YVN Summary
\n\nStates and cities could no longer charge sales tax on pads, tampons, cups, or period underwear. That ban would start 120 days after the bill was signed. A year after signing, Medicaid would begin covering period products for the people it insures. Workers at companies with 100 or more staff would get free products at work. The Labor Department would write that rule. Federal buildings open to the public would have to keep free products in every public restroom.\n\nPublic schools could spend federal grant money they already get on products for students. Colleges could compete for $5 million in new grants, split among at least four schools. At least half of those grants would go to community colleges. Homeless shelters could use federal emergency grant money for products as well. A new fund would add $200 million a year from 2026 through 2029. States would pass it to charities, tribes, and local agencies that give products out. Another $10 million a year would help families on cash aid buy their own. Taking this help would not lower a family's other federal benefits.\n\nStates would have to confirm every year that people in their prisons and jails can get products free, on request. A state that did not would lose 20 percent of its federal police grant money the next year. That money would go to states that did confirm. Federal prisons and immigration detention centers would face the same duty, including privately run ones. Visitors could not be turned away from a prison because they are using a period product.
","status":"COMMITTEE_CONSIDERATION","topics":["ECONOMY","TRANSPORTATION","GOVERNMENT_OPERATIONS"],"introducedAt":"2025-05-29T00:00:00+00:00","latestActionAt":"2025-05-29T00:00:00+00:00","congressGovUrl":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3644","accountabilityFlags":{"your_money":["↑ Sales tax on period products banned — 120 days after signing","↑ Medicaid would cover period products — one year after signing","↑ Free products for low-income families — $200 million yearly through 2029","↑ Free products won't cut other aid — federal benefits stay unchanged","↑ Cash-aid families get period product help — $10 million yearly"],"workers_jobs":["↑ Big employers must supply free products — 100 or more workers"],"civil_liberties":["↑ Prison visitors can't be turned away — for using period products","↑ Immigration detainees get free period products — including private facilities"],"criminal_justice":["↑ Prisons must supply period products — free and on demand","↓ States lose 20% of police grants — unless they confirm access"],"targeted_provisions":["↑ One nonprofit gets a set-aside — up to $4 million yearly"],"transparency_accountability":["↑ Product funding expires after 2029 — Congress must vote to renew","↑ Free-product program results published online — due April 2032"]},"tldr":"Ends state sales tax on pads and tampons, and makes them free in schools, prisons, large workplaces, and on Medicaid.","summaryStandard":"v2","flagExplainers":{"your_money":["No state or city could tax the retail sale of pads, tampons, liners, cups, or period underwear. The ban would start 120 days after the bill became law.","Period products would be added to the list of items Medicaid pays for. Coverage would begin the first full quarter one year after signing, though some states would need to pass their own law first.","The Social Services Block Grant would rise to $1.9 billion for 2026 through 2029. Of that, $200 million a year is set aside to buy and hand out free products for people with low incomes.","Products or benefits a family gets under this program would be ignored when other federal aid is figured. Food, health, and cash programs could not count it against them.","States and counties could win grants to help families that qualify for cash aid buy period products. Congress would put in $10 million a year starting in 2026, with no end date."],"workers_jobs":["The Labor Department would have to write a workplace rule covering employers with 100 or more workers. Those employers would have to keep free period products on hand for staff."],"civil_liberties":["States would confirm each year that no one is turned away from a prison visit because they use a period product. It is part of the same yearly report that covers products for prisoners.","Homeland Security would have to give free period products to every person it holds in immigration detention. That includes people held in privately run facilities."],"criminal_justice":["Each state would report every year that everyone in its prisons and jails can get free products whenever they ask, starting 180 days after signing. The Bureau of Prisons would do the same for federal prisoners, including those in private facilities.","A state that skips the yearly report would lose 20 percent of its main federal police grant (the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant) the next year. That money would be split among the states that did report."],"targeted_provisions":["Up to 2 percent of the $200 million, about $4 million a year, would be held back for a deal with a single nonprofit. It would run training and help administer the program, and states have no claim to that money."],"transparency_accountability":["The $200 million a year runs only through 2029. Congress would have to pass a new law to keep the money flowing after that.","The Department of Health and Human Services would study whether the program cut unmet need among low-income families. The report goes to Congress by March 2032 and onto the agency website by April 30, 2032."]},"flagValence":{"your_money":["good","contested","contested","good","contested"],"workers_jobs":["good"],"civil_liberties":["good","good"],"criminal_justice":["good","contested"],"targeted_provisions":["contested"],"transparency_accountability":["contested","good"]},"needsResummary":false,"displaySummaryHtml":null,"rawStatusText":"Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Ways and Means, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.","chamber":"HOUSE","policyArea":"Health","legislativeSubjects":[],"lawStatus":null,"lawNumber":null,"latestActionText":null,"latestTextVersion":null,"textVersionUsed":"Introduced in House","dateAdded":"2026-04-17T00:00:00+00:00","summarizedAt":"2026-08-18T00:00:00+00:00","recordId":"cb7f01a9-4325-473f-a67c-35ed47e2afd0","feedIdentityKey":"119/hr/3644","websiteBillId":"HR-3644","yourvoiceSummary":"States and cities could no longer charge sales tax on pads, tampons, cups, or period underwear. That ban would start 120 days after the bill was signed. A year after signing, Medicaid would begin covering period products for the people it insures. Workers at companies with 100 or more staff would get free products at work. The Labor Department would write that rule. Federal buildings open to the public would have to keep free products in every public restroom.\n\nPublic schools could spend federal grant money they already get on products for students. Colleges could compete for $5 million in new grants, split among at least four schools. At least half of those grants would go to community colleges. Homeless shelters could use federal emergency grant money for products as well. A new fund would add $200 million a year from 2026 through 2029. States would pass it to charities, tribes, and local agencies that give products out. Another $10 million a year would help families on cash aid buy their own. Taking this help would not lower a family's other federal benefits.\n\nStates would have to confirm every year that people in their prisons and jails can get products free, on request. A state that did not would lose 20 percent of its federal police grant money the next year. That money would go to states that did confirm. Federal prisons and immigration detention centers would face the same duty, including privately run ones. Visitors could not be turned away from a prison because they are using a period product.","updatedAt":"2026-10-25T01:16:37.514693+00:00"}