I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 852

To authorize the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to 

develop multidisciplinary research centers regarding women’s health and 

disease prevention and conduct and coordinate a research program on 

hormone disruption, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself and Mr. WAXMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committees on Resources and Science, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To authorize the National Institute of Environmental Health 

Sciences to develop multidisciplinary research centers regarding women’s health and disease prevention and 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 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. 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 ‘‘MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING

11 WOMEN’S HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION

12 ‘‘SEC. 463B. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

13 Institute shall make grants to public or nonprofit private 

14 entities for the development and operation of not more 

15 than 6 centers whose purpose is conducting multidisci16 plinary research on environmental factors that may be re17 lated to the development of women’s health conditions (as 

18 defined in section 486). The Director of the Institute shall 

19 carry out this section in consultation with the Director of 

20 the Office of Research on Women’s Health and with the 

21 advisory council for the Institute. 

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

23 EDUCATION.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each center under sub25 section (a) shall, with respect to the purpose de26 scribed in such subsection—
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1 ‘‘(A) conduct basic and clinical research; 

2 ‘‘(B) develop protocols for training physi3 cians, scientists, nurses, and other health and 

4 allied health professionals; 

5 ‘‘(C) conduct training programs for such 

6 individuals; 

7 ‘‘(D) develop model continuing education 

8 programs for such professionals; and 

9 ‘‘(E) disseminate information to such pro10 fessionals and the public. 

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

12 In carrying out the activities described in paragraph 

13 (1), each center under subsection (a) shall give pri14 ority to activities that are directed toward pre15 venting the development in women of the diseases 

16 and conditions involved. 

17 ‘‘(3) STIPENDS FOR TRAINING OF HEALTH PRO18 FESSIONALS.—A center under subsection (a) may 

19 use funds under such subsection to provide stipends 

20 for health and allied health professionals enrolled in 

21 programs described in paragraph (1)(C). 

22 ‘‘(c) COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY.—Each 

23 center under subsection (a) shall establish and maintain 

24 ongoing collaborations with community organizations in 

25 the geographic area served by the center, including those 
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1 that represent women with disorders that appear to stem 

2 from environmental factors. 

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

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

5 the coordination of information among centers under sub6 section (a) and ensure regular communication between 

7 such centers. 

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

9 under subsection (a) shall use the facilities of a single in10 stitution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating 

11 institutions, meeting such requirements as may be pre12 scribed by the Director of the Institute. 

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

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

15 5 years. Such period may be extended for 1 or more addi16 tional periods not exceeding 5 years if the operations of 

17 such center have been reviewed by an appropriate tech18 nical and scientific peer review group established by the 

19 Director of the Institute and if such group has rec20 ommended to the Director that such period should be ex21 tended. 

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

23 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

24 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fis25 cal years 2004 through 2007.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT 

2 TO PROVIDE FOR RESEARCH ON HORMONE 

3 DISRUPTION. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 

5 (1) Many compounds found or introduced into 

6 the environment by human activity are capable of 

7 disrupting the hormone system of humans and ani8 mals. The consequences of such disruption can be 

9 profound because of the crucial role hormones play 

10 in controlling development. No standardized and 

11 validated screens or tests have been developed to 

12 routinely and systematically assess chemicals for dis13 ruptive effects on hormone systems. 

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

15 experienced an increase in the incidence of such 

16 human disorders as childhood cancers, testicular 

17 cancer, hypospadias, juvenile diabetes, attention def18 icit-like hyperactivity disorders, autism, thyroid dis19 orders, and auto-immune disorders. Exposure to 

20 hormone-disrupting chemicals may be contributing 

21 to these increases. The impact on children’s health 

22 as a result of prenatal exposures in particular needs 

23 further research. 

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

25 and Prevention’s ‘‘National Report on Human Expo26 sure to Environmental Chemicals’’ reported on 
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1 human exposure to 27 chemicals, and found unex2 pectedly high levels of certain chemicals used in con3 sumer products. The hazards to humans of these 

4 chemicals, singly and in combination, are not well 

5 understood. 

