II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 640 

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

Health. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2007 

Mr. CRAPO 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 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Risks to the health and well-being of Amer9 ica’s men are on the rise due to a lack of education, 


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1 awareness, and pursuit of preventative screening and 

2 care. 

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) It is estimated that in 2007, 115,000 men 

5 will be diagnosed with lung cancer, and another 

6 90,000 of America’s men will die from lung cancer. 

7 (11) Over 8,000 men, ages 15 to 40, will be di8 agnosed this year with testicular cancer, and 390 of 

9 these men will die of this disease in 2007. A com10 mon reason for delay in treatment of this disease is 

11 a delay in seeking medical attention after discov12 ering a testicular mass. 

13 (12) Studies show that women are 100 percent 

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

15 physician check-ups, and obtain preventive screening 

16 tests for serious diseases. 

17 (13) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate 

18 specific antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure, 

19 blood sugar, and cholesterol screens, in conjunction 

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

21 early detection of many problems and in increased 

22 survival rates. 

23 (14) According to the Census Bureau, by the 

24 time men and women reach age 65, the ratio of men 

25 to women reduces to 85 to 100. The growing disVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:55 Feb 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S640.IS S640

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1 parity in this statistic suggests that among other 

2 factors, the declining health of men increases the 

3 risk of women entering retirement age as widows. 

4 (15) Educating men, their families, and health 

5 care providers about the importance of early detec6 tion of male health problems can result in reducing 

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

8 as improve the health of America’s men and its over9 all economic well-being. 

10 (16) Recent scientific studies have shown that 

11 regular medical exams, preventive screenings, reg12 ular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help 

13 save lives. 

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

15 needed to investigate these findings and take such 

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

17 health. 

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

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

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

21 at the end the following section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1711. OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

24 within the Department of Health and Human Services an 

25 office to be known as the Office of Men’s Health, which 


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1 shall be headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. 

2 The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office, 

3 shall coordinate and promote the status of men’s health 

4 in the United States. 

5 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, acting through the 

6 Director of the Office, shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) conduct or support programs and activities 

8 to improve the state of men’s health in the United 

9 States; and 

10 ‘‘(2) provide for consultation among offices and 

11 agencies of the Department of Health and Human 

12 Services for the purpose of coordinating programs 

13 and activities relating to men’s health.’’. 

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

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

16 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Office 

17 of Men’s Health, shall submit to the Congress a report 

18 describing the activities of such Office, including findings 

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

Æ 


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