Who Does the “Empowering Moms Act” Actually Empower?

Help build a country that works for mothers

A bill moving through Congress would make Moms.gov permanent. The name sounds great. The text tells a different story.

When a bill has “moms” in its name, moms deserve to know what’s inside it. So when the Empowering Moms Act advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee in September, the lawyer in me had to immediately read it. All five pages.

And because I know most of you don’t have time to dissect legislation between school pickup and bedtime, I’m sharing what I found.

Trust me when I tell you that I wanted to love it. Empowering moms is our entire mission at Moms First. And if Congress had written a bill that put real money behind what moms tell us they need, I’d be the first one cheering. But a good name doesn’t guarantee good policy.

While the bill has 12 Republican sponsors and has cleared committee, it is not yet law. So before it goes any further, let’s walk through what it actually says.

What the Bill Does

The Empowering Moms Act would take Moms.gov, the federal website launched this past Mother’s Day, and make it permanent. Under the bill, The Department of Health and Human Services (called HHS for short, it’s the federal agency that oversees health programs like Medicaid, the CDC, and the FDA) would build out the site with a resource clearinghouse and a ZIP code search so moms can find help near them.

The bill would also fund grants to states to gather and organize local resources. It would also require a public list of federal funding opportunities for pregnancy support services.

On paper, a one-stop shop sounds useful. Every mom I know has lost hours hunting for answers. If this were the whole story, I’d call it a modest improvement and move on.

It isn’t the whole story though.

What the Bill Doesn’t Do

Here’s what you won’t find anywhere in those five pages: a single dollar for childcare or paid leave.

The bill authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” for fiscal years 2027 through 2032. That money goes toward running a website and building directories.

Let me be clear about why that matters. Moms aren’t struggling because they can’t find a list. They’re struggling because the childcare on that list costs more than they can pay, and because the job that’s supposed to cover it often doesn’t come with a single day of paid leave.

A directory can point you to help that already exists. It can’t create the help that doesn’t.

I think about the moms I’ve met at screenings of No Country for Mothers across the country this year. Not one of them has told me her problem was a missing phone book. They tell me about daycare waitlists and about going back to work before their bodies were ready. They’re asking for a country that shows up for them.

Who Gets Left Off the List

This is the part I had to read twice.

The bill bars any “prohibited entity” from the directory. It defines that as a 501(c)(3) essential community provider that is primarily engaged in family planning and reproductive health services and that provides abortions.

Under that language, those clinics are excluded entirely, so the prenatal care and cancer screenings they provide to moms every day can’t be listed either. Meanwhile, the bill spells out what the site must include. Among the required resources is abortion pill reversal. Another is information on child development “from the moment of conception.”

Put those two pieces side by side. A mom searching this federal directory could be pointed toward abortion pill reversal, but not toward the clinic down the road where she gets her prenatal checkups.

The Paper Trail

I promised we’d let the text speak for itself, and the bill’s history speaks, too. The Empowering Moms Act grew out of an earlier version, the MOMS Act, which its lead sponsor described as “helping women feel supported in choosing life”. That framing tells you a lot about the purpose behind the policy.

I’m not here to tell anyone what to believe about pregnancy. I’m here to say that a bill should be honest about what it is. A bill built to steer pregnant women toward one set of choices is a very different thing from a bill built to empower mothers. Moms deserve to know which one they’re looking at.

There’s one more detail worth your attention. The site would let users consent to share their contact information, which HHS may then use to reach out by phone or email. That’s a lot of trust to ask of moms at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

If you’re a mom who types her ZIP code into a federal pregnancy website, you deserve to know who’s going to follow up, and what they’re going to say.

What Would Actually Empower Moms

Here’s what gives me hope. Moms already know what they need, and it isn’t a partisan wish list.

57% of Independent women say they’d be more likely to support an elected official who backs the bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act.

That’s the kind of empowerment moms are asking for: childcare they can afford, and paid leave that gives them time to heal and bond with their babies. Neither can be solved with a website. Both require investment.

Real empowerment would mean meeting moms where they actually are. It would mean trusting them to make their own decisions with full, accurate information, and then making sure the support exists once they’ve made them. That’s the bar any bill with “moms” in its name should clear.

So here’s my ask: Share this with a mom who’s heard the name of the bill, or has visited Moms.gov, and assumed the best. And the next time a lawmaker talks about empowering moms, ask one simple question: where’s the childcare? Then ask whether they’ve talked to the moms who would actually use what they’re building.

