II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1500 

To authorize the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to 

develop multidisciplinary research centers regarding women’s health and 

disease prevention and to conduct and coordinate a research program 

on hormone disruption, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2005 

Ms. LANDRIEU introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To authorize the National Institute of Environmental Health 

Sciences to develop multidisciplinary research centers regarding women’s health and disease prevention and to 

conduct and coordinate a research program on hormone 

disruption, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Environmental Health 

5 Research Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 
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1 (1) Many compounds found or introduced into 

2 the environment by human activity are capable of 

3 disrupting the hormone system of humans and ani4 mals. The consequences of such disruption can be 

5 profound because of the crucial role hormones play 

6 in controlling development. No standardized and 

7 validated screens or tests have been developed to 

8 routinely and systematically assess chemicals for dis9 ruptive effects on hormone systems. 

10 (2) In the last 30 years, the United States has 

11 experienced an increase in the incidence of such 

12 human disorders as childhood cancers, testicular 

13 cancer, hypospadias, juvenile diabetes, attention def14 icit-like hyperactivity disorders, autism, thyroid dis15 orders, learning disabilities, cognitive impairment, 

16 and auto-immune disorders. Exposure to hormone17 disrupting chemicals may be contributing to these 

18 increases. The impact on children’s health as a re19 sult of prenatal exposures in particular needs further 

20 research. 

21 (3) In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control 

22 and Prevention’s ‘‘National Report on Human Expo23 sure to Environmental Chemicals’’ reported on 

24 human exposure to 27 chemicals, and found unex25 pectedly high levels of certain chemicals used in con-
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1 sumer products. The hazards to humans of these 

2 chemicals, singly and in combination, are not well 

3 understood. 

4 (4) Many wildlife populations have been af5 fected by hormone-disrupting substances, including 

6 birds, fish, reptiles, and mammals. The effects vary 

7 among species and compounds. 

8 (5) The effects in wildlife include thyroid dys9 function, decreased fertility, decreased hatching suc10 cess, gross birth deformities, metabolic and behav11 ioral abnormalities, demasculinization and feminiza12 tion of male organisms, deformation and 

13 masculinization of female organisms, and com14 promised immune systems. These effects may signal 

15 hazards to human health. 

16 (6) Laboratory studies have corroborated stud17 ies of effects in wildlife and have identified biological 

18 mechanisms to explain the effects shown. 

19 (7) Since the chemicals found in wildlife are 

20 also found in humans, humans are exposed to the 

21 same chemicals as wildlife. 

22 (8) Hormone disruption can occur at very low 

23 doses, especially when exposure occurs in the womb 

24 or immediately after birth, periods during which 

25 rapid development is occurring. 
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1 (9) In the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 

2 (21 U.S.C. 301 note), Congress recognized the spe3 cial vulnerability of infants and children to pesticides 

4 and requested that the Environmental Protection 

5 Agency establish a program to screen and test hor6 mone-disrupting chemicals. The Environmental Pro7 tection Agency has not yet required such screening 

8 or tests. 

9 (10) In 1998, a research committee on hormone 

10 disrupters, organized under the auspices of the Of11 fice of Science and Technology Policy, concluded 

12 that ‘‘scientific knowledge is inadequate to fully in13 form public policy, and a government-wide coordi14 nated research effort that addresses the key sci15 entific uncertainties . . . is needed’’. 

16 (11) In 1999, in response to a request from 

17 Congress and funded through the Environmental 

18 Protection Agency and the Department of the Inte19 rior, the National Academy of Sciences compiled a 

20 lengthy list of research, monitoring, and testing pri21 orities related to hormone disruption. 

22 (12) The National Institute of Environmental 

23 Health Sciences conducts much of the Federal Gov24 ernment’s research on hormone disruption, often 

25 working in partnership with other agencies. 
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1 (13) While recognizing the many contributions 

2 of animal testing to understanding toxic hazards, the 

3 Congress also recognizes the desirability of speeding 

4 the use of validated nonanimal screens and tests (to 

5 reduce animal suffering and to reduce costs) and ex6 pediting judgments about hazards from toxic chemi7 cals. 

8 (14) The United States Geological Survey (re9 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘USGS’’) has consid10 erable experience assessing the occurrence of chemi11 cals in the environment, ecological health, and the 

12 hazards to wildlife health and associated human 

13 health posed by chemicals in the environment, as a 

14 result of monitoring by the USGS of the Nation’s 

15 water resources and wildlife disease, and research by 

16 the USGS on the effects of chemicals on wildlife. 

