Congress funds study on national end-of-life document storage system
H.R. 5861 — Legacy Act of 2025 · Filed by Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Oct 28, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study whether the federal government should create a national system for securely storing and retrieving end-of-life documents (advance directives, organ donor registrations, healthcare proxies, powers of attorney, and living wills) at no cost to individuals. The study must report progress within 2 years and final results within 4 years.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward directive to commission research on a potential federal infrastructure for end-of-life document storage. It contains no regulatory change, appropriation, or private benefit — only a study contract.
What the text implies
- If the study recommends a national system, a follow-up bill would be needed to fund and implement it; this bill does not commit to that step.
- The system's design (centralized vs. federated, state vs. federal control, privacy safeguards) will be determined by the study; the bill does not prejudge those choices.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (study contract recipient)