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 con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the National Institute of Environmental Health 
Sciences to develop multidisciplinary research centers re-
garding women’s health and disease prevention and con-
duct and coordinate a research program on hormone 
disruption, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Environmental Health 
Research Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 
2. 
NATIONAL 
INSTITUTE 
OF 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH SCIENCES; AWARDS FOR DEVELOP-
MENT 
AND 
OPERATION 
OF 
MULTIDISCI-
PLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING 
WOMEN’S HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVEN-
TION. 
Subpart 12 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285l et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following section: 
‘‘MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING 
WOMEN’S HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 
‘‘SEC. 463B. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 
Institute shall make grants to public or nonprofit private 
entities for the development and operation of not more 
than 6 centers whose purpose is conducting multidisci-
plinary research on environmental factors that may be re-
lated to the development of women’s health conditions (as 
defined in section 486). The Director of the Institute shall 
carry out this section in consultation with the Director of 
the Office of Research on Women’s Health and with the 
advisory council for the Institute. 
‘‘(b) RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND INFORMATION AND 
EDUCATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each center under sub-
section (a) shall, with respect to the purpose de-
scribed in such subsection—
‘‘(A) conduct basic and clinical research; 
‘‘(B) develop protocols for training physi-
cians, scientists, nurses, and other health and 
allied health professionals; 
‘‘(C) conduct training programs for such 
individuals; 
‘‘(D) develop model continuing education 
programs for such professionals; and 
‘‘(E) disseminate information to such pro-
fessionals and the public. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY FOR PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.—
In carrying out the activities described in paragraph 
(1), each center under subsection (a) shall give pri-
ority to activities that are directed toward pre-
venting the development in women of the diseases 
and conditions involved. 
‘‘(3) STIPENDS FOR TRAINING OF HEALTH PRO-
FESSIONALS.—A center under subsection (a) may 
use funds under such subsection to provide stipends 
for health and allied health professionals enrolled in 
programs described in paragraph (1)(C). 
‘‘(c) COLLABORATION
WITH
COMMUNITY.—Each 
center under subsection (a) shall establish and maintain 
ongoing collaborations with community organizations in 
the geographic area served by the center, including those
that represent women with disorders that appear to stem 
from environmental factors. 
‘‘(d) COORDINATION OF CENTERS; REPORTS.—The 
Director of the Institute shall, as appropriate, provide for 
the coordination of information among centers under sub-
section (a) and ensure regular communication between 
such centers. 
‘‘(e) STRUCTURE OF CENTER.—Each center assisted 
under subsection (a) shall use the facilities of a single in-
stitution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating 
institutions, meeting such requirements as may be pre-
scribed by the Director of the Institute. 
‘‘(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 1 or more addi-
tional 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 the Institute and if such group has rec-
ommended to the Director that such period should be ex-
tended. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fis-
cal years 2004 through 2007.’’.
or immediately after birth, periods during which 
rapid development is occurring. 
(9) In the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 
(21 U.S.C. 301 note), Congress recognized the spe-
cial vulnerability of infants and children to pesticides 
and requested that the Environmental Protection 
Agency establish a program to screen and test hor-
mone-disrupting chemicals. The Environmental Pro-
tection Agency has not yet required such screening 
or tests. 
(10) In 1998, a research committee on hormone 
disrupters, organized under the auspices of the Of-
fice of Science and Technology Policy, concluded 
that ‘‘scientific knowledge is inadequate to fully in-
form public policy, and a government-wide coordi-
nated research effort that addresses the key sci-
entific uncertainties . . . is needed’’. 
(11) In 1999, in response to a request from 
Congress and funded through the Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Department of the Inte-
rior, the National Academy of Sciences compiled a 
lengthy list of research, monitoring, and testing pri-
orities related to hormone disruption. 
(12) The National Institute of Environmental 
Health Sciences conducts much of the Federal Gov-
ernment’s research on hormone disruption, often 
working in partnership with other agencies. 
(13) While recognizing the many contributions 
of animal testing to understanding toxic hazards, the 
Congress also recognizes the desirability of speeding 
the use of validated nonanimal screens and tests (to 
reduce animal suffering and to reduce costs) and ex-
pediting judgments about hazards from toxic chemi-
cals. 
