Such is also the case, apparently, for the restrooms serving some of the most important and powerful women in our country [1].
According to the political blog Wonkette -- which, apart from a brief mention on Salon, is the only place I could find this story reported -- John Banzhaf, professor of Law at George Washington University, has filed a complaint about the lack of toilet facilities adjacent to the House floor for women.
Banzhaf argues that the failure to provide ladies rooms constitutes "illegal sex discrimination and violates the constitutional right of Equal Protection." Now that there are "record numbers" of women in the House, and now that the Speaker is a woman, something definitely needs to be done.
In February, Representative Ed Towns (D-NY) introduced [2] the Restroom Gender Parity in Federal Buildings Act of 2007 [3], which would require buildings that receive at least $1.5 million in federal funds to have a two-to-one ratio of women's restrooms to men's. But in the House of Representatives, it not just the number of toilets that are at issue. It seems that the male restroom is very well-equipped ("six stalls, four urinals, gilt mirrors, a shoeshine, ceiling fan, drinking fountain, and television") and close to the floor -- whereas women (all seventy of them) are forced to either "dash down a long public hall often filled with tourists and lobbyists" or "enter the minority leader's office, try to find their way through a corridor that passes secretarial desks, and then punch a keypad code for access."
This is Congress -- a building in which dignity should definitely not be lacking. Fortunately, in response to Banzhaf's legal complaint, the Architect of the Capitol says that "options are being considered for adding additional restrooms" for female members. In the meantime, there's always the empty coffee cup. That has to be a joke, right? Well, I don't know -- when in need, one has to improvise, and a vessel's a vessel. Hopefully better times lie ahead for ladies who need the ladies'.
