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.
Health
Administrative law and regulatory proceduresBirth defectsChild healthContracts and agency
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
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
Ask about this bill
Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.
What's happening now
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Plain-English summary
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This bill removes outdated terminology in specified statutes by replacing references to mentally retarded and mental retardation with intellectual disability.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
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Committees of jurisdiction
1
Lobbying activity
15
- NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS
- NATIONAL DOWN SYNDROME SOCIETY
- SPECIAL OLYMPICS, INC.
- NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS
- NATIONAL DOWN SYNDROME SOCIETY
- SPECIAL OLYMPICS, INC.
Bodies those filers lobbied
- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
- SENATE
- Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)
- Education, Dept of
- President of the U.S.
- White House Office
- Bureau of Justice Assistance
- Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3420: Words Matter Act of 2025. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/
"H.R. 3420: Words Matter Act of 2025." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/.
H.R. 3420, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/.
[H.R. 3420: Words Matter Act of 2025](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-3420/)