I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 632
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men’s
Health.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BILI-
RAKIS, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. SCHAFFER, Mr.
GILCHREST, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. FRANK, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms.
LEE, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. SAXTON, Mr.
PASTOR, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. SESSIONS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. STEN-
HOLM, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr.
WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CRAMER,
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. CON-
YERS, Mr. KING, Mr. ISSA, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. WEINER, Mr. GILMAN,
Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. HUNTER, Mr.
SPENCE, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. WAMP, Mrs. WILSON, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. CAR-
SON of Indiana, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. RUSH, Mr. HORN, Mr. FRELING-
HUYSEN, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an
Office of Men’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 ‘‘Men’s Health Act of
2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) A silent health crisis is affecting the health
and well-being of America’s men.
(2) While this health crisis is of particular con-
cern to men, it is also a concern for women regard-
ing their fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers.
(3) Men’s health is a concern for employers who
pay the costs of medical care, and lose productive
employees.
(4) Men’s health is a concern to Federal and
State governments which absorb the enormous costs
of premature death and disability, including the
costs of caring for dependents left behind.
(5) The life expectancy gap between men and
women has increased from one year in 1920 to al-
most six years in 1998.
(6) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diag-
nosed cancer in the United States among men, ac-
counting for 36 percent of all cancer cases.
(7) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly di-
agnosed with prostate cancer this year alone, and
37,000 will die.
(8) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with
age, and more than 75 percent of such cases are di-
agnosed in men age 65 and older.
(9) The incidence of prostate cancer and the re-
sulting mortality rate in African American men is
twice that in white men.
(10) An estimated 7,200 men, ages 15 to 40,
will be diagnosed this year with testicular cancer,
and 400 of these men will die of this disease in
2001. A common reason for delay in treatment of
this disease is a delay in seeking medical attention
after discovering a testicular mass.
(11) Studies show that men are at least 25 per-
cent less likely than women to visit a doctor, and are
significantly less likely to have regular physician
check-ups and obtain preventive screening tests for
serious diseases.
(12) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate
specific antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure,
blood sugar, and cholesterol screens, in conjunction
with clinical exams and self-testing, can result in the
early detection of many problems and in increased
survival rates.
(13) Educating men, their families, and health
care providers about the importance of early detec-
tion of male health problems can result in reducing
rates of mortality for male-specific diseases, as well
as improve the health of America’s men and its over-
all economic well-being.
(14) Recent scientific studies have shown that
regular medical exams, preventive screenings, reg-
ular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help
save lives.
(15) Establishing an Office of Men’s Health is
needed to investigate these findings and take such
further actions as may be needed to promote men’s
health.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title XVII of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following section:
‘‘OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH
‘‘SEC. 1711. The Secretary shall establish within the
Department of Health and Human Services an office to
be known as the Office of Men’s Health, which shall be
headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. The Sec-
retary, acting through the Director of the Office, shall co-
ordinate and promote the status of men’s health in the
United States.’’.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, acting through the Director of the Office
of Men’s Health, shall submit to the Congress a report
describing the activities of such Office, including findings
that the Director has made regarding men’s health.
Æ