I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 2678
To provide for further comprehensive research at the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke on unruptured intracranial aneurysms,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL7, 2025
Mr. F
ITZPATRICK(for himself, Ms. CLARKEof New York, Mr. RUTHERFORD,
and Ms. S
CANLON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To provide for further comprehensive research at the Na-
tional Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
on unruptured intracranial aneurysms, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ellie Helton, Lisa 4
Colagrossi, Kristen Shafer Englert, Teresa Anne Law-5
rence, and Jennifer Sedney Focused Research Act’’ or 6
‘‘Ellie’s Law’’. 7
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2678.IH H2678
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
•HR 2678 IH
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1
The Congress makes the following findings: 2
(1) An estimated 6.8 million people in the 3
United States, or 1 in 50 people, have an 4
unruptured brain aneurysm. 5
(2) Each year, an estimated 30,000 people in 6
the United States suffer a brain aneurysm rupture. 7
Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in about 50 per-8
cent of cases. Of those who survive, about 66 per-9
cent suffer some permanent neurological deficit. 10
(3) Brain aneurysms are more likely to occur in 11
women than in men by a 3 to 2 ratio and nearly 12
twice as likely to rupture in African Americans (2.1 13
to 1 ratio) and Hispanics (1.67 to 1 ratio) than 14
Caucasians. This Act represents all those who have 15
been affected and died due to a ruptured brain an-16
eurysm, and their loved ones. People who experi-17
enced a brain aneurysm rupture include the fol-18
lowing: 19
(A) Ellie Helton. On July 16, 2014, Ellie 20
Helton, a vibrant, loving 14-year-old from Apex, 21
North Carolina, passed away as a result of a 22
ruptured aneurysm, stunning her parents, two 23
sisters, and many, many loved ones. A day ear-24
lier, on her second day of high school, she woke 25
up with a terrible headache after a plum-sized 26
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2678.IH H2678
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
•HR 2678 IH
aneurysm on her brain stem ruptured. While 1
she suffered headaches throughout her life, she 2
was never diagnosed. Ellie was an avid reader 3
and excellent student, loved the arts, and was 4
incredibly creative. She had an unwavering, 5
constant love for the family and friends in her 6
life. 7
(B) Lisa Colagrossi. On March 20, 2015, 8
Lisa Colagrossi—WABC Eyewitness News re-9
porter, wife of 17 years, and mother of two 10
sons—unexpectedly passed away at the age of 11
49 years after suffering a massive ruptured 12
brain aneurysm. Despite experiencing one of 13
the classic warning signs of a brain aneurysm 14
(the ‘‘worst headache of my life’’), Lisa’s pass-15
ing came as a tremendous shock to her family 16
and friends, who did not know what a brain an-17
eurysm was, let alone its signs and symptoms. 18
She is remembered for being a loving wife, a 19
mother, and a successful reporter, and for her 20
love of the New York Rangers. 21
(C) Kristen Shafer Englert. On November 22
24, 2013, Kristen Shafer Englert, a devoted 23
wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, 24
passed away from a ruptured brain aneurysm 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2678.IH H2678
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
•HR 2678 IH
at the age of 25, just weeks after giving birth 1
to her son. Prior to her passing, she went to the 2
emergency room with symptoms of a brain an-3
eurysm and was sent home without a scan. 4
Kristen was a dedicated teacher who loved chil-5
dren. She was thrilled to become a mother. 6
Sadly, she only experienced motherhood for a 7
few short days. Kristen’s family members have 8
been dedicated advocates since her passing. 9
(D) Teresa Anne Lawrence. On December 10
8, 1983, Teresa Anne Lawrence, a devoted 11
mother of three, beloved wife, and staple of her 12
community, collapsed while visiting her son’s 13
school. She had been struggling with and taking 14
medication for hypertension for several years. 15
At age 34, after being unconscious for four 16
days, she passed away as a result of a brain an-17
eurysm. Her loving husband and extended fam-18
ily were left to raise their children, whom Te-19
resa cherished so much. 20
(E) Jennifer Sedney. On December 25, 21
2013, Jennifer Sedney, a beautiful, accom-22
plished young woman, passed away suddenly at 23
the age of 27 from a ruptured brain aneurysm. 24
Her only symptom was the ‘‘worst headache of 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2678.IH H2678
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
•HR 2678 IH
her life’’, which none of her friends or family 1
realized was a symptom of a potentially fatal 2
condition. Jenny was a jogger, a disciplined ex-3
erciser, and a successful health care consultant 4
and had recently launched a health blog found-5
ed on three principles—‘‘bee curious, bee radi-6
ant, bee well’’. Her brother, mother, and father, 7
and a large devoted network of friends and rel-8
atives, remember her every day. 9
(4) Brain aneurysm ruptures have a significant 10
fiscal impact on survivors, caretakers, and the health 11
care community. The annual estimated pre-insur-12
ance, direct cost of brain aneurysm ruptures to pa-13
tients is approximately $2,000,000,000, and the me-14
dian expected patient payment is $114,000. The 15
length of stay in the intensive care unit is the larg-16
est driver of cost for brain aneurysm ruptures, and 17
estimates do not reflect indirect costs including trav-18
el, food, child care, and wage losses for patients and 19
caretakers. 20
(5) Despite the widespread prevalence of this 21
condition and the high societal cost it imposes on the 22
Nation, the Federal Government only spends ap-23
proximately $2.94 per year on brain aneurysm re-24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2678.IH H2678
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6
•HR 2678 IH
search for each person afflicted with a brain aneu-1
rysm. 2
(6) The first three iterations of the Inter-3
national Study on Unruptured Intracranial Aneu-4
rysms (ISUIA) have advanced researchers’ and clini-5
cians’ understanding of how to most effectively man-6
age and treat unruptured intracranial aneurysms. 7
SEC. 3. FUNDING. 8
(a) A
UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To con-9
duct or support further comprehensive research on 10
unruptured intracranial aneurysms, studying a broader 11
patient population diversified by age, sex, and race, there 12
is authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute 13
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke $20,000,000 for 14
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to remain avail-15
able through September 30, 2033. 16
(b) S
UPPLEMENT, NOTSUPPLANT.—Any funds 17
made available pursuant to this section shall supplement, 18
not supplant, other funding made available for research 19
on brain aneurysms. 20
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Apr 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2678.IH H2678
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS