I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1734

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men’s 

Health. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2003

Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. HOLDEN, 

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. 

MCINTYRE, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. WYNN, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. 

MORAN of Virginia, Mr. ISSA, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. 

ISAKSON, Mr. WATT, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. HOEFFEL, 

Mr. KING of New York, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. WELDON

of Pennsylvania, Mr. HOLT, Mr. OWENS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. FROST, 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. MCCOTTER, 

Mr. PLATTS, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. PALLONE, 

Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. FORD, Mr. NEY, Mrs. DAVIS of California, 

Mr. SAXTON, Mr. RANGEL, and Mr. STEARNS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an 

Office of Men’s Health.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Men’s Health Act of 

5 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) A silent health crisis is affecting the health 

4 and well-being of America’s men. 

5 (2) While this health crisis is of particular con6 cern to men, it is also a concern for women regard7 ing their fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers. 

8 (3) Men’s health is a concern for employers who 

9 pay the costs of medical care, and lose productive 

10 employees. 

11 (4) Men’s health is a concern to Federal and 

12 State governments which absorb the enormous costs 

13 of premature death and disability, including the 

14 costs of caring for dependents left behind. 

15 (5) The life expectancy gap between men and 

16 women has increased from one year in 1920 to al17 most six years in 1998. 

18 (6) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diag19 nosed cancer in the United States among men, ac20 counting for 36 percent of all cancer cases. 

21 (7) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly di22 agnosed with prostate cancer this year alone, and 

23 37,000 will die. 

24 (8) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with 

25 age, and more than 75 percent of such cases are di26 agnosed in men age 65 and older. 
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1 (9) The incidence of prostate cancer and the re2 sulting mortality rate in African American men is 

3 twice that in white men. 

4 (10) An estimated 7,200 men, ages 15 to 40, 

5 will be diagnosed this year with testicular cancer, 

6 and 400 of these men will die of this disease in 

7 2001. A common reason for delay in treatment of 

8 this disease is a delay in seeking medical attention 

9 after discovering a testicular mass. 

10 (11) Studies show that men are at least 25 per11 cent less likely than women to visit a doctor, and are 

12 significantly less likely to have regular physician 

13 check-ups and obtain preventive screening tests for 

14 serious diseases. 

15 (12) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate 

16 specific antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure, 

17 blood sugar, and cholesterol screens, in conjunction 

18 with clinical exams and self-testing, can result in the 

19 early detection of many problems and in increased 

20 survival rates. 

21 (13) Educating men, their families, and health 

22 care providers about the importance of early detec23 tion of male health problems can result in reducing 

24 rates of mortality for male-specific diseases, as well 
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1 as improve the health of America’s men and its over2 all economic well-being. 

3 (14) Recent scientific studies have shown that 

4 regular medical exams, preventive screenings, reg5 ular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help 

6 save lives. 

7 (15) Establishing an Office of Men’s Health is 

8 needed to investigate these findings and take such 

9 further actions as may be needed to promote men’s 

10 health. 

11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XVII of the Public Health 

13 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding 

14 at the end the following section: 

15 ‘‘OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH

16 ‘‘SEC. 1711. The Secretary shall establish within the 

17 Department of Health and Human Services an office to 

18 be known as the Office of Men’s Health, which shall be 

19 headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. The Sec20 retary, acting through the Director of the Office, shall co21 ordinate and promote the status of men’s health in the 

22 United States.’’. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

25 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Office 

26 of Men’s Health, shall submit to the Congress a report 
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1 describing the activities of such Office, including findings 

2 that the Director has made regarding men’s health.

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