Restroom Gender Parity in Federal Buildings Act

Floor Speech

* Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, public restrooms have been the site of institutional discrimination by race, physical ability and gender. Women are often forced to wait in long lines to use public restrooms, while men rarely have the same problem. It is an inconvenience seen in almost every type of public building; be it a sporting venue, office building, airport or a building designed for recreational activities. Many of these establishments were constructed decades ago, during a time in which many women did not travel, hold the same jobs as men, receive the same level of education or have the same type of social life as they do today.

* The issue of inadequate accommodations in women's restrooms may be found in many professional places of employment. Restroom gender parity is an issue of equality and health. In the year 2011, it is unfathomable to think that American women are still being discriminated against by infrastructural disparities in public buildings.

* Unfortunately, this is the sad truth exhibited in nearly all public buildings today. A one-to-one ratio of toilets in female restrooms to toilets in male restrooms sounds like a requirement that ought to have existed decades ago; yet there are still fewer female accommodations compared to male accommodations in many public structures.

* This is why supporting the bipartisan Restroom Gender Parity in Federal Buildings Act is necessary not only for the advancement of gender parity, but for the general well being and health of women everywhere. This bill will require any Federal building constructed for public use to have a 1 to 1 ratio for toilets, including urinals in women's and men's restrooms. Moreover, the bill will impact future Federal projects by mandating that preference for Federal leasing considerations be given to buildings that already meet this criteria.

* Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this common sense legislation to address the inadequacies in our federal infrastructure.

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