Bipartisan bill would strike ‘outdated and derogatory language’ on intellectual disability from federal law

A bipartisan House group on Friday introduced a bill to strike more than two dozen instances of outdated and derogatory terminology describing intellectual disability from federal law.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), is identical to one introduced last year by the same group.

While the 2022 measure was introduced amid a packed plate and a short legislative calendar late in the last Congress, its sponsors are confident for the legislation’s chances in the current session.

The bill would insert the phrase “intellectual disability” to replace nearly 30 instances in statute where “mentally retarded” is currently used.

The changes would modernize language in laws ranging from criminal statutes to grants to meet the needs of people with disabilities.

“This bill just makes sense,” said Pocan, chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

“Federal law should reflect the time in which we live and not include harmful words or slurs. The Words Matter Act will modernize our laws, and remove offensive language from the U.S. Code,” he added in a statement.

The bill’s main sponsorship group spans party and ideological affiliations across the House, from progressives such as Pocan to Republicans close to leadership including Sessions.

“This Congress may not agree on many things, but this is one issue we all can get behind. With widespread bipartisan support, I’m hopeful this bill will land on the president’s desk in no time,” Pocan said.

Sessions, McMorris Rodgers and Norton shared first-hand experiences in their own families that in part inspired the legislation.

“I am the proud father of a Down syndrome young adult and Eagle Scout,” Sessions said. 

“Those who know my son regard him as an able, loving, and accomplished young man, whose abilities far outnumber his disabilities. I am confident that the ‘Words Matter Act’ will bring us one step closer to ushering our U.S. Code into the present.”

McMorris Rodgers, a former member of Republican leadership, said the change would “prove that our country knows better by bringing the laws of our land into the 21st century and setting a new standard for the way we speak about others in America.”

“My oldest son Cole has Down syndrome. From the day he was born, I watched as others tried to limit his potential. But Cole has refused to let his extra 21st chromosome define him, defying his doubters at every turn,” McMorris Rodgers said.

And Norton said the bill’s passage will show that “our country is better than this.”

“My own daughter, Katherine, has Down syndrome. I’m appalled at the thought of someone using the word ‘retarded’ toward her, and it is inexcusable that the word is still part of the U.S. Code,” Norton said.

According to the sponsors, the bill has been endorsed by the​​ Special Olympics, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, and the National Down Syndrome Society.

The bill follows a similar one passed in 2010 known as “Rosa’s Law,” which passed the House by voice vote and the Senate by unanimous consent and struck a similar outdated term describing disability from the books.

“Unfortunately, it did not strike the equally offensive term ‘mentally retarded’ which this bill will do, bringing federal law into the 21st Century,” reads a statement by the legislation’s co-sponsors.

The bill, sponsors hope, will scrub the final remnants of derogatory terms on intellectual disability from statute.

“In America, we are not defined by the condition of our birth, and it’s well-past time the text of our nation’s laws reflect that. The use of outdated and derogatory language in previously written law fails to treat individuals with disabilities with the dignity and respect they deserve,” McMorris Rodgers said.

—Updated at 1:56 p.m.