HPU students rehearse period-tax pitch ahead of D.C. trip
High Point University senior Tatum James and three classmates practiced a legislative pitch on former High Point Mayor Jay Wagner, who role-played a Republican member of Congress, ahead of a Nov. 18 trip to Washington, D.C., to present their case to federal lawmakers. The students are urging Congress to pass legislation barring state and local sales taxes on menstrual products, noting 32 states already exempt such products while 18, including North Carolina, still tax them. The exercise is part of a class assignment in which students advocate on a chosen issue; the group cited a pending federal bill, the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026, which includes a menstrual equity section referencing Medicaid-funded free period products and a provision barring state and local taxes on the products, though the Senate version has stalled and the House version was referred to a subcommittee in September.