Letter: “For flight crews, safety is always the top priority, and we now have decades of evidence demonstrating that flight crews can attend to [breastmilk pumping] in a way that does not disrupt safety, service, or other duties.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) last week joined U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in sending a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Whitaker calling attention to the continued need for clear and workable rules permitting members of flight crews to pump breastmilk aboard aircraft during non-critical phases of flight.
Joining Welch, Markey, and Merkley in this letter are Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga,), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).
“We write to bring renewed attention to flight crews’ longstanding need to pump breastmilk aboard aircraft during non-critical phases of flight,” wrote the senators. “Flight crews experiencing the joy of having a baby should never be forced to stop pumping breastmilk, especially when a simple, time-tested, and demonstrably safe policy framework exists to avoid this difficult and frustrating situation.”
The senators noted that stakeholders have worked together to find a policy consensus around this issue in the FAA reauthorization process, and that this language—which directs the FAA Administrator to issue guidance—previously received an affirmative vote in the Senate Commerce Committee. The senators urged the FAA to use its existing authority and act preemptively to prepare such guidance.
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act of 2022 (PUMP ACT) guaranteed millions of working parents the right to pump during their workday at their workplace. But it left flight crews out of these critical protections. Excluding flight crews from the protection to pump at work impacts the future of the American aviation workforce, especially at a time when we need to keep existing airline employees and find ways to attract more to join the industry.
“For flight crews, safety is always the top priority, and we now have decades of evidence demonstrating that flight crews can attend to this physiological need in a way that does not disrupt safety, service, or other duties. We’re glad to see regional offices of the FAA have already reviewed and permitted at least two airlines to enact policies allowing their flight crew to express breastmilk during non-critical phases of the flight and encourage you to continue down this path,” the letter continues.
Senator Welch has advocated for policies that expand protections and support systems for working and nursing parents across the country. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, signed into law by President Biden in 2022 and supported by Senator Welch during his time in the House, expands protections in the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act to an additional 9 million breastfeeding employees not previously covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Sen. Welch also voted in favor of the passage of Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement Act, which expands and mandates dedicated lactation areas for breastfeeding mothers in airports.
In January, Senator Welch toured the Vermont-based, women-founded Mamava Manufacturing Facility in Springfield, Vermont to meet with workers and leaders from Mamava about how Congress can help ensure parents have the support and space they need to care for their children.
Read the full text of the letter.
###