17 (15) The National Academy of Sciences has 

18 recognized the expertise of the USGS in such areas 

19 as food web contamination and water quality assess20 ment and has encouraged more coordinated work on 

21 human health between the USGS and the National 

22 Institutes of Health. 
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1 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL 

2 HEALTH SCIENCES; AWARDS FOR DEVELOP3 MENT AND OPERATION OF MULTIDISCI4 PLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING 

5 WOMEN’S HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVEN6 TION. 

7 Subpart 12 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 

8 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285l et seq.) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 463C. MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS RE11 GARDING WOMEN’S HEALTH AND DISEASE 

12 PREVENTION. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Institute 

14 shall make grants to public or nonprofit private entities 

15 for the development and operation of not more than 6 cen16 ters whose purpose is conducting multidisciplinary re17 search on environmental factors that may be related to 

18 the development of women’s health conditions (as defined 

19 in section 486). The Director of the Institute shall carry 

20 out this section in consultation with the Director of the 

21 Office of Research on Women’s Health and with the advi22 sory council for the Institute. 

23 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND INFORMATION AND

24 EDUCATION.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each center under sub2 section (a) shall, with respect to the purpose de3 scribed in such subsection— 

4 ‘‘(A) conduct basic and clinical research; 

5 ‘‘(B) develop protocols for training physi6 cians, scientists, nurses, and other health and 

7 allied health professionals; 

8 ‘‘(C) conduct training programs for such 

9 individuals; 

10 ‘‘(D) develop model continuing education 

11 programs for such professionals; and 

12 ‘‘(E) disseminate information to such pro13 fessionals and the public. 

14 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY FOR PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.— 

15 In carrying out the activities described in paragraph 

16 (1), each center under subsection (a) shall give pri17 ority to activities that are directed toward pre18 venting the development in women of the diseases 

19 and conditions involved. 

20 ‘‘(3) STIPENDS FOR TRAINING OF HEALTH PRO21 FESSIONALS.—A center under subsection (a) may 

22 use funds under such subsection to provide stipends 

23 for health and allied health professionals enrolled in 

24 programs described in paragraph (1)(C). 
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1 ‘‘(c) COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY.—Each 

2 center under subsection (a) shall establish and maintain 

3 ongoing collaborations with community organizations in 

4 the geographic area served by the center, including those 

5 that represent women with disorders that appear to stem 

6 from environmental factors and the health concerns of 

7 their offspring. 

8 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION OF CENTERS; REPORTS.—The 

9 Director of the Institute shall, as appropriate, provide for 

10 the coordination of information among centers under sub11 section (a) and ensure regular communication between 

12 such centers. 

13 ‘‘(e) STRUCTURE OF CENTER.—Each center assisted 

14 under subsection (a) shall use the facilities of a single in15 stitution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating 

16 institutions, meeting such requirements as may be pre17 scribed by the Director of the Institute. 

18 ‘‘(f) DURATION OF SUPPORT.—Support of a center 

19 under subsection (a) may be for a period not exceeding 

20 5 years. Such period may be extended for 1 or more addi21 tional periods not exceeding 5 years if the operations of 

22 such center have been reviewed by an appropriate tech23 nical and scientific peer review group established by the 

24 Director of the Institute and if such group has rec-
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1 ommended to the Director that such period should be ex2 tended. 

3 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

4 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

5 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fis6 cal years 2006 through 2010.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT 

8 TO PROVIDE FOR RESEARCH ON HORMONE 

9 DISRUPTION. 

10 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subpart 12 of part C of title IV 

11 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 2851 et seq.), 

12 as amended by section 3, is further amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 463D. DIRECTED NATIONAL PROGRAM OF RESEARCH 

15 ON HORMONE DISRUPTION. 

16 ‘‘(a) RESEARCH.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti18 tute shall establish within the Institute a comprehen19 sive program to— 

20 ‘‘(A) conduct research on the impact of 

21 chemicals that affect the health of women and 

22 children through disruption of the hormone sys23 tems; 

24 ‘‘(B) conduct research on the occurrence of 

25 hormone-disrupting chemicals in the environ-
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1 ment and their effects on ecological and wildlife 

2 health, in cooperation with the United States 

3 Geological Survey (referred to in this section as 

4 the ‘USGS’); 

5 ‘‘(C) coordinate the design of a multi6 agency research initiative on hormone disrup7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(D) coordinate research on hormone dis9 ruption in the United States with such research 

10 conducted in other nations. 

