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H.R. 3420 119th Congress House

Words Matter Act of 2025

Official title: To amend Federal law to remove the terms "mentally retarded" and "mental retardation", and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 15, 2025 Introduced by: Pete Sessions Republican · Texas See on congress.gov
Health Administrative law and regulatory proceduresBirth defectsChild healthContracts and agency
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Criminal procedure and sentencingDisability and paralysisElementary and secondary educationEmployment and training programsFood assistance and reliefHealth care coverage and accessHealth personnelIndian social and development programsIntergovernmental relationsLong-term, rehabilitative, and terminal careMedicaidMedicareMental healthNursingNutrition and dietState and local government operations
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 26, 2026
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Mar 26, 2026
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
May 15, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
May 15, 2025
Introduced in House
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What's happening now March 26, 2026

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Words Matter Act of 2025

This bill removes outdated terminology in specified statutes by replacing references to mentally retarded and mental retardation with intellectual disability.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 15

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

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Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3420: Words Matter Act of 2025. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/
MLA
"H.R. 3420: Words Matter Act of 2025." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3420, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3420: Words Matter Act of 2025](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/)
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