No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6972 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6972
To amend title X of the Public Health Service Act to require grant
recipients to comply with all applicable State and local laws requiring
notification or reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual
abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, or human trafficking,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 7, 2026
Mr. Smucker (for himself, Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina, Mr. Gill of
Texas, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Gosar, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Joyce of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Bost, Mr. Weber of Texas, and Mr. Rose) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title X of the Public Health Service Act to require grant
recipients to comply with all applicable State and local laws requiring
notification or reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual
abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, or human trafficking,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reporting Accountability and Abuse
Prevention Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE BY PROJECTS FUNDED UNDER TITLE X WITH STATE AND
LOCAL SEXUAL ABUSE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
Title X of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) is
amending by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1009. COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL SEXUAL ABUSE REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) In General.--As a condition on the award or renewal of a
grant under this title for any project or program, the Secretary shall
require the grant recipient to comply with all applicable State and
local laws requiring notification or reporting of child abuse, child
molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, or
human trafficking (in this section referred to as `State notification
laws').
``(b) Required Compliance.--In ensuring compliance with subsection
(a) for a project or program, the grant recipient shall provide to the
Secretary appropriate documentation or otherwise demonstrate to the
Secretary's satisfaction that the grant recipient--
``(1) has in place and implements a plan to comply with
State notification laws, including, at a minimum, policies and
procedures that include--
``(A) a summary of obligations under State
notification laws of the project or program, or of each
organization and individual carrying out the project or
program, including any obligation to inquire about or
determine the age of a minor patient or of a minor
patient's sexual partner;
``(B) timely and adequate annual training of all
individuals (whether or not they are employees) serving
patients for, or on behalf of, the project or program
regarding--
``(i) compliance with State notification
laws;
``(ii) policies and procedures of the
project or program with respect to notification
and reporting of child abuse, child
molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest,
intimate partner violence, and human
trafficking; and
``(iii) appropriate interventions,
strategies, and referrals to improve the safety
and current situation of the patient;
``(C) protocols to ensure that every minor who
presents for treatment is provided counseling on how to
resist attempts to coerce the minor into engaging in
sexual activities; and
``(D) a commitment to conduct a preliminary
screening of any minor who presents with a sexually
transmitted disease, pregnancy, or any suspicion of
abuse, in order to rule out victimization of the minor;
and
``(2) maintains records that demonstrate compliance with
each of the requirements set forth in paragraph (1) and--
``(A) indicate the age of minor patients;
``(B) document each notification or report made
pursuant to State notification laws; and
``(C) indicate the age of the minor patient's
sexual partners if such age is an element of a State
notification law under which a report is required.
``(c) Review of Records.--As a condition on the award or renewal of
a grant under this title for any project or program, a grant recipient
shall agree to allow the Secretary, the Inspector General of the
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Comptroller General of
the United States to review the records maintained by the grant
recipient, including any contractor or subgrantee of the grant
recipient, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this section.
``(d) Penalties for Noncompliance.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) if the Secretary finds that a grantee under this
title has violated subsection (a), (b), or (c), work with the
grantee to remedy such noncompliance; and
``(2) if the Secretary finds that the grantee commits a
subsequent violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c)--
``(A) seek repayment of all monetary Federal
assistance received by the grantee under this title on
or after the date of enactment of the Reporting
Accountability and Abuse Prevention Act of 2026; and
``(B) not award or provide any assistance under
this title to the grantee for a period of at least 36
months following the date of finding that the grantee
has committed such subsequent violation.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line