Senator Murray on Senate Passing the PUMP Act: “A Big and Long Overdue Win for Working Moms”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act in a 92-5 amendment vote to add the legislation to the 2023 government funding bill, which passed the Senate today.

“This is a big—and long overdue—win for working moms who deserve the time and space they need to pump and continue to breastfeed while working,” said Senator Murray. “I’m thrilled Congress will finally send legislation to President Biden’s desk to close loopholes in federal law that denied millions of working moms the simple right to a reasonable break and a private place to pump. It’s time we do more to support working women and moms in this country, and I’m grateful to my colleagues, Senator Merkley and Senator Murkowski, for all their work in getting this commonsense bill across the finish line.”

The PUMP Act will help close loopholes that leave nearly nine million working moms uncovered by federal protections to ensure they have reasonable break time and a private place to pump. Senator Murray cleared the legislation out of the HELP committee with unanimous support, and the House passed the bill in an overwhelming bipartisan vote.

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