Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Rep. Lawler introduces Stop CMV Act of 2025 to expand newborn CMV screening
Loading...
Summary
Rep. Lawler introduced H.R. 5435 on Sept. 17, 2025, which would amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize congenital cytomegalovirus screening for newborns, fund state implementation and data systems, and direct NIH research; the bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Rep. Lawler introduced H.R. 5435, the Stop CMV Act of 2025, on Sept. 17, 2025, to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for congenital cytomegalovirus screening of newborns; the measure was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The bill would authorize each hospital or other health care entity caring for infants 21 days of age or younger to administer a test for congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed by the chief executive officer for health in each State. If a State does not prescribe standards and procedures within two years after enactment, the Discretionary Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children would be required to prescribe appropriate standards the State could implement.
H.R. 5435 would establish three federal support streams. First, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), would award grants to States that adopt the required standards and procedures; States would distribute those funds to entities administering tests. The bill specifies authorization of appropriations as “such sums as may be necessary” for each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
Second, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), would award grants or enter cooperative agreements with States to provide technical assistance. The CDC activities named in the bill include developing and improving data collection systems for congenital CMV and assisting in education and training for health care providers, patients and the public, including publishing evidence-based educational materials on State-maintained web pages. The CDC program also carries an authorization of appropriations phrased as “such sums as may be necessary” for FY2025 and FY2026.
Third, the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be directed to establish or expand programs of research and development on screening techniques and technologies, clinical studies of screening methods, efficacy of interventions, diagnostics, prevention, treatments, risk reduction, vaccine development and related research.
The bill adds an explicit duty to section 1111(b) of the Public Health Service Act for the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children to carry out activities under the new screening provision.
The measure text sets process details that the State chief executive officer for health may prescribe, including how testing information is recorded, tracked, disseminated to parents or guardians, followed up and used for educational activities. The bill does not specify a dollar amount for grants; appropriations language is permissive. It also does not mandate a single national testing method or require specific state implementation timelines beyond the two-year fallback for the Advisory Committee to act.
Rep. Lawler introduced the bill “for himself, Mr. Landsman, and Ms. Ross.” The bill number is H.R. 5435; the referral was to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No votes or further House actions are recorded in the document.