Current status (as of July 2026): H.R. 2319 passed the House on April 21, 2026, with 2 co-sponsors. It was received in the Senate, read twice, and placed on the Senate calendar; it awaits Senate floor action.
H.R. 2319, the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025, would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene an interagency review of gaps in lung cancer research as it affects women and underserved populations, and to submit findings and legislative or administrative recommendations to Congress. The bill was introduced by Rep. Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-2).
The Research Gap It Addresses
Lung cancer kills more women each year in the United States than breast, ovarian, and cervical cancers combined. Despite this, research on lung cancer in women — particularly on how the disease presents, progresses, and responds to treatment differently in women than in men — has historically lagged. A disproportionate share of foundational lung cancer research was conducted with predominantly male study populations; early findings about symptom presentation, staging criteria, and treatment efficacy were extrapolated to women without data specifically supporting those extrapolations.
The research gap is pronounced for non-smoking women, who represent a growing share of lung cancer cases but whose disease mechanism (adenocarcinoma and genetic mutations distinct from those linked to smoking) is often not the primary focus of research programs structured around the historically dominant smoking-related lung cancer population.
What the Bill Actually Requires
The bill directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct an interagency review that:
- Assesses existing lung cancer research programs across federal agencies (NIH, CDC, Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs) for coverage of women and underserved populations
- Identifies specific gaps in knowledge about how lung cancer differs in women — diagnosis rates, treatment response, survival outcomes, genetic risk factors
- Reviews whether current lung cancer screening guidelines (specifically the USPSTF guidelines for low-dose CT screening) adequately capture women and non-smoking populations at elevated risk
- Identifies gaps in preventive services coverage and access for these populations
- Results in a report submitted to the relevant congressional committees with specific recommendations
This is a study and reporting bill, not a direct funding or program authorization. Congress frequently passes such bills as a precursor to larger legislation — the review creates a factual record that can justify and structure subsequent funding bills.
Why Non-Smoking Women Are a Specific Focus
Approximately 20% of women diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked, compared to approximately 10% of men. In women under 50, the never-smoker share is higher still. The mechanism in never-smokers is frequently driven by mutations in the EGFR, ALK, or ROS1 genes rather than the p53 and KRAS mutations more common in smoking-related lung cancer. Targeted therapies for these mutations exist and are often highly effective, but they require molecular testing for diagnosis — and screening guidelines that focus primarily on smoking history may miss never-smoker women at elevated risk from family history or genetic predisposition.
Senate Prospects
H.R. 2319 passed the House with limited co-sponsorship (2 co-sponsors), suggesting it did not face significant opposition but also doesn't have a broad coalition. Study-and-report bills of this type often pass the House as part of a bipartisan package or under suspension of the rules (two-thirds majority, no amendment) and sometimes stall in the Senate without a Senate companion bill or an identifiable champion in the Senate to schedule floor time.