II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3726 

To amend Federal law to remove the terms ‘‘mentally retarded’’ and ‘‘mental 

retardation’’, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend Federal law to remove the terms ‘‘mentally 

retarded’’ and ‘‘mental retardation’’, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Words Matter Act of 

5 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF ‘‘MENTALLY RETARDED’’ AND ‘‘MEN7 TAL RETARDATION’’ FROM FEDERAL LAW. 

8 (a) CONTRACTS FOR MEDICAL CARE FOR SPOUSES

9 AND CHILDREN.—Section 1079(d)(3)(B) of title 10, 

10 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘is moderately 


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1 or severely mentally retarded, has a serious physical dis2 ability, or has’’ and inserting ‘‘has a moderate to severe 

3 intellectual disability, a serious physical disability, or’’. 

4 (b) MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR NURSING HOMES, 

5 INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES, AND BOARD AND CARE

6 HOMES.—Section 232(d)(4)(A) of the National Housing 

7 Act (12 U.S.C. 1715w(d)(4)(A)) is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘the mentally retarded or developmentally disabled’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘individuals with intellectual or developmental 

10 disabilities’’. 

11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF A SENTENCE OF DEATH.— 

12 Section 3596(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amend13 ed by striking ‘‘is mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘has 

14 an intellectual disability’’. 

15 (d) DEFINITION OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME.— 

16 Section 4(9)(A) of the Indian Health Care Improvement 

17 Act (25 U.S.C. 1603(9)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘men18 tal retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘an intellectual disability’’. 

19 (e) GENERAL PROGRAMS DEFINITIONS.—Section 

20 701 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 

21 U.S.C. 1665) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by 

23 striking ‘‘mental retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘an in24 tellectual disability’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘mental re2 tardation’’ and inserting ‘‘an intellectual disability’’. 

3 (f) GRANT AUTHORITY.—Section 2201 of title I of 

4 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

5 (34 U.S.C. 10471) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘mental retar7 dation’’ and inserting ‘‘intellectual disabilities’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘a 

10 mentally ill or mentally retarded offender’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘an offender who has a mental illness 

12 or intellectual disability’’; and 

13 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘of a 

14 mentally ill or mentally retarded defendant’s 

15 cases’’ and inserting ‘‘cases of a defendant who 

16 has a mental illness or intellectual disability’’. 

17 (g) MENTAL HEALTH COURTS DEFINITIONS.—Sec18 tion 2202(2) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

19 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10472(2)) is amend20 ed by striking ‘‘mental retardation’’ each place it appears 

21 and inserting ‘‘intellectual disability’’. 

22 (h) DONATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY THROUGH

23 STATE AGENCIES.—Section 549(c)(3)(B)(iv) of title 40, 

24 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the mentally 


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1 retarded or physically handicapped’’ and inserting ‘‘indi2 viduals with intellectual or physical disabilities’’. 

3 (i) TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIRECT CARE

4 WORKERS.—Section 747A(a) of the Public Health Service 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 293k–1(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘men6 tal retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘intellectual disabilities’’. 

7 (j) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ACTS INVOLVING

8 FEDERAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS.—Section 1128B of 

9 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b) is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘the mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘indi11 viduals with intellectual disabilities’’ each place it appears. 

12 (k) LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY OR PROVIDER.— 

13 Section 6201(a)(6)(E)(ix) of the Patient Protection and 

14 Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7l(a)(6)(E)(ix)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘the mentally retarded’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘individuals with intellectual disabilities’’. 

17 (l) GRANTS FOR PLANNING COMPREHENSIVE ACTION

18 TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH IN19 TELLECTUAL DISABILITIES.—Title XVII of the Social Se20 curity (42 U.S.C. 1391 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (1) in the title heading by striking ‘‘COMBAT 

22 MENTAL RETARDATION’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘MEET THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS 

24 WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES’’; 


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1 (2) in section 1701, by striking ‘‘combat mental 

2 retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘meet the needs of indi3 viduals with intellectual disabilities’’ each place it 

4 appears; 

5 (3) in section 1702— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘needed to combat mental 

7 retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘needed to meet the 

8 needs of individuals with intellectual disabil9 ities’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘the mental retardation 

11 problem and of the need for combating it’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘such needs’’; 

13 (C) by striking ‘‘relating to the various as14 pects of mental retardation and its prevention, 

15 treatment, or amelioration’’ and inserting ‘‘to 

16 meet such needs’’; and 

17 (D) by striking ‘‘community action to com18 bat mental retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘commu19 nity action to meet such needs’’; and 

20 (4) in section 1703 by striking ‘‘the mentally 

21 retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals with intellectual 

22 disabilities’’. 

