Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire - FY26 Appropriations Requests Submitted, New Action Opportunities & more

The USBC e-Newsletter, Staying Abreast, is published in a weekly news brief format, called the Weekly Wire (WW). Past issues are archived below.

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Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire - FY26 Appropriations Requests Submitted, New Action Opportunities & more

4/25/2025

In this issue:

USBC Updates
- Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Requests
- USBC Supports...
National News
- Resolution Designating Black Maternal Health Week Introduced
- Indigenous Milk Medicine Week: Save the Date & Theme Announced
State & Community News
- Connecticut Bill Introduced to Allow Mothers Who Are Incarcerated to Breastfeed
- Illinois Bill Introduced to Enhance Workplace Protections for Nursing Mothers
Action Opportunities
Funding Opportunities
Upcoming Events
News & Views
Journal Publications

denotes a USBC member organization news item denotes a USBC-affiliated constellation news item

USBC Updates

Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Requests

The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee submitted requests to increase funding for the CDC Hospitals Promoting Breastfeeding line item in the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill to the following offices:

Senate:

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

House:

Representative Tom Cole (R-OK-04)
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03)
Representative Young Kim (R-CA-40)
Representative Grace Meng (D-NY-06)
Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI-02)
Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14)
Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12)

USBC Supports...

Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs: "FY26 Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Appropriations Letter: National, State, and Academic Sign-on"

National WIC Association: "FY26 WIC Appropriations Org Sign-on"

National News

Resolution Designating Black Maternal Health Week Introduced

Senator Booker [D-NJ] introduced S.Res.172 in the Senate. This is a resolution that supports the designation of the week of April 11 through April 17, 2025, as the eighth annual "Black Maternal Health Week", founded by Black Mamas Matter Alliance, to bring national attention to the maternal and reproductive health crisis in the United States and the importance of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity among Black women and birthing people.

Indigenous Milk Medicine Week: Save the Date & Theme Announced

The Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective announced that the 2025 Indigenous Milk Medicine Week (IMMW) theme is Unapologetically Indigenous: Love, Landback, and Liberation. They shared that this theme reflects the heart of IMMW as it celebrates the strength, connection, and healing that Milk Medicine brings through community care. The seventh annual IMMW will take place this year during National Breastfeeding Month from Friday, August 8, through Thursday, August 14.

State & Community News

Connecticut Bill Introduced to Allow Mothers Who Are Incarcerated to Breastfeed

Connecticut Senator Somers introduced SB 1435. The bill would permit lactating mothers who are incarcerated to breastfeed their infants during visitation.

Illinois Bill Introduced to Enhance Workplace Protections for Nursing Mothers

A group of Illinois Senators introduced SB 212. The bill would amend the state’s Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act by requiring employers to provide 30 minutes of paid break time (rather than reasonable break time) to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her nursing infant child each time the employee has the need to express milk for one year after the child's birth.