Senate Democrats Block MOMS Act

Senator Britt Delivers Floor Remarks on Legislation to Support Mothers, Grow and Strengthen Families

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 18, 2024 – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor in moving for the passage of S. 4296, the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) Act, which was blocked by Senate Democrats.

Last month, Senator Britt, along with Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.Dak.), introduced the MOMS Act, legislation that would provide critical support to women during typically challenging phases of motherhood and bolster access to resources and assistance to help mothers and their children thrive.

A transcript of Senator Britt’s remarks can be found below:

First, I’d like to thank my colleague from Oklahoma, Senator Lankford, for putting this together today, showing that we are truly the party of life, the party of parents, the party of families.

 I’d also like to thank my colleague from Florida, Senator Rubio, and my colleague from North Dakota, Senator Cramer, for joining me in introducing the MOMS Act.

I also appreciate the 20 additional Republican colleagues who have cosponsored this commonsense legislation.

The MOMS Act is straightforward – it stands for More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed.

That’s exactly what the bill would secure.

As a mom, I know that there is no greater blessing in this world than that of being a mother.

And I understand many of the challenges that women face during their pregnancy journey and while raising their kids.

That’s why I was proud to introduce the MOMS Act.

The MOMS Act would provide critical support for women during [typically] challenging phases of motherhood.

That includes the prenatal, postpartum, and early childhood development stages.

At the end of the day, this legislation would help mothers and their children thrive.

Let’s walk through the three sections of the bill.

First, the MOMS Act would establish Pregnancy.gov.

This new website would feature a wide-range of resources available to expecting and postpartum moms, as well as moms and families with young children.

Unfortunately, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have put out flagrantly false, outlandish information about this part of the bill.

These partisan smears have been debunked by several independent fact checks.

But I also want to set the record straight right now.

First, visiting this website is 100% voluntary.

Next, no one would have to disclose personally identifiable information to use it or access the list of its resources.

There is no database of women created.

There is no registry established.

And there is no tracking involved.

So, why did Democrats make up these absurdly false claims?

To be honest with you, I can’t quite wrap my head around it.

In my 18 months in this body, I probably have never been more disappointed.

I understand that we come from different perspectives, but to create outlandishly false and absurd things about this bill was truly a bridge too far.

But ultimately, they know they can’t publicly oppose what’s actually in the bill.

Here are the types of resources that Pregnancy.gov would connect women and families to, and I’m going to quote some of the exact text of the bill:

Mentorship opportunities, including pregnancy and parenting help;

Health and well-being services, including women’s medical services – this includes OB-GYN services, primary care, dental care, and mental health services;

Financial assistance, work opportunities, childcare resources, foster care resources, adoption services, and education opportunities for parents. I could go on.

It also includes material or legal support.

Material support includes: transportation, food, nutrition, clothing, household goods, baby supplies, housing, shelters, maternity homes, help with tax preparation and more.

Also, legal support can cover: child support, family leave, breastfeeding protections, and custody issues.

I could keep listing examples of resources, but we would be here for a while.

Next, I want to touch on the second part of the bill.

This part would actually create two separate grant programs.

One grant program would help purchase necessary tools for pre-natal and post-natal telehealth appointments, including medical equipment and technology, for those in rural areas and other medically underserved areas.

And the second program would establish a grant program for non-profit entities to support, encourage, and to assist women through their pregnancies, and to care for their babies after birth.

This grant program would be funding many of the resources I just named, from mental health services, other medical care, childcare, housing assistance, education and employment assistance, and nutritional assistance.

Finally, the third part of the bill is Senator Cramer’s Unborn Child Support Act.

It would require states to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy, if it was requested by the mother.

This would be requested retroactively, and state-level requirements involving proof of paternity would still apply.

The legislation is further evidence that you can absolutely be pro-life, pro-woman, and pro-family, all at the same time.

The MOMS Act advances a comprehensive culture of life, it grows and strengthens families, and ensures moms have the opportunities and resources needed so they and their children can thrive and live their American Dreams.

It’s a perfect example of why I believe the Republican Party is the Party of families.

What you’re going to hear after I make my motion to pass the MOMS Act will be very telling about whether Democrats can say the same thing of their party.

They’re about to answer [this] question: are they more interested in scaring women and families or helping women and families?

Personally, I’m proud to support women throughout the seasons of motherhood, and I’m honored to lead this pro-life, pro-woman, pro-family legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of S.4296, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Video of Senator Britt’s remarks can be found here, and high-quality video for media use can be downloaded here.

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