Two bills that recently passed the state House of Representatives Health Committee with bipartisan support should move quickly through the state Senate and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office.

At the same time, we agree wholeheartedly with House Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, who says House Bill 1715 and House Bill 1652 shouldn’t be needed in the first place. House Bill 1715 would add Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the program and House Bill 1652 would add Gaucher disease to the program. House Bill 1715 is sponsored by Republican Ann Flood, with bipartisan cosponsorship from Republican Bud Cook and Democrats Tim Briggs, Gina Curry and Jeanne McNeill.

“While there is a process in place for the Newborn Screening and Follow-up Technical Advisory Board (NSFTAB) to add diseases to the program without legislation, we’ve heard concerns about a lack of urgency from the board to do so,” Rapp said. “I do hope the board considers these two diseases far quicker than legislation can be passed, but these bills serve as solid backup plans to ensure these diseases can be detected as early as possible.”

It’s encouraging after so many months of partisan rancor over the 2025-26 state budget that there are areas of bipartisan approval, like updating newborn screening protocols or epipen availability in schools – another bill that recently passed the Health Committee unanimously. It should send a message to the Newborn Screening and Follow-up Technical Advisory Board that these two bills moved so quickly and unanimously through committee. It’s obvious that there is broad agreement the state should test for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Gaucher disease. So what’s the holdup?

What’s frustrating is having to spend legislative time on bills that aren’t necessary. There is a process in place for the Newborn Screening and Follow-up Technical Advisory Board to add tests to its protocols.

The fact that the board moves slower than a snail in molasses in January in Antarctica is a problem that neither House bill addresses. In our view, if the Newborn Screening and Follow-up Technical Advisory Board hasn’t acted by the time House Bills 1715 and 1652 are signed into law, the legislature should move faster than a long-tailed cat through a room full of rocking chairs.