(14) The United States Geological Survey (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘USGS’’) has consid-
erable experience assessing the occurrence of chemi-
cals in the environment, ecological health, and the 
hazards to wildlife health and associated human 
health posed by chemicals in the environment, as a 
result of monitoring by the USGS of the Nation’s 
water resources and wildlife disease, and research by 
the USGS on the effects of chemicals on wildlife. 
(15) The National Academy of Sciences has 
recognized the expertise of the USGS in such areas 
as food web contamination and water quality assess-
ment and has encouraged more coordinated work on 
human health between the USGS and the National 
Institutes of Health.
(b) AMENDMENT.—Subpart 12 of part C of title IV 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 2851 et seq.), 
as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘DIRECTED NATIONAL PROGRAM OF RESEARCH ON 
HORMONE DISRUPTION 
‘‘SEC. 463C. (a) RESEARCH.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti-
tute shall establish within the Institute a comprehen-
sive program to—
‘‘(A) conduct research on the impact of 
chemicals that affect human health through dis-
ruption of the hormone systems; 
‘‘(B) conduct research on the occurrence of 
hormone-disrupting chemicals in the environ-
ment and their effects on ecological and wildlife 
health, in cooperation with the United States 
Geological Survey (referred to in this section as 
the ‘USGS’); 
‘‘(C) coordinate the design of a multi-
agency research initiative on hormone disrup-
tion; 
‘‘(D) coordinate research on hormone dis-
ruption in the United States with such research 
conducted in other nations; and
‘‘(E) report to the public every 2 years on 
the extent to which hormone disruption by 
chemicals in the environment poses a threat to 
human health and the environment. 
‘‘(2) ISSUES.—The program established under 
paragraph (1) shall provide for the following: 
‘‘(A) Collection, compilation, publication, 
and dissemination of scientifically valid infor-
mation on—
‘‘(i) possible human health effects of 
hormone-disrupting chemicals, with empha-
sis on exposures to low doses of individual 
chemicals and chemical mixtures during 
critical life stages of development, particu-
larly effects of prenatal exposures on chil-
dren’s health; 
‘‘(ii) the extent of human exposure to 
hormone-disrupting chemicals, with par-
ticular emphasis on exposures during crit-
ical life stages of development and in resi-
dential and occupational settings; and 
‘‘(iii) exposure of wildlife species to 
hormone-disrupting chemicals and possible 
health effects associated with such expo-
sures.
‘‘(B) Research on mechanisms by which 
hormone-disrupting substances interact with bi-
ological systems. 
‘‘(C) Research on improved in vitro and in 
vivo methods to screen and test hormone dis-
ruption. 
‘‘(D) Research on the identity, levels, 
transport, and fate of hormone-disrupting 
chemicals in the environment. 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR’S DUTIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti-
tute shall have principal responsibility, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the USGS, for conducting 
and coordinating research on the effects of hormone-
disrupting chemicals on human health and the envi-
ronment. 
‘‘(2) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of enactment of the Environmental 
Health Research Act of 2003, the Director of the 
Institute and the Director of the USGS shall enter 
into an agreement to carry out the research program 
established under subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Director of 
the Institute may transfer funds to other Federal
agencies to carry out the Director’s responsibilities 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Director of the Institute, 
in consultation with the Director of the USGS, shall 
make available to the public, every 2 years following 
the date of enactment of the Environmental Health 
Research Act of 2003, findings and conclusions on 
the extent to which hormone disruption by chemicals 
in the environment poses a threat to human health 
and the environment. 
‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY COMMISSION.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a commission to be known as the Hormone 
Disruption Research Interagency Commission (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘Interagency Commis-
sion’) to advise the Director of the Institute and the 
Director of the USGS on the development of a com-
prehensive agenda for conducting research on hor-
mone disruption. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Commis-
sion shall be composed of 12 members, as follows: 
‘‘(A) The Director of the Institute, who 
shall serve as the Chairperson. 
‘‘(B) The Director of the USGS, who shall 
serve as the Vice Chairperson.
available under this section for any fiscal year, 
not more than 2 percent of such funds may be 
used for administrative expenses of the Director 
of the Institute in carrying out this section. 
‘‘(C) PUBLIC
OUTREACH.—Of the total 
amount of funds made available under this sec-
tion for any fiscal year, at least 1 percent, but 
not more than 5 percent, shall be used for out-
reach to the public concerning the activities and 
results of the program.’’.
Æ