I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1736
To amend various Acts to establish offices of women’s health within certain
agencies, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 25, 1995
Mrs. MORELLA (for herself, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Ms.
NORTON, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas,
Mrs. KENNELLY, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Ms. PELOSI,
Ms. WOOLSEY, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. MCKINNEY, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms.
VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. JACKSON-LEE, and Miss COLLINS of Michigan) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Com-
merce
A BILL
To amend various Acts to establish offices of women’s health
within certain agencies, 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 ‘‘Women’s Health Office
Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE OFFICE ON WOMEN’S
HEALTH.
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 ON WOMEN’S HEALTH
‘‘SEC. 1710. (a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF OFFICE.—
There is established an Office on Women’s Health (here-
after referred to in this section as the ‘Office’) within the
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.
‘‘(b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—There shall be in the
Department of Health and Human Services a Deputy As-
sistant Secretary for Women’s Health, who shall be the
head of the Office. The Secretary, acting through such
Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall carry out this section.
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Secretary, acting through the Of-
fice, shall, with respect to women’s health conditions—
‘‘(1) advise the Assistant Secretary for Health
concerning scientific, legal, ethical, and policy issues
relating to women’s health;
‘‘(2) establish short-range and long-range goals
and objectives and coordinate all other activities
within the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices that relate to disease prevention, health pro-
motion, service delivery, and research concerning
women;
‘‘(3) enter into interagency agreements with
other agencies of the Service to increase the partici-
pation of women in health service and promotion
programs;
‘‘(4) support research, demonstrations and eval-
uations to test new and innovative models, to in-
crease knowledge and understanding of health risk
factors, to develop mechanisms that support better
information dissemination, education, prevention,
and service delivery for women, and to support ini-
tiatives for the promotion of women with respect to
careers in the health professions and research;
‘‘(5) monitor Public Health Service agency and
regional activities regarding women’s health, and co-
ordinate activities of such agency Offices of Wom-
en’s Health;
‘‘(6) establish a women’s health resource center
to facilitate the exchange of information regarding
matters relating to health information and health
promotion, preventive health services, and education
in the appropriate use of health care, to facilitate ac-
cess to such information, to assist in the analysis of
issues and problems relating to such matters, and to
provide technical assistance with respect to the ex-
change of such information (including facilitating
the development of materials for such technical as-
sistance); and
‘‘(7) coordinate efforts to promote women’s
health programs and policies in the voluntary and
corporate sectors.
‘‘(d) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—The Secretary
shall provide for the operation of a committee composed
of the heads of the agencies of the Public Health Service
(or the designees of the agency heads), which committee
shall be chaired by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Women’s Health. With respect to women’s health condi-
tions, such committee shall assist the Deputy Assistant
Secretary in identifying the needs for programs regarding
the conditions, and in making an estimate each fiscal year
of the funds needed to adequately support the programs;
identifying needs regarding the coordination of programs;
and encouraging the agencies of the Public Health Service
to conduct and support programs.
‘‘(e) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Secretary shall
provide for the operation of an advisory committee regard-
ing the duties of the Office. Such committee shall be com-
posed of 15 voting members, appointed from among indi-
viduals who have expertise in women’s health and who are
not officers or employees of the Federal Government, and
the term of office for such members shall be four years.
The membership of the committee shall include as
nonvoting members each of the individuals serving as
nonvoting members of the Coordinating Committee under
subsection (d), and shall include such other Federal offi-
cials or employees as the Secretary determines to be ap-
propriate. The committee shall be chaired by the Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health, and shall meet
at the call of the Chair, but not less than once each fiscal
year.
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Not later than January 31, 1996,
and January 31 of each second year thereafter, the Sec-
retary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate com-
mittees of Congress a report describing the activities car-
ried out under this section during the preceding 2 fiscal
years.
‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘women’s health conditions’, with respect to women
of all age, ethnic, and racial groups, means all diseases,
disorders, and conditions—
‘‘(1) unique to, more serious, or more prevalent
in women; and
‘‘(2) for which the factors of medical risk or
type of medical intervention are different for women,
or for which it is unknown whether such factors or
types are different for women.
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized
to be appropriated $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1996, and
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years
1997 and 1998.’’.
SEC. 3. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVEN-
TION OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH.
