Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler | Representing Southwest Washington's 3rd District

Over the weekend, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Jaime Herrera Beutler’s bill to better accommodate parents traveling with infant food and equipment, protecting them against harassment-like scrutiny that contradicts Transit Security Administration’s (TSA) own policies.  The president will sign this bill into law before the end of the year.

“With holiday travel season quickly approaching, parents across the country are vulnerable to inconsistent treatment, having their child’s food thrown away, and missed flights when attempting to fly with infant food and breast milk,” said Jaime. “I’m pleased that the BABES Act I’ve been championing will be signed into law to eliminate the stressful ‘guessing game’ for parents as to whether TSA will uphold the accommodation for breast milk and formula.” 

Click here to read more about this bipartisan legislation championed by Jaime and U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) to assist parents traveling with breastmilk and formula.

“Scientific evidence demonstrates that breastfeeding has a range of significant health benefits for both mother and child,” stated March of Dimes President Dr. Jennifer L. Howse.  “The BABES Act will make sure that all agents across the country are appropriately trained on TSA’s policies and procedures related to mothers and families traveling with breastmilk, formula and infant feeding equipment, helping to ensure that women who choose to breastfeed face one less barrier to doing so while travelling.  The March of Dimes is grateful to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Sen. Kelly Ayotte for championing this important issue.”

“The goal of every obstetrician-gynecologist is a healthy mother and a healthy baby,” said Dr. Thomas Gellhaus, MD and President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). “As the leading group of health care providers dedicated to caring for women, ACOG applauds passage of H.R. 5065/ S. 3299, the Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening (BABES) Act to ensure the TSA consistently enforces existing rules allowing breast milk, formula, and breastfeeding equipment across all airport security checkpoints. Proper nutrition during infancy is beneficial for maternal and infant health and well-being.  ACOG is committed to advocating for changes to the public environment that support breastfeeding locally and nationally. We applaud Representative Herrera Beutler and Senator Ayotte for their leadership in introducing the BABES Act.”