I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3396 
To expand the research activities of the National Institutes of Health with 
respect to functional gastrointestinal and motility disorders, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 20, 2019 
Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself and Ms. MOORE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To expand the research activities of the National Institutes 
of Health with respect to functional gastrointestinal and 
motility disorders, 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 ‘‘Functional Gastro-
intestinal and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement 
Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Functional gastrointestinal and motility dis-
orders (FGIMDs) are chronic conditions associated 
with increased sensitivity of the GI tract, abnormal 
motor functioning, and brain-gut dysfunction. 
(2) FGIMDs are characterized by chronic or re-
curring symptoms in the GI tract including pain or 
discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, 
incontinence, problems in the passage of food or 
feces, or a combination of these symptoms. 
(3) FGIMDs include both common and rare 
conditions, 
such 
as 
functional 
dysphagia, 
gastroesophageal reflux disease, dyspepsia, cyclic 
vomiting syndrome, gallbladder and bile duct dys-
function, gastroparesis, irritable bowel syndrome 
(IBS), Hirschsprung’s disease, chronic intestinal 
pseudo-obstruction, bowel incontinence, opioid in-
duced 
GI 
hyperalgesia, 
abdomino-phrenic 
dyssynergia (APD), and many others, which affect 
the esophagus, stomach, gallbladder, small and large 
intestine, and anorectal areas of the body. 
(4) The severity of FGIMDs ranges from mildly 
uncomfortable to debilitating and in some cases can 
be life-threatening. 
(5) Effective treatments for the multiple symp-
toms of FGIMDs are lacking, and while sufferers 
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frequently use a variety of medications and therapies 
for symptoms, few patients report satisfaction with 
available treatments. 
(6) Physicians are not sufficiently educated on 
the proper diagnosis and up-to-date treatments for 
FGIMDs. This leads to excess health care costs due 
to unneeded diagnostic procedures and errors in 
treatments. 
(7) Frequently there is a need for a multidisci-
plinary care approach to patients with FGIMDs, in-
cluding access to nutritional and mental health sup-
port to improve pain management and facilitate pa-
tient and parent understanding of the brain-gut axis 
and overall patient functioning. 
(8) Patients with FGIMDs frequently suffer for 
years before receiving an accurate diagnosis, expos-
ing them to unnecessary and costly tests and proce-
dures including surgeries, as well as needless suf-
fering and expense. 
(9) The economic impact of FGIMDs is high. 
The annual cost in the United States for IBS alone 
is estimated to be between $1.7 billion and $10 bil-
lion in direct medical costs (excluding prescription 
and over-the-counter medications) and $20 billion in 
indirect medical costs. 
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