Moms have been patient long enough. Let’s hold every bill with our name on it to the standard we deserve.

Hope on the West Coast

This week, we took the American Motherhood Tour to San Francisco and Seattle, and we left both cities feeling hopeful.

At the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie opened the night by making clear that the future of work has to include families, and I sat down with Elizabeth Kelly of Anthropic to talk about building technology that actually helps families get the support they need.

Moms brought the energy to SIFF Cinema Downtown in Seattle, and the audience was in agreement: they’re not failing. They’re navigating systems that were never built to support them.

Thank you to our Advisory Council members who cohosted in San Francisco, the Heising-Simons Foundation for bringing the film to the Bay Area, Rosie for providing free childcare in Seattle, and Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream for the sweet welcome.

Want to see Moms First come to your city? Help fund the movement and let’s keep this thing going in 2027.

Submit a Public Comment & Help Save Head Start: 5 Days Left

Consider this our final reminder. The deadline to comment on the proposal to wipe out nearly 1,400 of the rules that keep Head Start working for families is October 6. As of today, 18,720 people have added their voices. Our goal is 20,000.

We can get there, but we need your help.

Here’s what helps most: your story. Were you a Head Start kid? Is your child enrolled now? Do you teach, run a center, or live in a community that depends on it? Say so.

If you’re not sure where to start, our friends at First Five Years Fund and the National Head Start Association have made it easy:

Then take it one step further: forward this to a friend or make a quick post on social media so they can add their voice too.

Two minutes of your time can help protect a program families count on. Submit your comment before October 6.

ADD YOUR COMMENT

Thinking About Hosting a Screening?
Join Us on October 9 for a Virtual Office Hour

Contemplating hosting a No Country for Mothers screening, or already have one on the calendar? Pop into our virtual office hour on October 9, 12-12:30 PM ET. It’s casual, there’s no prep required, and you’ll walk away with answers to your questions, a few tips from our team, and everything you need to bring your community together.

RSVP

No Country for Mothers: Screenings Happening Near You

Check for a local screening in your city or join a virtual watch party.

Brooklyn, NY, Oct 2, 6-9:30 PM at Bechdel Project — RSVP
Farmingdale, NY, 7-9:30 PM at The Nesting Place — RSVP
Virtual Watch Party (NY), Oct 2, 8:30-10:30 PM — RSVP
North Haven, CT, Oct 3, 3-4:30 PM at North Haven Memorial Library — RSVP
Murfreesboro, TN , Oct 3, 2-4:30 PM at Linebaugh Public Library — RSVP
Redmond, WA, Oct 3, 5:30-8:30 PM at Ada Social — RSVP
Miami, FL, Oct 4, 9 AM-2 PM — RSVP
Harrison, NY, Oct 4, 11AM-3 PM — RSVP
South Orange Village, NJ, Oct 4, 1-3 PM at Baird Community Center — RSVP
Virtual Watch Party (CA), Oct 4, 12-2:30 PM — RSVP
Easton, PA, Oct 4, 6-8:30 PM — RSVP
Virtual Watch Party (CA), Oct 4, 5-6:30 PM — RSVP
Greenville, SC, Oct 5, 6-7:30 PM at Swanson’s Warehouse — RSVP
Minneapolis, MN, Oct 5, 5:30-8:15 PM at The Parkway Theater— RSVP
Steamboat Springs, CO, Oct 6, 5:30-7:30 PM at Dear Steamboat Exhibit — RSVP
Harrisburg, PA, Oct 7, 4:45-6:30 PM — RSVP
Hartford, WI, Oct 7, 5:30-7 PM at Jack Russell Memorial Library — RSVP
Virtual Watch Party (NY), Oct 7, 8:30-10:15 PM — RSVP
Virtual Watch Party (NY), Oct 8, 1-2 PM — RSVP
Livonia, MI, Oct 8, 6-9 PM at Schoolcraft College — RSVP
Kearney, NE, Oct 8, 6-8 PM at Kearney Public Library — RSVP
San Diego, CA, Oct 8, 5:30-8 PM at Hera Hub San Diego — RSVP

Want to host your own? Head to our Host Hub for all the info you need to set up your event.

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Moms don’t need a bill with our name on it. We need lawmakers willing to listen to what we’ve been saying for years and fund the childcare and paid leave that would actually change our lives.

Reading the fine print for you,