I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6214 
To increase awareness of and research on autoimmune diseases, which are 
a major women’s health problem, affect as many as 22 million Americans, 
and encompass more than 100 interrelated diseases, such as lupus, 
multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjo¨gren’s syndrome, polymyositis, 
pemphigus, myasthenia gravis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, psoriasis, celiac 
disease, autoimmune platelet disorders, scleroderma, alopecia areata, vit-
iligo, autoimmune thyroid disease, sarcoidosis, and fibromyalgia, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 
Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To increase awareness of and research on autoimmune dis-
eases, which are a major women’s health problem, affect 
as many as 22 million Americans, and encompass more 
than 100 interrelated diseases, such as lupus, multiple 
sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjo¨gren’s syndrome, poly-
myositis, pemphigus, myasthenia gravis, Wegener’s gran-
ulomatosis, psoriasis, celiac disease, autoimmune platelet 
disorders, scleroderma, alopecia areata, vitiligo, auto-
immune thyroid disease, sarcoidosis, and fibromyalgia, 
and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Prevention, Awareness, 
and Research of Autoimmune Disease Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) The National Institutes of Health estimates 
that between 14 and 22 million Americans have an 
autoimmune disease and the prevalence is rising. 
Seventy-five percent of those afflicted are women 
with most cases occurring during the childbearing 
years. 
(2) Researchers have identified more than 100 
autoimmune diseases and suspect at least 40 addi-
tional disorders of having an autoimmune basis. 
(3) Autoimmune diseases are chronic and can 
be life-threatening, ranking in the top 10 causes of 
death in children and women in all age groups up 
to 64 years of age. 
(4) Early diagnosis of and commencement of 
treatment for autoimmune diseases can prevent or 
reduce serious organ damage, disability, and death. 
According to a study conducted by the American 
Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, more 
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than half of those with an autoimmune disease suf-
fered for 4 years and visited 4 doctors before obtain-
ing a diagnosis, and 44.6 percent of women were 
told they were chronic complainers or too concerned 
with their health prior to being diagnosed. 
(5) A close genetic relationship exists among 
autoimmune diseases, explaining clustering in indi-
viduals and families as well as common pathways for 
disease development. 
(6) Frequently used immunosuppressant treat-
ments lead to devastating long-term side effects. 
Those with autoimmune diseases lack effective treat-
ments. 
(7) The Institute of Medicine reports that the 
United States is behind other countries in research 
into immune system self-recognition, the process in-
volved in autoimmune diseases. 
(8) Understanding how to modulate immune 
system activity will benefit transplant recipients, 
cancer patients, AIDS patients, and infectious dis-
ease patients. 
(9) The National Institutes of Health estimates 
that annual direct health care costs for autoimmune 
disease are in the range of $100,000,000,000. 
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(10) Lack of awareness on the part of the pub-
lic and health care professionals contributes to pa-
tients’ extreme difficulty in obtaining a correct diag-
nosis, and lack of effective treatments. Despite the 
prevalence of autoimmune diseases, public awareness 
remains low. According to a Roper study, only 5.5 
percent of Americans can even name an autoimmune 
disease and 29 percent incorrectly identify AIDS as 
an autoimmune disease. Awareness is lowest among 
adults ages 18 to 34, the age group most likely to 
develop an autoimmune disease. 
(11) Examples of autoimmune diseases include 
lupus, 
multiple 
sclerosis, 
rheumatoid 
arthritis, 
Sjo¨gren’s syndrome, polymyositis, pemphigus, myas-
thenia gravis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, psoriasis, 
celiac 
disease, 
autoimmune 
platelet 
disorders, 
scleroderma, alopecia areata, vitiligo, autoimmune 
thyroid disease, sarcoidosis, and fibromyalgia. 
(12) Lupus can affect many parts of the body, 
including joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood 
vessels, and brain. At least 1,500,000 Americans 
have a form of lupus, 9 out of 10 of these Americans 
are women, and 80 percent of all newly diagnosed 
cases of lupus are among women of childbearing age. 
According to a Lupus Foundation of America sur-
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vey, more than half of the people with lupus suffered 
for 4 or more years and visited 3 or more doctors 
before obtaining a diagnosis of lupus. About 1 out 
of 5 lupus sufferers receives disability payments, 
costing the Government several billion dollars each 
year for social security disability benefits, lost taxes, 
and medical care provided through Medicare and 
Medicaid. The average annual cost of medical treat-
ment for an individual with lupus is $6,000 to 
$10,000; for some people, medical costs may exceed 
several thousand dollars every month. Early diag-
nosis of and commencement of treatment for lupus 
can prevent or reduce serious organ damage, dis-
ability, and death. 
(13) In multiple sclerosis (MS), the immune 
system attacks the protective coating around the 
nerves. The damage affects the brain or spinal cord 
and interferes with the nerve pathways, causing 
muscular weakness, loss of coordination, and visual 
and speech problem. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic 
and often disabling disease of the central nervous 
system which often first appears in people who are 
20 to 50 years of age, with lifelong physical and 
emotional effects. Multiple sclerosis is twice as com-
mon in women as in men. An estimated 250,000 to 
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