23 (m) REQUIREMENTS FOR, AND ASSURING QUALITY

24 CARE IN, SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES.—Section 


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1 1819(b)(4) of the Social Security (42 U.S.C. 1395i– 

2 3(b)(4)) is amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (A)(vii) by striking ‘‘men4 tally ill and mentally retarded residents’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘residents with mental illnesses or intellectual 

6 disabilities’’; and 

7 (2) in subparagraph (C)(ii)(IV)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘section 307(a)(12)’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘section 307(a)(9)’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘the mentally ill and the 

11 mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals 

12 with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities’’. 

13 (n) GRANTS TO STATES FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE

14 PROGRAMS.—Title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘intermediate care facility for 

17 the mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘intermediate 

18 care facility for individuals with intellectual disabil19 ities’’ each place it appears; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘intermediate care facilities for 

21 the mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘intermediate 

22 care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabil23 ities’’ each place it appears; 

24 (3) in section 1905(d)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

2 by striking ‘‘the mentally retarded or persons 

3 with’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals with intellec4 tual disabilities or’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘mentally 

6 retarded individuals’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals 

7 with intellectual disabilities’’; and 

8 (C) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘mentally 

9 retarded individual’’ and inserting ‘‘individual 

10 who has an intellectual disability’’; 

11 (4) in the section heading of section 1910 by 

12 striking ‘‘THE MENTALLY RETARDED’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DIS14 ABILITIES’’; 

15 (5) in section 1915(c)(7)(C) by striking ‘‘men16 tal retardation or a related condition’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘intellectual disabilities or related conditions’’; 

18 (6) in section 1919— 

19 (A) in subsection (b)(3)— 

20 (i) in subparagraph (E)— 

21 (I) by striking ‘‘mental retarda22 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘intellectual’’; and 

23 (II) by striking ‘‘is mentally ill or 

24 mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘has 


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1 a mental illness or intellectual dis2 ability’’; and 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (F)— 

4 (I) in the subparagraph heading 

5 by striking ‘‘MENTALLY ILL AND MEN6 TALLY RETARDED INDIVIDUALS’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE

8 MENTAL ILLNESSES OR INTELLEC9 TUAL DISABILITIES’’; 

10 (II) by striking ‘‘State mental re11 tardation’’ and inserting ‘‘State intel12 lectual’’ each place it appears; 

13 (III) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘is 

14 mentally ill’’ and inserting ‘‘has a 

15 mental illness’’; and 

16 (IV) in clause (ii)— 

17 (aa) by striking ‘‘is mentally 

18 retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘has an 

19 intellectual disability’’; and 

20 (bb) by striking ‘‘for mental 

21 retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘for 

22 such intellectual disability’’; 

23 (B) in subsection (b)(4)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (A)(vii) by strik25 ing ‘‘mentally ill and mentally retarded 


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1 residents’’ and inserting ‘‘residents with 

2 mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities’’; 

3 and 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii)(IV) by 

5 striking ‘‘the mentally ill and the mentally 

6 retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals with 

7 mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities’’; 

8 and 

9 (C) in subsection (e)(7)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking 

11 ‘‘mentally ill and mentally retarded individ12 uals’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals with men13 tal illnesses or intellectual disabilities’’; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘State mental re16 tardation’’ and inserting ‘‘State intel17 lectual’’ each place it appears; 

18 (II) in clause (ii)— 

19 (aa) in the clause heading 

20 by striking ‘‘MENTALLY RE21 TARDED RESIDENTS’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘RESIDENTS WITH INTEL23 LECTUAL DISABILITIES’’; 

24 (bb) in the matter preceding 

25 clause (I) by striking ‘‘is menVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Feb 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3726.IS S3726

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1 tally retarded’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘has an intellectual disability’’; 

3 and 

4 (cc) in subclause (II) by 

5 striking ‘‘mental retardation’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘an intellectual dis7 ability’’; and 

8 (III) in clause (iii) by striking 

9 ‘‘mentally ill or mentally retarded 

10 resident’’ and inserting ‘‘resident who 

11 has a mental illness or intellectual dis12 ability’’; 

