I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4903 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to carry out, expand, and coordinate 
programs relating to plastic exposure health research, to authorize 
grants, contracts, and agreements with respect to such research, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 5, 2025 
Ms. STEVENS (for herself and Mr. LUCAS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to carry out, ex-
pand, and coordinate programs relating to plastic expo-
sure health research, to authorize grants, contracts, and 
agreements with respect to such research, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Plastic Health Re-
search Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PLASTIC EXPOSURE HEALTH RESEARCH. 
(a) EXPANSION
AND COORDINATION; RESEARCH 
GRANTS.—The Public Health Service Act is amended by 
inserting after section 399V–7 (42 U.S.C. 280g–18) the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 399V–8. PLASTIC EXPOSURE HEALTH RESEARCH. 
‘‘(a) EXPANSION AND COORDINATION OF RESEARCH 
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, and the Director of the National Institute of 
Environmental Health Sciences, shall carry out, expand, 
and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of 
research with respect to understanding plastic exposures 
and the potential health effects stemming from plastic ex-
posure. The Secretary shall prioritize such research that— 
‘‘(1) promotes the improvement of scientific 
quality through the development of vetted research 
methods that are reproducible, improve com-
parability of results among research studies, and de-
velop standards definitions for microplastics and 
nanoplastics materials; 
‘‘(2) develops validated testing methodologies 
and reference materials for microplastics and nano-
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plastics in different media that are reproducible and 
improve comparability of results among research 
studies; or 
‘‘(3) fills gaps in the field of potential health ef-
fects research through the use of methods that im-
prove the quality and comparability of scientific re-
sults. 
‘‘(b) PLASTIC
EXPOSURE
HEALTH
RESEARCH 
GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Commissioner of Food and 
Drugs, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and 
the Director of the National Institute of Environ-
mental Health Sciences, may award grants or con-
tracts to public entities, nonprofit entities, academic 
research institutions, or consortia of such entities 
(including such consortia that collaborate with pri-
vate entities) to conduct scientific research on plastic 
exposure and the potential health effects stemming 
from such exposure. In awarding such grants and 
contracts, the Secretary shall prioritize research 
that— 
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‘‘(A) improves the quality of scientific in-
formation through the development of vetted re-
search methods that are reproducible, improve 
comparability of results among research studies, 
and develop standard definitions for micro-
plastic and nanoplastic materials; 
‘‘(B) develops validated testing methodolo-
gies and reference materials for microplastics 
and nanoplastics in different media that are re-
producible and improve comparability of results 
among research studies; or 
‘‘(C) fills gaps in the field of potential 
health effects research through the use of meth-
ods that improve the quality and comparability 
of scientific results. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant 
or contract under this subsection, an entity shall 
submit to the Secretary an application in such form, 
in such manner, and containing such agreements, 
assurances, and information as the Secretary deter-
mines necessary. 
‘‘(3) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, and annually 
thereafter for each of the following 4 years, the Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress, and make publicly 
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available, a report that provides an overview of the 
research conducted or supported under this section, 
together with any relevant findings. 
‘‘(4) INFORMATION
SHARING.—The Secretary 
shall share the findings of the research supported by 
grants and contracts under this subsection with— 
‘‘(A) the heads of relevant institutes and 
agencies of the Department of Health and 
Human Services (including the Director of the 
National Institute of Environmental Health 
Sciences and the Commissioner of Food and 
Drugs); 
‘‘(B) the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency; 
‘‘(C) the Director of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology; 
‘‘(D) the Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and 
‘‘(E) the centers of excellence for plastic 
exposure health research described in section 
463C. 
‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2026 through 2030. 
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‘‘(c) PLASTIC EXPOSURE DEFINED.—In this section, 
the 
term 
‘plastic 
exposure’ 
means 
exposure 
to 
macroplastics, microplastics, and nanoplastics, including 
through plastic production and manufacturing, occupa-
tional exposure, environmental exposure, end-user inter-
action (such as handling and use of food packaging, manu-
factured goods, and textiles), plastic recycling, plastic deg-
radation through natural or human-made processes, and 
plastic waste and disposal.’’. 
(b) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR PLASTIC EXPO-
SURE HEALTH RESEARCH.—The Public Health Service 
Act is amended by inserting after section 463B (42 U.S.C. 
285l–6) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 463C. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR PLASTIC EXPO-
SURE HEALTH RESEARCH. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Institute (in this section referred to 
as the ‘Secretary’) may award grants to, or enter into ap-
propriate funding agreements with, public entities, non-
profit entities, academic research institutions, or consortia 
of such entities (including such consortia that collaborate 
with private entities) to pay all or part of the cost of plan-
ning, establishing, or strengthening, and providing basic 
operating support for, centers of excellence to conduct and 
improve the quality of scientific research to inform public 
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health determinations and increase public awareness 
(where scientifically warranted) with respect to the poten-
tial health effects caused by plastic exposure. Such centers 
shall prioritize research that— 
‘‘(1) develops standard material definitions; 
‘‘(2) improves the quality of scientific results to 
fill gaps in the field of research; 
‘‘(3) fills gaps in the field of health research 
through the use of methods that improve the quality 
and comparability of scientific results; or 
‘‘(4) develops vetted testing methodologies for 
microplastics and nanoplastics that can be replicated 
and can be compared to other testing methodologies. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSES OF CENTERS.—The purposes of the 
centers of excellence referred to in subsection (a) are— 
‘‘(1) to improve the quality of scientific results 
while researching the potential health effects stem-
ming from plastic exposure, including identifying po-
tential links between plastic exposure and such po-
tential health effects; 
‘‘(2) to identify potential exposures to plastic 
and conduct hazard assessments and risk assess-
ments; and 
‘‘(3) to increase public awareness (where sci-
entifically warranted) of— 
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‘‘(A) the potential health effects of plastic 
exposure, sources of such exposure, outcomes of 
hazard assessments, and the results of risk as-
sessments relating to such exposure; and 
‘‘(B) the research referred to in— 
‘‘(i) paragraph (1); or 
‘‘(ii) section 399V–8(a). 
‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available under 
this section may be used for— 
‘‘(1) the development of plastic hazard, expo-
sure, or risk assessment methodologies that can be 
replicated and compared to other methodologies, 
which shall include— 
‘‘(A) the comprehensive characterization 
and methods for characterization of the chem-
ical and physical properties of microplastics, 
nanoplastics, macroplastics, and other plastics; 
‘‘(B) the development of validated testing 
methodologies for microplastics and nanoplas-
tics in different media that can be replicated 
and compared to other testing methodologies; 
and 
‘‘(C) detailing the quality assurance and 
quality control measures taken to improve the 
scientific results; 
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