Babies Now Allowed On Senate Floor During Votes, New Rule Says

The U.S. Senate passed a rule on Wednesday that will now permit newborns onto the Senate floor during votes, allowing parents to feed their child while they work.

Thanks to a unanimous vote, infants under the age of one have been added to the list of individuals permitted on the Senate floor, CNN reported. The ruling was put through to accommodate senators, both men, and women, who need to nurse their children during hearings.

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth requested the rule change before she gave birth on April 9 to her second child Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, becoming the first active senator to do so while in office. With the new rule, she will be able to bring her daughter if she’s called in for a late-night meeting and breastfeed while on the floor, an aide told ABC News.

Duckworth, 50, gave thanks to her Democratic and Republican colleagues for "helping bring the Senate into the 21st Century by recognizing that sometimes new parents also have responsibilities at work."

"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 in a statement.

The rule change could prove advantageous for new parents who work in the chamber. Sometimes, the Senate casts votes during the night, consisting of several 15-minute votes consecutively. This process can run an hour or longer and could be problematic for a father or mother needing to feed their baby.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, told CNN that the rule change would likely improve the atmosphere in the room.

"I think it would do us good, every once in a while, to see a pacifier next to the antique inkwells on our desks, or a diaper bag next to a brass spittoon that hasn't been used in decades," he said. "Perhaps the cry of a baby will shock this Senate into speaking up and even crying out on the issues that confront our nation and world."

Since the 1800s, the Senate has restricted access to the room when senators complained about too many people being in the area at one time. Because of this, they created a list that excludes anyone other than the president and vice-president, members of Congress, senators' staff members and the mayor of Washington.