Congressman Al Green, Congresswoman Grace Meng Introduce Legislation to Eliminate Taxes on Menstrual Products

(Washington, DC) — On Thursday, June 16, 2022, Congressman Al Green (TX-09) and Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06) introduced the Stop Taxes Against Menstrual Products (STAMP) Act. They released the following statement:

“Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right and access to menstrual products is instrumental to maintaining that right. People who rely on menstrual products need them not only to maintain a basic standard of personal hygiene necessary to execute daily functional mobility but also to avoid severe health hazards that can cause death. Currently, 27 states in the United States, including Texas, have a sales tax on menstrual products. Imposing a sales tax on these products limits their access and affordability for those who rely on them. It also makes gender inequality evident by making it more difficult for an entire gender to live a life free of the pain, discomfort, and shame that accompanies menstruation. Finally, a sales tax on menstrual products also inhibits essential hygiene practices, which by extension, pose a danger to overall public health.”

Congressman Al Green continued, “Menstruation is a normal biological process that a significant portion of the world’s population has to live with. According to the World Health Organization, 1.8 billion people worldwide menstruate every month, while the average woman menstruates for about 2,500 days in her lifetime (an approximate total of seven years). Prohibiting states from levying a sales tax on the retail sale of menstrual products is about more than cost—it is about ensuring girls, women, transgender people, nonbinary people, and others who may menstruate are not denied a basic human right. I am proud to introduce this legislation with Congresswoman Grace Meng as a co-lead to help bring awareness to this important issue.”

“In my home state of New York, we got rid of the state sales tax on menstrual products after I called for it to be eliminated,” said Congresswoman Meng. “I have also urged states that have not abolished the tax to do so, and this legislation will ensure that they take action. Tampons, pads and other menstrual products are not luxury items and it is long past time that we stopped treating them as such. Menstrual products are essential items, and a national law that ends the tampon tax will go a long way towards making these necessities more affordable and accessible all across our country. I thank my colleague Congressman Al Green for partnering with me on this critical effort, and I will continue championing menstrual equity issues in Congress.”