Speaker-designate John Boehner will direct the Architect of the Capitol to create a women’s restroom adjacent to the House floor in what is currently the Office of the Parliamentarian, according to a statement Wednesday.
There is a men’s restroom near the House floor, but the closest women’s restroom is located in the Congressional Women’s Reading Room, which is across the Capitol through Statuary Hall.
“As we continue to evaluate ways to open up the people’s House, it’s encouraging to be able to make changes like this that are long overdue,” the Ohio Republican said in the statement.
The Office of the Parliamentarian will be moved to another space in the Capitol, a Boehner spokesman said.
The House will have 71 women in its ranks in the 112th Congress.
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
