Congress·In Progress·H.R. 3420

Words Matter Act of 2025

Federal Law: Updating Disability Terminology

Mar 26·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committee

The Words Matter Act of 2025 is currently in the House Judiciary Committee. Although the committee voted to move the bill forward in March 2026, no further action has taken place for three months. The bill is now stalled as it waits for the committee to take the next steps.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Likely to pass

This bill has bipartisan support and does not cost money or change benefits, making it very easy for both parties to support.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 3111 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 3111 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill replaces the terms "mentally retarded" and "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability" or "individuals with intellectual disabilities" in all federal laws. This update affects many areas including healthcare, housing, and education programs.
The change modernizes the language used by the government to be more respectful. It is designed to bring federal law in line with modern medical and social standards without changing the actual substance of the laws.
The policy covers a wide range of federal programs like Medicaid, the National School Lunch Program, and military medical care. It also applies to legal settings, including rules for the death penalty and mental health courts.
This law only changes federal wording and does not force states to change the language in their own state laws. It also guarantees that no one will lose their current rights, benefits, or services because of the name change.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones4 actions

Mar 26, 2026House

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.

The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.

Mar 26, 2026House

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

May 15, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

May 15, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Words Matter Act of 2025

Bill NumberHR 3420

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(15)

D: 5R: 10

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.