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