Here's one for the history books: In a thrilling act of bipartisanship, members from both parties on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee collaborated Thursday to introduce the "Potty Parity" Act. This bill -- officially called the Restroom Gender Parity in Federal Building Act -- would require future federal buildings to have an equal ratio of toilets in men's and women's bathrooms.
Turns out that federal buildings built before the women-in-the-workplace era just don't have enough facilities to meet demand, leading to long lines for female staffers.
"Our nation's history shows that the structure and accessibility of American public restrooms have served as manifestations of more deeply rooted problems of discrimination, among race, physical ability and gender," said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), the bill's lead sponsor.
The Washington Post reports:
Towns tried and failed to get the bill passed during the last Congress, but it might get an assist this time around from the support of the committee's ranking member, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
Writers of the bill say that limited restrooms impose "undue hardship" on women, especially those who are pregnant or suffer from medical conditions.
Now if we could get this bill to also cover sporting arenas and movie theaters, we should be all set.