6 (4) Many wildlife populations have been af7 fected by hormone-disrupting substances, including 

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

9 among species and compounds. 

10 (5) The effects in wildlife include thyroid dys11 function, decreased fertility, decreased hatching suc12 cess, gross birth deformities, metabolic and behav13 ioral abnormalities, demasculinization and feminiza14 tion of male organisms, deformation and 

15 masculinization of female organisms, and com16 promised immune systems. These effects may signal 

17 hazards to human health. 

18 (6) Laboratory studies have corroborated stud19 ies of effects in wildlife and have identified biological 

20 mechanisms to explain the effects shown. 

21 (7) Since the chemicals found in wildlife are 

22 also found in humans, humans are exposed to the 

23 same chemicals as wildlife. 

24 (8) Hormone disruption can occur at very low 

25 doses, especially when exposure occurs in the womb 
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1 or immediately after birth, periods during which 

2 rapid development is occurring. 

3 (9) In the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 

4 (21 U.S.C. 301 note), Congress recognized the spe5 cial vulnerability of infants and children to pesticides 

6 and requested that the Environmental Protection 

7 Agency establish a program to screen and test hor8 mone-disrupting chemicals. The Environmental Pro9 tection Agency has not yet required such screening 

10 or tests. 

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

12 disrupters, organized under the auspices of the Of13 fice of Science and Technology Policy, concluded 

14 that ‘‘scientific knowledge is inadequate to fully in15 form public policy, and a government-wide coordi16 nated research effort that addresses the key sci17 entific uncertainties . . . is needed’’. 

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

19 Congress and funded through the Environmental 

20 Protection Agency and the Department of the Inte21 rior, the National Academy of Sciences compiled a 

22 lengthy list of research, monitoring, and testing pri23 orities related to hormone disruption. 

24 (12) The National Institute of Environmental 

25 Health Sciences conducts much of the Federal Gov-
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1 ernment’s research on hormone disruption, often 

2 working in partnership with other agencies. 

3 (13) While recognizing the many contributions 

4 of animal testing to understanding toxic hazards, the 

5 Congress also recognizes the desirability of speeding 

6 the use of validated nonanimal screens and tests (to 

7 reduce animal suffering and to reduce costs) and ex8 pediting judgments about hazards from toxic chemi9 cals. 

10 (14) The United States Geological Survey (re11 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘USGS’’) has consid12 erable experience assessing the occurrence of chemi13 cals in the environment, ecological health, and the 

14 hazards to wildlife health and associated human 

15 health posed by chemicals in the environment, as a 

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

17 water resources and wildlife disease, and research by 

18 the USGS on the effects of chemicals on wildlife. 

19 (15) The National Academy of Sciences has 

20 recognized the expertise of the USGS in such areas 

21 as food web contamination and water quality assess22 ment and has encouraged more coordinated work on 

23 human health between the USGS and the National 

24 Institutes of Health. 
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1 (b) AMENDMENT.—Subpart 12 of part C of title IV 

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

3 as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘DIRECTED NATIONAL PROGRAM OF RESEARCH ON

6 HORMONE DISRUPTION

7 ‘‘SEC. 463C. (a) RESEARCH.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti9 tute shall establish within the Institute a comprehen10 sive program to—

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

12 chemicals that affect human health through dis13 ruption of the hormone systems; 

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

15 hormone-disrupting chemicals in the environ16 ment and their effects on ecological and wildlife 

17 health, in cooperation with the United States 

18 Geological Survey (referred to in this section as 

19 the ‘USGS’); 

20 ‘‘(C) coordinate the design of a multi21 agency research initiative on hormone disrup22 tion; 

23 ‘‘(D) coordinate research on hormone dis24 ruption in the United States with such research 

25 conducted in other nations; and
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1 ‘‘(E) report to the public every 2 years on 

2 the extent to which hormone disruption by 

3 chemicals in the environment poses a threat to 

4 human health and the environment. 

