Sponsors (12)
The bill directs new federal funding, research, outreach, and infrastructure to improve FASD prevention, diagnosis, and services—especially benefiting children, families, providers, and Tribal/state systems—while creating trade-offs in added federal cost, potential administrative burdens for small grantees, and an increased chance that some activities become discretionary and unevenly implemented.
Parents and children: increased federal funding for Centers for Excellence plus a national clearinghouse and service directory will make it easier to find and obtain FASD screening, diagnosis, and local supports.
Pregnant people and families: authorized public awareness and outreach about alcohol risks during pregnancy can reduce incidence of FASD by encouraging preventive behaviors.
Healthcare providers and public health systems: the bill supports integrating a standardized case definition into surveillance and development/refinement of evidence-based clinical diagnostic guidance, improving identification and care pathways for affected children.
Children and families: converting previously mandatory activities into discretionary programs could mean fewer prevention and intervention services get funded or implemented in some places.
Taxpayers: expanding program scope (awareness, surveillance, centers, clearinghouse) will increase federal spending and could raise costs depending on appropriations.
Tribal and small local applicants: new eligibility and administrative application requirements may create burdens that make it harder for smaller Tribes or local nonprofits to access grants.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Revises federal FASD program law to expand research, awareness, identification, surveillance case-definition work, and set eligibility/application rules for federal awards.
Introduced January 16, 2025 by Lisa Murkowski · Last progress January 16, 2025
Revises federal public health law governing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) programs to expand focus on research, awareness, identification, surveillance, and clinical guideline development. It updates statutory language to make some program activities permissive rather than mandatory, adds a requirement to integrate an FASD case definition into surveillance, and creates eligibility and application requirements for entities receiving grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts under the FASD program.