I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4550 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services to establish, promote, and support a comprehensive 
prevention, education, research, and medical management program that 
will lead to a marked reduction in liver cirrhosis and a reduction in 
the cases of, and improved survival of, liver cancer caused by chronic 
hepatitis B infection. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 15, 2005 
Mr. DENT (for himself and Mr. HONDA) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services to establish, pro-
mote, and support a comprehensive prevention, edu-
cation, research, and medical management program that 
will lead to a marked reduction in liver cirrhosis and 
a reduction in the cases of, and improved survival of, 
liver cancer caused by chronic hepatitis B infection. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Hepatitis B 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Approximately 1.4 million Americans are 
chronically infected with hepatitis B. The number of 
chronically infected persons in the United States is 
believed to be increasing each year with the influx of 
new immigrants from areas where it is endemic. 
(2) Hepatitis B is extremely infectious. In fact, 
the disease is 100 times more infectious than HIV. 
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is transmitted the 
same way as HIV: from mother to newborn at birth, 
from infected blood or injections contaminated by in-
fected blood, and from unprotected sex. 
(3) Chronic hepatitis B usually does not cause 
any symptoms early in the course of the disease, but 
after many years of a clinically ‘‘silent’’ phase, as 
many as 25 percent of infected individuals may de-
velop end-stage liver disease or liver cancer. 
(4) The major burden of hepatitis B infection 
in the United States is from chronic hepatitis B in-
fection. Persons chronically infected with hepatitis B 
are at higher risk of developing cirrhosis (scarring) 
of the liver and liver cancer, both of which can lead
to premature death. About 5,000 deaths per year in 
the United States can be attributed to chronic hepa-
titis B infection. 
(5) Chronic hepatitis B infection disproportion-
ately affects certain occupations and populations in 
the United States. Although representing only four 
percent of the population, Asian Americans and Pa-
cific Islanders account for over half of the 1.4 mil-
lion chronic hepatitis B cases in the United States. 
(6) Hepatitis B infection is preventable through 
currently available vaccinations and by reducing 
high-risk behavior. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe 
and effective and has the designation of being the 
‘‘first anti-cancer vaccine’’. 
(7) The diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B infec-
tion can be made with a simple blood test that is in-
expensive and widely available. The early diagnosis 
of chronic hepatitis B can reduce the risk of further 
transmission of the virus through harm reduction 
education and the vaccination of household members 
and other susceptible persons at risk. 
(8) If the diagnosis of hepatitis B infection is 
made at an early stage of the infection, treatment of 
chronic hepatitis B infection with antiviral therapy 
similar to that employed in HIV, when appropriate,