal and infant health outcomes including higher incidence of prematurity, low birth weight, maternal and infant mortality and lower rates of breastfeeding. Thus, we need to continue monitoring and collecting data on infant mortality with a focus on racial and ethnic disparities”
Public Charge
HealthConnect One responded to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS, or the Department) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) to express our strong opposition to the changes to the criteria to determine “public charge,” published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2018.
The proposed rule would cause major harm to immigrants and their families, in particular causing more health inequities and deeper poverty, with profound consequences for families’ well-being and long-term success. The rule ignores the historic pattern of immigrants starting out with low earnings and moving up substantially over time, and also ignores the role that benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid and housing assistance play in allowing people to work and in improving children’s health, development, and earnings when they reach adulthood. DHS provides no justification for why changes are needed. Along with other advocates across the country, we are urging that the rule be withdrawn in its entirety, and that long-standing principles clarified in the 1999 field guidance remain in effect.
Paid Family Leave
HC One has signed on to a letter by the United States Breastfeeding Committee to assert that guaranteed paid family and medical leave associated with the birth or adoption of a child is a vital component of maternal and child health and should be available for all parents across the United States.