11 ‘‘(2) ISSUES.—The program established under 

12 paragraph (1) shall provide for the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Collection, compilation, publication, 

14 and dissemination of scientifically valid infor15 mation on— 

16 ‘‘(i) possible human health effects of 

17 hormone-disrupting chemicals, with empha18 sis on exposures to low doses of individual 

19 chemicals and chemical mixtures during 

20 critical life stages of development, particu21 larly effects of prenatal exposures on chil22 dren’s health; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the extent of human exposure to 

24 hormone-disrupting chemicals, with par25 ticular emphasis on exposures during crit-
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1 ical life stages of development and in resi2 dential and occupational settings; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) exposure of wildlife species to 

4 hormone-disrupting chemicals and possible 

5 health effects associated with such expo6 sures. 

7 ‘‘(B) Research on mechanisms by which 

8 hormone-disrupting substances interact with bi9 ological systems. 

10 ‘‘(C) Research on improved in vitro and in 

11 vivo methods to screen and test hormone dis12 ruption. 

13 ‘‘(D) Research on the identity, levels, 

14 transport, and fate of hormone-disrupting 

15 chemicals in the environment. 

16 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR’S DUTIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti18 tute shall have principal responsibility, in consulta19 tion with the Director of the USGS, for conducting 

20 and coordinating research on the effects of hormone21 disrupting chemicals on human health and the envi22 ronment. 

23 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 6 months 

24 after the date of enactment of the Environmental 

25 Health Research Act of 2005, the Director of the 
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1 Institute and the Director of the USGS shall enter 

2 into an agreement to carry out the research program 

3 established under subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Director of 

5 the Institute may transfer funds to other Federal 

6 agencies to carry out the Director’s responsibilities 

7 under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Director of the Institute, 

9 in consultation with the Director of the USGS, shall 

10 make available to the public, every 2 years following 

11 the date of enactment of the Environmental Health 

12 Research Act of 2005, findings and conclusions on 

13 the extent to which hormone disruption by chemicals 

14 in the environment poses a threat to human health 

15 and the environment. 

16 ‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY COMMISSION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es18 tablish a commission to be known as the Hormone 

19 Disruption Research Interagency Commission (re20 ferred to in this section as the ‘Interagency Commis21 sion’) to advise the Director of the Institute and the 

22 Director of the USGS on the development of a com23 prehensive agenda for conducting research on hor24 mone disruption. 
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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Commis2 sion shall be composed of 14 members, as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Director of the Institute, who 

4 shall serve as the Chairperson. 

5 ‘‘(B) The Director of the USGS, who shall 

6 serve as the Vice Chairperson. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Director of the National Insti8 tute of Child Health and Human Development. 

9 ‘‘(D) The Commissioner of Food and 

10 Drugs. 

11 ‘‘(E) The Director of the Centers for Dis12 ease Control and Prevention. 

13 ‘‘(F) The Administrator of the National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

15 ‘‘(G) The Director of the National Insti16 tute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

17 ‘‘(H) The Administrator of the Agency for 

18 Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 

19 ‘‘(I) The Director of the Fish and Wildlife 

20 Service. 

21 ‘‘(J) The Secretary of Defense. 

22 ‘‘(K) The Administrator of the Environ23 mental Protection Agency. 

24 ‘‘(L) The Chairman of the Consumer 

25 Product Safety Commission. 
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1 ‘‘(M) The Director of the National Science 

2 Foundation. 

3 ‘‘(N) The Director of the National Insti4 tute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 

5 ‘‘(3) STAFF.—Each department or agency rep6 resented by a member on the Interagency Commis7 sion shall provide appropriate staff to carry out the 

8 duties of the Interagency Commission. 

9 ‘‘(4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 12 

10 months after the date of enactment of the Environ11 mental Health Research Act of 2005, the Inter12 agency Commission shall recommend to the Director 

13 of the Institute and the Director of the USGS a re14 search program, including levels of funding for in15 tramural and extramural research. 

16 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Director of the 

17 Institute, through publication of notice in the Fed18 eral Register, shall provide the general public with 

19 an opportunity to comment on the recommendations 

20 of the Interagency Commission. 

21 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 

22 date of enactment of the Environmental Health Re23 search Act of 2005, the Interagency Commission 

24 shall conduct a review of the program established 

25 under subsection (a) and submit a report on the re-
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1 sults of such review to the Director of the Institute 

2 and to the Hormone Disruption Research Panel es3 tablished under subsection (e). 

4 ‘‘(7) TERMINATION.—The Interagency Commis5 sion shall terminate not later than the end of the 5- 

6 year fiscal period described in subsection (h)(1). 

