H.R. 8743

119 HR 8743 IH: Screen-time Management And Recommendations for Teens and Kids Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-05-12
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 8743  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   May 12, 2026   Mr. Deluzio  (for himself and  Mrs. Houchin ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Energy and Commerce    A BILL
To direct the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service to develop recommendations for screen time limits for children to promote healthy development and well-being, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Screen-time Management And Recommendations for Teens and Kids Act   or the   SMART Kids Act  .
2.
Screen time limit recommendations for children
(a)
In general
The Surgeon General of the Public Health Service shall develop recommendations for screen time limits for children to promote healthy development and well-being. Such recommendations shall be evidence-informed.
(b)
Age-Based recommendations
In carrying out subsection (a), the Surgeon General shall develop separate recommendations for—
(1)
ages 0 to 2 years;
(2)
ages 2 to 5 years;
(3)
ages 5 to 8 years;
(4)
ages 8 to 13 years;
(5)
ages 13 to 16 years; and
(6)
ages 16 to 18 years.
(c)
Qualitative recommendations
In carrying out subsection (a), the Surgeon General may, in addition to the separate recommendations by age group required under subsection (b), develop recommendations based on qualitative factors, including whether certain types of screen time may be less harmful to children than others.
(d)
Coordination with independent entity
The Surgeon General shall develop the recommendations under subsection (a) in coordination with an independent entity to be selected by the Surgeon General. In making such selection, the Surgeon General shall ensure that the entity does not have a financial or other conflict of interest that might introduce bias into the process of developing the recommendations.
(e)
Publication; report to Congress
Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Surgeon General shall—
(1)
publish the recommendations developed under subsection (a) on the internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services; and
(2)
submit to Congress a report containing such recommendations.
(f)
Screen time limit defined
In this section, the term  screen time limit  means the maximum amount of time per day spent using an electronic device with a display screen.