I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5624 

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

Health. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 15, 2006 

Mr. FOSSELLA (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. 

GILCHREST, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. 

ISSA, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mr. 

KING of New York, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 

MCINTYRE, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PASTOR, 

Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina, and Mr. WYNN) 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 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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

2 and well-being of America’s men. 

3 (2) While this health crisis is of particular con4 cern to men, it is also a concern for women regard5 ing their fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers. 

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

7 pay the costs of medical care, and lose productive 

8 employees. 

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

10 State governments which absorb the enormous costs 

11 of premature death and disability, including the 

12 costs of caring for dependents left behind. 

13 (5) The life expectancy gap between men and 

14 women has increased from one year in 1920 to al15 most six years in 2002. 

16 (6) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diag17 nosed cancer in the United States among men, ac18 counting for 33 percent of all cancer cases. 

19 (7) An estimated 230,000 men will be newly di20 agnosed with prostate cancer this year alone, and 

21 approximately 30,000 will die. 

22 (8) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with 

23 age, and more than 75 percent of such cases are di24 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) Over 8,000 men, ages 15 to 40, will be di5 agnosed this year with testicular cancer, and 390 of 

6 these men will die of this disease in 2005. A com7 mon reason for delay in treatment of this disease is 

8 a delay in seeking medical attention after discov9 ering a testicular mass. 

10 (11) Studies show that women are 100 percent 

11 more likely than men to visit a doctor, have regular 

12 physician check-ups, and obtain preventive screening 

13 tests for serious diseases. 

14 (12) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate 

15 specific antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure, 

16 blood sugar, and cholesterol screens, in conjunction 

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

18 early detection of many problems and in increased 

19 survival rates. 

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

21 care providers about the importance of early detec22 tion of male health problems can result in reducing 

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

24 as improve the health of America’s men and its over25 all economic well-being. 


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1 (14) Recent scientific studies have shown that 

2 regular medical exams, preventive screenings, reg3 ular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help 

4 save lives. 

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

6 needed to investigate these findings and take such 

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

8 health. 

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

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

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

12 at the end the following section: 

13 ‘‘OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH

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

15 Department of Health and Human Services an office to 

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

17 headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. The Sec18 retary, acting through the Director of the Office, shall co19 ordinate and promote the status of men’s health in the 

20 United States.’’. 

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

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

23 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Office 

24 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. 

Æ 


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