I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5083
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the development
and operation of regional centers to conduct research and provide edu-
cation and training regarding women’s health.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 22, 1994
Ms. MARGOLIES-MEZVINSKY introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for
the development and operation of regional centers to
conduct research and provide education and training re-
garding women’s health.
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 ‘‘Women’s Health
Regional Centers Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Until recently, women have been excluded
from most clinical trials for treatments for cancer,
heart disease, and stroke, despite the fact that
women react differently from men to many treat-
ments for these and other diseases.
(2) Historically, little research money has been
devoted to diseases that primarily afflict women,
such as osteoporosis, breast cancer, and multiple
sclerosis.
(3) The American medical education system has
not trained physicians and other health care profes-
sionals for women’s health needs. A major barrier to
change is the absence of an appropriate curriculum
on women’s health. Another barrier to change has
been the significant underrepresentation of women
in senior ranks of academic medicine. As long as
this void in women leaders is allowed to continue,
women’s health issues will not gain the appropriate
attention within the medical community.
(4) The establishment of the Office of Research
on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of
Health is vital to addressing the necessary research
for diseases and health conditions that affect
women. However, there is currently no means by
which to translate this new research into improved
physician education and patient care.
(5) The Federal Government should develop re-
gional education and treatment centers on women’s
health to disseminate the information made available
by the National Institutes of Health and other Fed-
eral research efforts in women’s health.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM FOR MULTIPUR-
POSE 
REGIONAL 
CENTERS 
ON 
WOMEN’S
HEALTH.
Part F of title IV of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 287d et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following section:
‘‘SEC. 486C. MULTIPURPOSE REGIONAL CENTERS ON WOM-
EN’S HEALTH.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of NIH, in con-
sultation with the Director of the Office, shall make grants
to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private
entities for the development and operation of centers to
carry out the activities described in subsection (c) regard-
ing women’s health conditions.
‘‘(b) NUMBER OF CENTERS; REGIONAL CONSIDER-
ATIONS.—The Director of NIH shall, subject to the extent
of amounts made available in appropriations Acts, provide
for the development of 5 centers under subsection (a) and
shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that such a center
is developed in each of the principal geographic regions
of the United States.
‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES OF CENTERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to women’s
health conditions, each center developed under sub-
section (a) shall—
‘‘(A) conduct basic research, and clinical
and other applied research;
‘‘(B) develop curricula for training health
professionals and scientists;
‘‘(C) conduct training programs for health
professionals and scientists;
‘‘(D) develop model continuing education
programs for health professionals and sci-
entists;
‘‘(E) disseminate information to health
professionals, scientists, and the public;
‘‘(F) develop model programs for the deliv-
ery of health services to women, including, as
appropriate, programs specific to particular age
groups; and
‘‘(G) in the case of women who are in the
medical profession (including women attending
schools of medicine), develop model programs
for training the women in the skills necessary
for achieving positions of leadership in such
schools and in academic health centers.
‘‘(2) STIPENDS
REGARDING
TRAINING; FEES
REGARDING CLINICAL RESEARCH SUBJECTS.—A cen-
ter may use funds provided under subsection (a) to
provide stipends for health professionals and sci-
entists enrolled in programs described in subpara-
graph (C) of paragraph (1), and to provide fees to
individuals serving as subjects in clinical trials con-
ducted under such paragraph.
‘‘(d) COORDINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Direc-
tor of NIH shall, as appropriate, provide for the coordina-
tion of information among the centers assisted under sub-
section (a) and among the national research institutes.
‘‘(e) STRUCTURE
OF CENTERS.—Each center as-
sisted under subsection (a) shall use the facilities of a sin-
gle institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooper-
ating institutions, meeting such requirements as may be
prescribed by the Director of NIH.
‘‘(f) DURATION OF SUPPORT.—Support of a center
under subsection (a) may be for a period not exceeding
5 years. Such period may be extended for one or more
additional periods not exceeding 5 years if the operations
of such center have been reviewed by an appropriate tech-
nical and scientific peer review group established by the
Director of NIH and if such group has recommended to
the Director that such period should be extended.
‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON SUPPORT PER CENTER.—The
Director of NIH may not, from amounts appropriated
under subsection (h), obligate more than $15,000,000 in
the aggregate for the development and operation of a cen-
ter under subsection (a).
‘‘(h) AGGREGATE AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—For the purpose of carrying out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 in the
aggregate for fiscal year 1995 and subsequent fiscal
years.’’.
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