HR 3111 · 118th Congress 2023–2025, ended

Words Matter Act of 2023

Introduced May 5, 2023 Originated House Sponsor Mark Pocan D-WI

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · May 5, 2023 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMay 5, 2023
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Words Matter Act of 2023

This bill removes outdated terminology in specified statutes by replacing references to mentally retarded and mental retardation with intellectual disability.

Cosponsors 40

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 5, 2023 to Nov 13, 2023; 38 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-NHAnn M. KusterOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-MNBetty McCollumOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-NJBonnie Watson ColemanOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-PABrian K. FitzpatrickOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-WACathy McMorris RodgersOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-NJChristopher H. SmithOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-MNDean PhillipsOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-NJDonald M. Payne, Jr.OriginalMay 5, 2023
D-PADwight EvansOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-OREarl BlumenauerOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-INErin HouchinOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-ILJanice D. SchakowskyOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-FLJared MoskowitzOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-SCJeff DuncanOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-ILJesús G. "Chuy" GarcíaOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-HIJill N. TokudaOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-LAJulia LetlowOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-FLKathy CastorOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-CAKevin MullinOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-TXLloyd DoggettOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-NYMarcus J. MolinaroOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-OHMarcy KapturOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-CAMark DeSaulnierOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-NJMikie SherrillOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-KYMorgan McGarveyOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-NYNicholas A. LangworthyOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-ILNikki BudzinskiOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-NYPaul TonkoOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-TXPete SessionsOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-AZRaúl M. GrijalvaOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-CARo KhannaOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-PASummer L. LeeOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-PASusan WildOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-WASuzan K. DelBeneOriginalMay 5, 2023
R-KSTracey MannOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-NCWiley NickelOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-MAWilliam R. KeatingOriginalMay 5, 2023
D-CAJim CostaMay 11, 2023
D-NJJosh GottheimerNov 13, 2023

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseJudiciary Committee
Referred May 5, 2023

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. May 5, 2023Introduced in House
  2. May 5, 2023Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 8 The single subject of this legislation is: Changes to U.S. Code to remove harmful language describing individuals with disabilities

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 77, May 5, 2023, page H2137.

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 3726Words Matter Act of 2024Identical billFeb 1, 2024
HR 8863Words Matter Act of 2022Reintroduction ofNov 1, 2022

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To amend Federal law to remove the terms "mentally retarded" and "mental retardation", and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced
Words Matter Act of 2023

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. May 5, 2023Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.