H.R. 2777: PALS Act

116th Congress · introduced 2019-05-15 · Health · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-05-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-23] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

PALS Act

Plain summary

Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act of 2019 or the PALS Act This bill makes a series of changes relating to health insurance coverage of screening mammography. Specifically, the bill requires that any provision of law referring to current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with respect to breast cancer screening mammography be administered as if (1) the provision referred to USPSTF recommendations last issued before 2009; and (2) those recommendations applied to any screening mammography modality, including any digital modality of such a procedure. This requirement shall also apply to the Veterans Health Administration's policy on mammography screening for veterans. In addition, the bill preserves Medicare coverage for screening mammography, without a requirement for coinsurance, and expands the definition of screening mammography to include any digital modality of such a procedure. Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not decrease the frequency with which screening mammography may be paid by Medicare for a woman over 39 years of age. In 2009, the USPSTF updated its guidelines to recommend against routine screening mammography for women between 40 to 49 years of age and to recommend biennial, instead of annual, screening mammography for most women between 50 to 74 years of age. In 2015, through the appropriations process, a three-year moratorium was placed on implementing the guidelines; the moratorium was subsequently renewed until January 1, 2020.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

PALS Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-23] · 64 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (R-TN), Andy Harris (R-MD), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Angie Craig (D-MN), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Josh Harder (D-CA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), J. Luis Correa (D-CA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), André Carson (D-IN), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL) and 4 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-23] reported raising $3.7 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr2777.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr2777 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116