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 317F the following section:
‘‘CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH
‘‘SEC. 317G. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab-
lished within the Office of the Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention an office to be known as
the Office of Women’s Health (hereafter referred to in this
section as the ‘Office’). The Office shall be headed by a
director who shall be appointed by the Director of the
Centers.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The Director of the Office shall—
‘‘(1) determine the current level of the Centers
activity regarding women’s health conditions, across
age, biological, and sociocultural contexts, in all as-
pects of the Centers work, including prevention pro-
grams, public and professional education, services,
and treatment;
‘‘(2) establish short-range and long-range goals
and objectives for women’s health and coordinate all
other activities within the Centers that relate to pre-
vention, research, education and training, service de-
livery, and policy development;
‘‘(3) identify projects in women’s health that
should be conducted or supported by the National
Centers;
‘‘(4) consult with health professionals, non-gov-
ernmental organizations, consumer organizations,
women’s health professionals, and other individuals
and groups, as appropriate, on the policy of the Cen-
ters with regard to women; and
‘‘(5) coordinate agency activities on women’s
health with the Public Health Service Office on
Women’s Health established under section 1710.
‘‘(c) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out sub-
section (b), the Director of the Office shall establish
a committee to be known as the Coordinating Com-
mittee on Research on Women’s Health (hereafter
referred to in this subsection as the ‘Coordinating
Committee’).
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Coordinating Com-
mittee shall be composed of the Directors of the
National Centers.
‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Of-
fice shall serve as the chairperson of the Coordinat-
ing Committee.
‘‘(4) DUTIES.—With respect to women’s health,
the Coordinating Committee shall assist the Director
of the Office in—
‘‘(A) identifying the need for programs and
activities that focus on women’s health;
‘‘(B) identifying needs regarding the co-
ordination of activities, including intramural
and extramural multidisciplinary activities; and
‘‘(C) making recommendations to the Di-
rector of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention concerning findings made under
subparagraphs (A) and (B).
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than January 31, 1996,
and January 31 of each second year thereafter, the Direc-
tor shall prepare and submit to the Director of the Public
Health Service Office of Women’s Health, a report de-
scribing the activities carried out under this section during
the preceding 2 fiscal years.
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—As used in this section the term
‘women’s health conditions’, with respect to women of all
age, ethnic, and racial groups, means all diseases, dis-
orders, and conditions—
‘‘(1) unique to, more serious, or more prevalent
in women; and
‘‘(2) for which the factors of medical risk or
type of medical intervention are different for women,
or for which it is unknown whether such factors or
types are different for women.’’.
SEC. 4. AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE POLICY AND RE-
SEARCH OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH.
Part C of title IX of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 299c et seq.) is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 927 as section 928;
and
(2) by inserting after section 926 the following
section:
‘‘SEC. 927. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within
the Office of the Director of the Agency for Health Care
Policy and Research an office to be known as the Office
of Women’s Health (hereafter referred to in this section
as the ‘Office’). The Office shall be headed by a Director
who shall be appointed by the Director of the Agency.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The Director of the Office shall—
‘‘(1) determine the current Agency level of ac-
tivity regarding women’s health, across age, biologi-
cal, and sociocultural contexts, in all aspects of
Agency work, including drafting clinical practice
guidelines, and conducting research into patient out-
comes, delivery of health care services, and access to
health care;
‘‘(2) establish short-range and long-range goals
and objectives for research important to women’s
health and coordinate all other activities within the
Agency that relate to health services and medical
effectiveness research;
‘‘(3) identify projects in women’s health that
should be conducted or supported by the Agency;
‘‘(4) consult with health professionals, non-gov-
ernmental organizations, consumer organizations,
women’s health professionals, and other individuals
and groups, as appropriate, on Agency policy with
regard to women; and
‘‘(5) coordinate agency activities on women’s
health with the Public Health Service Office on
Women’s Health established under section 1710.
‘‘(c) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—
‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Of-
fice shall serve as the Chairperson of the Coordinat-
ing Committee.
‘‘(4) DUTIES.—With respect to studies on wom-
en’s health, the Coordinating Committee shall assist
the Director of the Office in—
‘‘(A) identifying the need for further stud-
ies in specific areas of women’s health that fall
within the mission of the Commission, and de-
veloping strategies to foster such studies;
‘‘(B) identifying needs regarding the co-
ordination of Commission activities, including
intramural and extramural studies;
‘‘(C) maintaining the Commission’s focus
in areas of importance to women;
‘‘(D) supporting the development of meth-
odologies to determine the circumstances in
which obtaining data specific to women (includ-
ing data relating to the age of women and the
membership of women in ethnic or racial
groups) is an appropriate function of clinical
trials of treatments and therapies;
‘‘(E) supporting the development and ex-
pansion of clinical trials of treatments and
therapies for which obtaining such data has