II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2925

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

Health.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 26, 2000

Mr. THURMOND introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

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

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 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) There is a silent health crisis affecting the

9 health and well-being of America’s men.
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1 (2) This health crisis is of particular concern to

2 men, but is also a concern for women, and especially

3 to those who have fathers, husbands, sons, and

4 brothers.

5 (3) Men’s health is likewise a concern for em6 ployers who lose productive employees as well as pay

7 the costs of medical care, and is a concern to State

8 government and society which absorb the enormous

9 costs of premature death and disability, including

10 the costs of caring for dependents left behind.

11 (4) The life expectancy gap between men and

12 women has steadily increased from 1 year in 1920

13 to 7 years in 1990.

14 (5) Almost twice as many men than women die

15 from heart disease, and 28.5 percent of all men die

16 as a result of stroke.

17 (6) In 1995, blood pressure of black males was

18 356 percent higher than that of white males, and

19 the death rate for stroke was 97 percent higher for

20 black males than for white males.

21 (7) The incidence of stroke among men is 19

22 percent higher than for women.

23 (8) Significantly more men than women are di24 agnosed with AIDS each year.
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1 (9) Fifty percent more men than women die of

2 cancer.

3 (10) Although the incidence of depression is

4 higher in women, the rate of life-threatening depres5 sion is higher in men, with men representing 80 per6 cent of all suicide cases, and with men 43 times

7 more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals

8 than women.

9 (11) Prostate cancer is the most frequently di10 agnosed cancer in the United States among men, ac11 counting for 36 percent of all cancer cases.

12 (12) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly

13 diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone, of

14 which 37,000 will die.

15 (13) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with

16 age, and more than 75 percent of such cases are di17 agnosed in men age 65 and older.

18 (14) The incidence of prostate cancer and the

19 resulting mortality rate in African American men is

20 twice that in white men.

21 (15) Studies show that men are at least 25 per22 cent less likely than women to visit a doctor, and are

23 significantly less likely to have regular physician

24 check-ups and obtain preventive screening tests for

25 serious diseases.
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1 (16) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate

2 specific antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure,

3 blood sugar, and cholesterol screens, in conjunction

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

5 early detection of many problems and in increased

6 survival rates.

7 (17) Educating men, their families, and health

8 care providers about the importance of early detec9 tion of male health problems can result in reducing

10 rates of mortality for male-specific diseases, as well

11 as improve the health of America’s men and its over12 all economic well-being.

13 (18) Recent scientific studies have shown that

14 regular medical exams, preventive screenings, reg15 ular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help

16 save lives.

17 (19) Establishing an Office of Men’s Health is

18 needed to investigate these findings and take such

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

20 health.

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

22 Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42

23 U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

24 the following section:
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1 ‘‘OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH

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

3 Department of Health and Human Services an office to

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

5 headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. The Sec6 retary, acting through the Director of the Office, shall co7 ordinate and promote the status of men’s health in the

8 United States.’’.

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