The Senate unanimously approved Wednesday a new rule to permit infants under the age of 1 to enter the Senate floor.
The change was made to assist senators with newborn children and was introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who recently became the first senator to give birth while in office.
“I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, particularly those in leadership and on the Rules Committee, for helping bring the Senate into the 21st century by recognizing that sometimes new parents also have responsibilities at work,” Duckworth said in a statement.
“By ensuring that no Senator will be prevented from performing their constitutional responsibilities simply because they have a young child, the Senate is leading by example and sending the important message that working parents everywhere deserve family-friendly workplace policies,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who lost both her legs during a tour in Iraq in 2004, welcomed daughter Maile Pearl Bowlsbey on April 9.