13 (iii) in subparagraph (C) by striking 

14 ‘‘mental retardation’’ and inserting ‘‘intel15 lectual disability’’ in each place it appears; 

16 (iv) in subparagraph (E)— 

17 (I) by striking ‘‘are mentally re18 tarded or mentally ill’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘have an intellectual disability or 

20 mental illness’’; and 

21 (II) by striking ‘‘mental retarda22 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘intellectual dis23 ability’’; and 

24 (v) in subparagraph (G)— 


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1 (I) in clause (i) by inserting ‘‘or 

2 have a ‘mental illness’ ’’ after ‘‘ ‘men3 tally ill’ ’’; and 

4 (II) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘be 

5 ‘mentally retarded’ if the individual is 

6 mentally retarded or a person with’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘have an ‘intellectual 

8 disability’ if the individual has an in9 tellectual disability or’’; and 

10 (7) in the section heading of section 1922 by 

11 striking ‘‘THE MENTALLY RETARDED’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DIS13 ABILITIES’’. 

14 (o) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 2002(a)(2)(A) 

15 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397a(a)(2)(A)) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘the mentally retarded’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘individuals with intellectual disabilities’’. 

18 (p) NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT.—Section 

19 12(d)(5) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(d)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

21 mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals with intel22 lectual disabilities’’. 

23 (q) CHILD NUTRITION ACT.—Section 15(3) of the 

24 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1784(3)) is 

25 amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘the mentally 


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1 retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals with intellectual dis2 abilities’’. 

3 (r) INSTITUTIONALIZED PERSONS DEFINITIONS.— 

4 Section 2(1)(B) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized 

5 Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997(1)(B)) is amended— 

6 (1) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘disabled, or re7 tarded, or chronically ill or handicapped’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘are individuals with intellectual or other disabil9 ities, or are chronically ill’’; and 

10 (2) in clause (iv)(III) by striking ‘‘mentally ill 

11 or disabled, mentally retarded, or chronically ill or 

12 handicapped’’ and inserting ‘‘mentally ill, individuals 

13 with intellectual or other disabilities, or chronically 

14 ill’’. 

15 (s) PROGRAMS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOP16 MENTAL DISABILITIES.—Title I of the Developmental 

17 Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 

18 U.S.C. 15001 et seq.) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Intermediate Care Facility 

20 (Mental Retardation)’’ and inserting ‘‘intermediate 

21 care facility for individuals with intellectual disabil22 ities’’ each place it appears; 

23 (2) in section 109(a)(4)(B)(i) by striking ‘‘the 

24 mentally retarded’’ and inserting ‘‘individuals with 

25 intellectual disabilities’’; and 


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1 (3) in section 125(c)(7)(F)(i) by striking ‘‘In2 termediate Care Facilities (Mental Retardation)’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘intermediate care facilities for indi4 viduals with intellectual disabilities’’. 

5 SEC. 3. REGULATIONS. 

6 For the purposes of a regulation issued to carry out 

7 a provision amended by this Act— 

8 (1) before the regulation is amended to carry 

9 out this Act— 

10 (A) a reference in the regulation to ‘‘men11 tal retardation’’ or a related term shall be con12 sidered to be a reference to ‘‘an intellectual dis13 ability’’; and 

14 (B) a reference in the regulation to ‘‘the 

15 mentally retarded’’ or a related term, or ‘‘indi16 viduals who are mentally retarded’’, shall be 

17 considered to be a reference to ‘‘individuals 

18 with intellectual disabilities’’; and 

19 (2) in amending a regulation to carry out this 

20 Act, a Federal agency shall ensure that the regula21 tion clearly states— 

22 (A) that ‘‘an intellectual disability’’ was 

23 formerly termed ‘‘mental retardation’’ or a re24 lated term; and 


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1 (B) that ‘‘individuals with intellectual dis2 abilities’’ were formerly termed ‘‘the mentally 

3 retarded’’ or ‘‘individuals who are mentally re4 tarded’’ or a related term. 

5 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

6 This Act shall be construed to amend Federal law 

7 to remove the terms ‘‘mentally retarded’’ and ‘‘mental re8 tardation’’, and related terms, without any intent to— 

9 (1) change the coverage, eligibility, rights, re10 sponsibilities, or definitions referred to in the 

11 amended provisions; or 

12 (2) compel States to change terminology in 

13 State laws for individuals covered by a provision 

14 amended by this Act. 

Æ 


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