7 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director of the 

8 Institute may provide financial assistance and enter into 

9 grants, contracts, and interagency memoranda of under10 standing to conduct activities under this section. Research 

11 conducted pursuant to interagency memoranda of under12 standing may be conducted through intramural and extra13 mural agency research programs, subject to appropriate 

14 scientific peer review. 

15 ‘‘(e) HORMONE DISRUPTION RESEARCH PANEL.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

17 the Institute a Hormone Disruption Research Panel 

18 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Panel’). 

19 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Panel shall advise the Di20 rector of the Institute concerning the scientific con21 tent of the program established under subsection 

22 (a), the progress of such program, and public out23 reach, and shall provide such other advice as re24 quested by the Director of the Institute. 
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1 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be com2 posed of the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) 15 voting members to be appointed 

4 by the President, in consultation with the Di5 rector of the Institute. 

6 ‘‘(B) Such nonvoting, ex officio members 

7 as the Director of the Institute determines to 

8 be appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(4) VOTING MEMBERS.—Of the 15 voting 

10 members of the Panel— 

11 ‘‘(A) at least 2 members shall be from en12 vironmental protection organizations; 

13 ‘‘(B) at least 2 members shall be from 

14 public health and consumer organizations; 

15 ‘‘(C) at least 2 members shall be from in16 dustry; 

17 ‘‘(D) at least 1 member shall be from an 

18 animal welfare organization; and 

19 ‘‘(E) a majority of the members shall be 

20 selected from among scientists and environ21 mental health professionals who— 

22 ‘‘(i) are not officers or employees of 

23 the United States; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) represent multiple disciplines, in2 cluding clinical, basic, public, and ecologi3 cal health sciences; 

4 ‘‘(iii) represent different geographical 

5 regions of the United States; 

6 ‘‘(iv) are from practice settings, aca7 demic settings, and for-profit or not-for8 profit research settings; and 

9 ‘‘(v) have experience in review of re10 search on endocrine disruption. 

11 ‘‘(5) TERMS.—The members of the Panel shall 

12 be appointed for an initial term of 3 years and shall 

13 be eligible for reappointment for 1 additional term 

14 of 2 years. 

15 ‘‘(6) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the 

16 Panel appointed under paragraph (3) shall elect a 

17 chairperson from among such members. 

18 ‘‘(7) MEETINGS.—The Panel shall meet at the 

19 call of the chairperson or upon the request of the 

20 Director of the Institute, but in no case less often 

21 than once each year. 

22 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Institute 

23 shall provide administrative support to the Panel. 
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1 ‘‘(9) TERMINATION.—The Panel shall terminate 

2 not later than the end of the 5-year fiscal period de3 scribed in subsection (h)(1). 

4 ‘‘(f) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—All grants and con5 tracts entered into under this section shall include conflict6 of-interest provisions that require any person conducting 

7 a project under this section to disclose any other source 

8 of funding received by the person to conduct other related 

9 projects. 

10 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) HORMONE.—The term ‘hormone’ means a 

12 substance produced in a cell or tissue that triggers 

13 a biological response. Hormone activity may be local14 ized to the cell in which the substance is produced, 

15 or may be in nearby or distant tissues or organs. 

16 ‘‘(2) HORMONE DISRUPTION.—The term ‘hor17 mone disruption’ means interference by a substance 

18 with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, ac19 tion, or elimination of natural hormones in the body 

20 that are responsible for the maintenance of homeo21 stasis, reproduction, development, function, or be22 havior. 

23 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AUTHORIZATION.—There are 

25 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
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1 necessary for the 5-fiscal-year period beginning with 

2 fiscal year 2006 to carry out this section. Amounts 

3 appropriated pursuant to this paragraph shall re4 main available until expended. 

5 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) CONSTRUCTION AND REHABILITA7 TION OF FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.—Not 

8 more than 0.5 percent of the funds made avail9 able under this section may be used for the con10 struction or rehabilitation of facilities or fixed 

11 equipment. 

12 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES OF THE

13 DIRECTOR.—Of the total amount of funds made 

14 available under this section for any fiscal year, 

15 not more than 2 percent of such funds may be 

16 used for administrative expenses of the Director 

17 of the Institute in carrying out this section. 

18 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC OUTREACH.—Of the total 

19 amount of funds made available under this sec20 tion for any fiscal year, at least 1 percent, but 

21 not more than 5 percent, shall be used for out22 reach to the public concerning the activities and 

23 results of the program.’’. 

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