Congressional Dads Caucus calls for more baby changing stations in Capitol complex

Times — and babies — they are a-changin’: The Congressional Dads Caucus is urging the Capitol to install more diaper changing tables in bathrooms across House office buildings.

The issue, the caucus said in a Friday letter to the House Administration Committee, was first brought to the group’s attention by constituents and visitors to the Capitol. A day earlier, many children were eyed joining their parents and walking the halls of Congress for Take Your Kids to Work Day.

“Not every restroom has access to a diaper changing table — an experience shared by many of us and our staff,” the caucus’s more than 20 Democratic members wrote. “This deficiency hinders the ability of working parents from being easily able to manage parental responsibilities.”

The Capitol, the group lamented, “is not designed for working parents.”

“Since House offices are also open to the public, this creates an opportunity to help the thousands of families who come to Congress to expose their children to democracy in action,” the letter stated.

Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), two of the caucus’s members, say they experienced the diaper changing dilemma firsthand in January as the House Speakership election dragged on, taking 15 ballots before Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) secured the Speaker’s gavel. Castro needed to “change his then-8-month-old daughter on a bathroom floor” during the votes, according to the Texas Democrat’s office. Gomez, who founded the Congressional Dads Caucus, also cared for his then-4-month-old son, Hodge, in the “ill-equipped Capitol facilities” during the extended voting period.

While Congress passed legislation in 2016 mandating that all federal public buildings include baby changing facilities, congressional office buildings “were not required to abide by this change,” according to the letter.

The Congressional Dads Caucus, which was formed in January by Democrats, urged the committee to take action, saying, “Ensuring diaper changing tables are present and accessible in all restrooms is a commonsense addition to our buildings that will help our growing number of Members of Congress and staff who are parents to young children.”

In response, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) chairman of the Committee on House Administration, wrote the Dads Caucus a letter saying “there are current 98 diaper changing stations” in House office buildings.

“In the event a bathroom with a diaper changing station is difficult to find, we are happy to work with your offices to identify where signage throughout our buildings may be useful,” Steil’s letter added.

—Updated at 5:39 p.m.