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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8743

SMART Kids Act

Children's Screen Time Recommendations

The SMART Kids Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for review. The bill is actively moving forward as it waits for the committee to consider it.

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law
Unlikely to pass

While the bill has support from both parties, most bills introduced in the House do not make it through the full voting process without a major push from leadership.

Key Points

  • This bill asks the Surgeon General to create official advice on how much time children should spend on screens each day. The goal is to help kids grow up healthy and stay well in a world full of phones, tablets, and computers.
  • The recommendations would be broken down by age, starting from babies and going all the way up to 18-year-olds. This recognizes that a teenager might handle screen time differently than a toddler.
  • Experts would also look at the quality of screen time. They might find that some activities, like educational games or video calls with family, are better for kids than just scrolling through social media.
  • To keep the advice fair, the Surgeon General must work with an outside group that does not have any financial ties to tech companies. This helps ensure the rules are based on science rather than business interests.
  • If the bill passes, the new guidelines would be posted online and sent to Congress within one year. This would give parents and teachers a clear standard to follow when managing technology use at home and school.

Impact Analysis

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

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
May 12, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

May 12, 2026

Introduced in House

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

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

SMART Kids Act

Bill NumberHR 8743
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(5)
D: 3R: 2

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.