I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3569

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for an increase in

the amount of Federal funds expended to conduct research on alcohol

abuse and alcoholism among women.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 19, 1993

Mrs. MORELLA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for

an increase in the amount of Federal funds expended

to conduct research on alcohol abuse and alcoholism

among women.

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 ‘‘Women and Alcohol

5 Research Equity Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds as follows with respect to the

8 United States:
2

•HR 3569 IH

1 (1) One of every 3 alcoholics receiving treat2 ment is a woman.

3 (2) In fiscal year 1992, the National Institute

4 on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism had a total re5 search budget of $169,000,000, and only

6 $14,200,000 of the budget (approximately 8 per7 cent) was available for research on alcohol abuse and

8 alcoholism among women. Research on this topic is

9 critical because alcoholism has long been known to

10 be a gender-specific disease.

11 (3) Women continue to be underrepresented in

12 treatment programs. Women make up less than 25

13 percent of all publicly funded alcohol treatment ad14 missions and about 30 percent of treatment admis15 sions for other drug dependencies although women

16 make up an estimated 50 percent of the total alcohol

17 and drug dependent population.

18 (4) Alcohol use by pregnant women is the lead19 ing known cause of mental retardation in newborns.

20 Fetal alcohol syndrome, which is marked by dysfunc21 tion of the central nervous system and by prenatal

22 and postnatal growth deficiency and facial mal23 formations, strikes 1 to 3 out of every 1,000

24 newborns, or 3,600 to 10,000 babies a year. The in25 cidence of less severe fetal alcohol effects is at least
3

•HR 3569 IH

1 3 times that of fetal alcohol syndrome. Research is

2 also needed on the male contribution to birth abnor3 malities related to alcohol and other drug use.

4 (5) Most treatment programs do not provide

5 child care or adequate alternatives for women enter6 ing treatment.

7 (6) The death rate of female alcoholics is 50 to

8 100 percent higher than for male alcoholics.

9 (7) More alcoholic women die of cirrhosis of the

10 liver than do alcoholic men.

11 (8) Combined effects of estrogen and alcohol

12 augment liver damage.

13 (9) Women experience greater physiological

14 damage from consumption of alcohol than do their

15 male counterparts. The interval between the onset of

16 drinking and entry into treatment appears to be

17 shorter for women than men.

18 (10) Negative effects of drinking show up ear19 lier in women than men, even when they consume

20 less alcohol than men. This disease process is ‘‘tele21 scoped’’ or accelerated in women.

22 (11) Women become intoxicated faster than

23 men. This is due to a different enzyme activity than

24 men and hormonal fluctuations in women.
4

•HR 3569 IH

1 (12) Chronic, heavy drinking contributes to

2 menstrual disorders, fertility problems, and pre3 mature menopause.

4 (13) Alcohol use may be associated with an in5 creased risk of breast cancer. Research indicates

6 that the incidence of breast cancer increases when a

7 woman consumes 1 ounce or more of absolute alco8 hol daily.

9 (14) The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse

10 and Alcoholism has identified areas for future re11 search on alcohol abuse and alcoholism among

12 women. These areas were identified by the Institute

13 more than a decade ago, yet a sufficient number of

14 research projects regarding such areas has yet to be

15 conducted.

16 SEC. 3. PROVISIONS REGARDING INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF

17 FUNDS EXPENDED FOR RESEARCH ON ALCO18 HOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM AMONG

19 WOMEN.

20 Section 464H(d)(1) of the Public Health Service Act

21 (42 U.S.C. 285n(d)(1)), as added by section 122 of Public

22 Law 102-321 (106 Stat. 358), is amended by adding at

23 the end the following new sentence: ‘‘For fiscal year 1994,

24 of the first $176,442,000 appropriated under the preced25 ing sentence, the Director of the Institute shall obligate
5

•HR 3569 IH

1 not less than $14,200,000 for the purpose of carrying out

2 under this subpart projects of research on alcohol abuse

3 and alcoholism among women, and of the amounts appro4 priated under such sentence in excess of $176,442,000,

5 the Director shall obligate for such purpose not less than

6 $23,250,000.’’.

Æ