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

6 paragraph (1) shall provide for the following: 

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

8 and dissemination of scientifically valid infor9 mation on—

10 ‘‘(i) possible human health effects of 

11 hormone-disrupting chemicals, with empha12 sis on exposures to low doses of individual 

13 chemicals and chemical mixtures during 

14 critical life stages of development, particu15 larly effects of prenatal exposures on chil16 dren’s health; 

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

18 hormone-disrupting chemicals, with par19 ticular emphasis on exposures during crit20 ical life stages of development and in resi21 dential and occupational settings; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) exposure of wildlife species to 

23 hormone-disrupting chemicals and possible 

24 health effects associated with such expo25 sures. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Research on mechanisms by which 

2 hormone-disrupting substances interact with bi3 ological systems. 

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

5 vivo methods to screen and test hormone dis6 ruption. 

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

8 transport, and fate of hormone-disrupting 

9 chemicals in the environment. 

10 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR’S DUTIES.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti12 tute shall have principal responsibility, in consulta13 tion with the Director of the USGS, for conducting 

14 and coordinating research on the effects of hormone15 disrupting chemicals on human health and the envi16 ronment. 

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

18 after the date of enactment of the Environmental 

19 Health Research Act of 2003, the Director of the 

20 Institute and the Director of the USGS shall enter 

21 into an agreement to carry out the research program 

22 established under subsection (a). 

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

24 the Institute may transfer funds to other Federal 
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1 agencies to carry out the Director’s responsibilities 

2 under paragraph (1). 

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

4 in consultation with the Director of the USGS, shall 

5 make available to the public, every 2 years following 

6 the date of enactment of the Environmental Health 

7 Research Act of 2003, findings and conclusions on 

8 the extent to which hormone disruption by chemicals 

9 in the environment poses a threat to human health 

10 and the environment. 

11 ‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY COMMISSION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es13 tablish a commission to be known as the Hormone 

14 Disruption Research Interagency Commission (re15 ferred to in this section as the ‘Interagency Commis16 sion’) to advise the Director of the Institute and the 

17 Director of the USGS on the development of a com18 prehensive agenda for conducting research on hor19 mone disruption. 

20 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Commis21 sion shall be composed of 12 members, as follows: 

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

23 shall serve as the Chairperson. 

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

25 serve as the Vice Chairperson. 
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1 ‘‘(C) The Commissioner of the Food and 

2 Drug Administration. 

3 ‘‘(D) The Director of the Centers for Dis4 ease Control and Prevention. 

5 ‘‘(E) The Administrator of the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

7 ‘‘(F) The Director of the National Insti8 tute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

9 ‘‘(G) The Administrator of the Agency for 

10 Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 

11 ‘‘(H) The Director of the Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service. 

13 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Defense. 

14 ‘‘(J) The Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency. 

16 ‘‘(K) The Chairman of the Consumer 

17 Product Safety Commission. 

18 ‘‘(L) The Director of the National Science 

19 Foundation. 

20 ‘‘(3) STAFF.—Each department or agency rep21 resented by a member on the Interagency Commis22 sion shall provide appropriate staff to carry out the 

23 duties of the Interagency Commission.

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

25 months after the date of enactment of the Environ-
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1 mental Health Research Act of 2003, the Inter2 agency Commission shall recommend to the Director 

3 of the Institute and the Director of the USGS a re4 search program, including levels of funding for in5 tramural and extramural research. 

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

7 Institute, through publication of notice in the Fed8 eral Register, shall provide the general public with 

9 an opportunity to comment on the recommendations 

10 of the Interagency Commission. 

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

12 date of enactment of the Environmental Health Re13 search Act of 2003, the Interagency Commission 

14 shall conduct a review of the program established 

15 under subsection (a) and submit a report on the re16 sults of such review to the Director of the Institute 

17 and to the Hormone Disruption Research Panel es18 tablished under subsection (e). 

