H.R. 2507 would amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize grant programs and other initiatives to promote expanded screening of newborns and children for hereditary disorders. Authority to operate those programs expired at the end of fiscal year 2019.
H.R. 2507 would authorize appropriations of $60.7 million for each year over the 2020-2024 period for grant programs, laboratory quality assurance, and surveillance activities related to those screening activities. Based on historical spending for similar activities and assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $240 million over the 2020-2024 period. The remaining amounts would be spent after 2024.
The act also would require the NIH to continue to conduct research and pilot studies, and to coordinate experimental treatments related to newborn screening. On the basis of information from the NIH, CBO estimates that this requirement would codify the existing Hunter Kelly Research Program and as a result would have no effect on the federal budget.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 550 (health).
