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HR 2178119th CongressIn Committee

Cerebral Palsy Research Program Authorization Act of 2025

Introduced: Mar 18, 2025
View on Congress.gov
Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

H.R. 2178, the Cerebral Palsy Research Program Authorization Act of 2025, would amend the Public Health Service Act to create a dedicated federal program focused on cerebral palsy (CP) research. The program would be run primarily by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, in consultation with other federal agencies and partners, and could operate directly or through grants or contracts. The scope includes research on diagnosis and treatment, factors that may reduce CP prevalence, and the health care and societal costs of CP, along with public health surveillance and related education/training efforts for health professionals and the public. The act also authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to public and nonprofit private entities and to evaluate program activities for effectiveness and impact on different demographic groups. Funding is authorized at $5 million per year from fiscal years 2026 through 2031.

Key Points

  • 1Establishes a new Cerebral Palsy Research Program under the Public Health Service Act, administered by the CDC Director, with coordination across other federal agencies and partners; activities can be conducted directly or through grants/contracts.
  • 2Research scope includes: (A) promising CP diagnosis and treatment avenues; (B) factors that may mitigate CP prevalence; (C) health care and societal costs of CP; (D) public health surveillance; and (E) related education/training research for diagnosing, treating, and explaining CP.
  • 3Technical assistance: the Secretary may provide support to public and nonprofit private entities to advance CP research.
  • 4Evaluations: the Secretary must evaluate the program’s activities to determine effectiveness and impacts on various demographic populations.
  • 5Funding: authorizes $5,000,000 in each fiscal year from 2026 through 2031 to carry out the CP research program.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: people with cerebral palsy and their families, including healthcare needs, long-term care considerations, and lifelong implications; healthcare professionals and public health practitioners involved in CP diagnosis, treatment, and care coordination.Secondary group/area affected: researchers, academic and medical institutions receiving federal grants/contracts; public and nonprofit organizations that participate in CP research or education initiatives.Additional impacts: enhanced public health surveillance data on CP (incidence, prevalence, outcomes), potential improvements in cost awareness and management of CP-related care, and updated education/training materials for clinicians and the public. The funding level ($5 million/year) represents a targeted, but relatively modest, federal investment intended to spur research, surveillance, and capacity-building without a comprehensive overhaul of CP programs.
Generated by gpt-5-nano on Nov 18, 2025