119-sres343

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 343 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 343

Recognizing the important work of the United States Preventive Services 
 Task Force.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 29, 2025

Mr. King (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
 Van Hollen, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Markey) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
 Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Recognizing the important work of the United States Preventive Services 
 Task Force.

Whereas the United States Preventive Services Task Force (referred to in this 
 preamble as the ``Task Force'') is a scientifically independent, 
 statutorily authorized panel comprised of voluntary, non-Federal experts 
 in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine;
Whereas, since 1984, the mission of the Task Force has been to improve the 
 health of the people of the United States by making evidence-based 
 recommendations about health promotion and the effectiveness of clinical 
 primary and secondary preventive services;
Whereas steps to arrive at an official Task Force recommendation include--

    (1) assessing the adequacy of evidence at the key question level;

    (2) assessing the adequacy of evidence at the linkage level;

    (3) estimating the magnitude of benefit and harm of the preventive 
service;

    (4) evaluating the certainty of the evidence of net benefit for the 
preventive service;

    (5) estimating the magnitude of the net benefit of the preventive 
service; and

    (6) developing a recommendation grade for the preventive service in the 
relevant population, based on the parameters described in paragraphs

    (1) through

    (5) ;

Whereas the Task Force documents its methods in a procedure manual and other 
 resources to ensure that the recommendations and evidence reviews are 
 consistently of high quality, methodologically sound, scientifically 
 defensible, reproducible, and unbiased;
Whereas the Task Force invites and carefully considers public comment in the 
 development process for all Task Force research plans, evidence reviews, 
 and recommendation statements to increase the transparency and utility 
 of the outputs of the Task Force;
Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148; 124 
 Stat. 119) (referred to in this preamble as the ``ACA'') reauthorized 
 the Task Force and required insurers to cover, without deductible or 
 copay, preventive services that are recommended by the Task Force with a 
 grade of ``A'' or ``B'', along with those preventive services 
 recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the 
 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in this preamble 
 as ``ACIP''), Bright Futures, and the Health Resources and Services 
 Administration's guidelines for women's health;
Whereas the ACA prohibits most health plans, including private health insurance 
 plans, Medicare, and Medicaid, from imposing cost-sharing on patients 
 for preventive services when the services are delivered by an in-network 
 provider;
Whereas the Task Force comprehensively assesses evidence and makes 
 recommendations about the effectiveness of clinical primary and 
 secondary preventive services, including screening tests, counseling 
 about healthy behaviors, and preventive medications for children, 
 adolescents, adults, older adults, and pregnant women, which 
 collectively includes 54 recommended preventive services and medicines 
 that are covered without cost-sharing;
Whereas such recommended services include preventive health services such as 
 screenings for heart disease, screenings for breast, colorectal, 
 cervical, and lung cancer, and folic acid supplements for women to 
 prevent birth defects in their babies;
Whereas the most common causes of chronic disease in the United States include 
 smoking, obesity, high blood sugar, hypertension, and high cholesterol, 
 and the Task Force has made recommendations regarding prevention of all 
 of those causes for both children and adults;
Whereas the Task Force recommendations are entirely based on the strength of the 
 evidence and the balance of benefits and harms of a preventive service;
Whereas the Task Force has saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of 
 lives due to its often simple and inexpensive recommendations;
Whereas preventive services can help people avoid acute illness, identify and 
 treat chronic conditions, prevent cancer or lead to earlier detection, 
 improve health outcomes, and reduce the burden of end-stage chronic 
 disease;
Whereas the Task Force is comprised of members selected, reviewed, and appointed 
 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
Whereas nominations for members of the Task Force are open to the public, and 
 qualification includes demonstrated knowledge, expertise, and national 
 leadership in areas including--

    (1) the critical evaluation of research published in peer-reviewed 
literature and in the methods of evidence review;

    (2) clinical prevention, health promotion, and primary health care;

    (3) implementation of evidence-based recommendations in clinical 
practice, including at the clinician-patient level, practice level, and 
health system level; and

    (4) experience in methodological issues, such as meta-analysis, 
analytic modeling, or clinical epidemiology, for members without primary 
health care clinical experience;

Whereas the members of the Task Force are appointed for staggered 4-year terms, 
 with potential 1-year extensions, to allow new perspectives into the 
 Task Force while ensuring continuity in its mission;
Whereas applicants for the Task Force are required to not have substantial 
 conflicts of interest, whether financial, professional, or intellectual, 
 that would impair the scientific integrity of the work of the Task 
 Force, and must complete regular conflict of interest disclosures;
Whereas the Task Force is assisted in fulfilling its mission by the Agency for 
 Healthcare Research and Quality (referred to in this preamble as the 
 ``AHRQ''), which provides scientific, administrative, and dissemination 
 support to the Task Force, and by AHRQ-designated Evidence-based 
 Practice Centers, which develop the evidence reviews, evidence 
 summaries, and other documents that inform the deliberations of the Task 
 Force;
Whereas recent funding and staffing reductions at AHRQ have significantly 
 impacted its ability to support the Task Force;
Whereas the recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Kennedy 
 v. Braidwood Management, Inc., upheld the constitutionality of the Task 
 Force;
Whereas the Braidwood decision reaffirmed the power of the Secretary of Health 
 and Human Services to appoint or remove members of the Task Force and 
 review their recommendations;
Whereas the Task Force meets 3 times a year, in March, July, and November;
Whereas, on July 7, 2025, the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. 
 Kennedy (referred to in this preamble as ``Secretary Kennedy'') abruptly 
 cancelled a meeting of the Task Force scheduled for July 10, 2025; and
Whereas Task Force meetings are necessary for formal votes to consider, 
 reconsider or move forward Task Force recommendations and material 
 development: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That--

    (1) to ensure access for the people of the United States to 
 life-saving, evidence-based preventive care and services, the 
 operations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force 
 (referred to in this resolution as the ``Task Force''), 
 including working with the Agency for Healthcare Research and 
 Quality, Evidence-based Practice Centers, and related 
 stakeholders, should not be subject to any interruption, delay, 
 or funding disruption;

    (2) the members of the Task Force currently comprised of 
 experts in primary care and preventive medicine serving 
 staggered 4-year terms have been charged by Congress to make 
 evidence-based recommendations about preventive health 
 services, and do so transparently using the best available 
 scientific evidence;

    (3) the members of the Task Force should continue to serve 
 their 4-year terms to completion;

    (4) the work of the Task Force must continue to be grounded 
 in transparent, evidence-based review that is based on vetted, 
 proven, and scientifically demonstrated studies; and

    (5) the Department of Health and Human Services, as 
 required by 

section 915 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
 U.S.C. 299b-4), must reconvene the Task Force and move the work 
 of the Task Force forward without delay.
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