19 ‘‘(7) TERMINATION.—The Interagency Commis20 sion shall terminate not later than the end of the 5-

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

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

23 Institute may provide financial assistance and enter into 

24 grants, contracts, and interagency memoranda of under25 standing to conduct activities under this section. Research
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1 conducted pursuant to interagency memoranda of under2 standing may be conducted through intramural and extra3 mural agency research programs, subject to appropriate 

4 scientific peer review. 

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

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

7 the Institute a Hormone Disruption Research Panel 

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

9 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Panel shall advise the Di10 rector of the Institute concerning the scientific con11 tent of the program established under subsection 

12 (a), the progress of such program, and public out13 reach, and shall provide such other advice as re14 quested by the Director of the Institute. 

15 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be com16 posed of the following: 

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

18 by the President, in consultation with the Di19 rector of the Institute. 

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

21 as the Director of the Institute determines to 

22 be appropriate. 

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

24 members of the Panel—
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1 ‘‘(A) at least 2 members shall be from en2 vironmental protection organizations; 

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

4 public health and consumer organizations; 

5 ‘‘(C) at least 2 members shall be from in6 dustry; 

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

8 animal welfare organization; and 

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

10 selected from among scientists and environ11 mental health professionals who—

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

13 the United States; 

14 ‘‘(ii) represent multiple disciplines, in15 cluding clinical, basic, public, and ecologi16 cal health sciences; 

17 ‘‘(iii) represent different geographical 

18 regions of the United States; 

19 ‘‘(iv) are from practice settings, aca20 demic settings, and for-profit or not-for21 profit research settings; and 

22 ‘‘(v) have experience in review of re23 search on endocrine disruption. 

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

25 be appointed for an initial term of 3 years and shall 
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1 be eligible for reappointment for 1 additional term 

2 of 2 years. 

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

4 Panel appointed under paragraph (3) shall elect a 

5 chairperson from among such members. 

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

7 call of the chairperson or upon the request of the 

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

9 than once each year. 

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

11 shall provide administrative support to the Panel. 

12 ‘‘(9) TERMINATION.—The Panel shall terminate 

13 not later than the end of the 5-year fiscal period de14 scribed in subsection (h)(1). 

15 ‘‘(f) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—All grants and con16 tracts entered into under this section shall include conflict17 of-interest provisions that require any person conducting 

18 a project under this section to disclose any other source 

19 of funding received by the person to conduct other related 

20 projects. 

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

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

23 substance produced in a cell or tissue that triggers 

24 a biological response. Hormone activity may be local-
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1 ized to the cell in which the substance is produced, 

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

3 ‘‘(2) HORMONE DISRUPTION.—The term ‘hor4 mone disruption’ means interference by a substance 

5 with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, ac6 tion, or elimination of natural hormones in the body 

7 that are responsible for the maintenance of homeo8 stasis, reproduction, development, function, or be9 havior. 

10 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

12 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

13 necessary for the 5-fiscal-year period beginning with 

14 fiscal year 2004 to carry out this section. Amounts 

15 appropriated pursuant to this paragraph shall re16 main available until expended. 

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

18 ‘‘(A) CONSTRUCTION AND REHABILITA19 TION OF FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.—Not 

20 more than 0.5 percent of the funds made avail21 able under this section may be used for the con22 struction or rehabilitation of facilities or fixed 

23 equipment. 

24 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES OF THE

25 DIRECTOR.—Of the total amount of funds made 
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1 available under this section for any fiscal year, 

2 not more than 2 percent of such funds may be 

3 used for administrative expenses of the Director 

4 of the Institute in carrying out this section. 

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

6 amount of funds made available under this sec7 tion for any fiscal year, at least 1 percent, but 

8 not more than 5 percent, shall be used for out9 reach to the public concerning the activities and 

10 results of the program.’’.

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