One in three families in the United States struggles to afford basic care items including (but not limited to) diapers for their children.
A new bill, introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Monday, aims to make it so no family ever has to choose between food or diapers.
The End Diaper Need Act of 2021 will assist low-income families that aren’t able to afford diapers for their babies or toddlers, reports the Huffington Post.
With diapers averaging around $80 a month and President Biden’s Covid relief plan still working its way through Congress, the bill would provide much needed relief to the 5 million American infants and toddlers (and their families) currently living in poor and low-income families.
“In the middle of a global public health crisis ― with so many families struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads ― the last thing parents should have to worry about is being able to buy diapers that are essential to the health and well-being of their children.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth
The bill cites a three-pronged approach to the issue:
- $200 million to social services every year between 2022 and 2025
- 200 medically necessary diapers per month through Medicaid for
“medically complex children” - Define diapers and diaper supplies as qualified medical expenses so that families can purchase them through their health savings or reimbursement accounts.
“Since the start of this pandemic, eight million people have fallen into poverty, creating severe hardship for families across the country in affording diapers and other necessities,” said Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), who introduced the bill in 2019. The bill did not receive a vote at that time.
Other lawmakers, including Reps. Lee (CA) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), along with Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), are taking a similar approach to providing diaper assistance to families during the pandemic.
Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) are co-leads on the bill.
Duckworth has been a prominent proponent of family rights, introducing legislation in the past for paid family leave and means to make childcare more accessible to military families.
