I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4653
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men’s
Health.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 14, 2000
Mr. CUNNINGHAM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on 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
2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) There is a silent health crisis affecting the
health and well-being of America’s men.
(2) This health crisis is of particular concern to
men, but is also a concern for women, and especially
to those who have fathers, husbands, sons, and
brothers.
(3) Men’s health is likewise a concern for em-
ployers who lose productive employees as well as pay
the costs of medical care, and is a concern to state
government and society which absorb the enormous
costs of premature death and disability, including
the costs of caring for dependents left behind.
(4) The life expectancy gap between men and
women has steadily increased from one year in 1920
to seven years in 1990.
(5) Almost twice as many men than women die
from heart disease, and 28.5 percent of all men die
as a result of stroke.
(6) In 1995, blood pressure of black males was
356 percent higher than that of white males, and
the death rate for stroke was 97 percent higher for
black males than for white males.
(7) The incidence of stroke among men is 19
percent higher than for women.
(8) Significantly more men than women are di-
agnosed with AIDS each year.
(9) Fifty percent more men than women die of
cancer.
(10) Although the incidence of depression is
higher in women, the rate of life-threatening depres-
sion is higher in men, with men representing 80 per-
cent of all suicides cases, and with men 43 times
more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals
than women.
(11) Prostate cancer is the most frequently di-
agnosed cancer in the United States among men, ac-
counting for 36 percent of all cancer cases.
(12) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly
diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone, of
which 37,000 will die.
(13) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with
age, and more than 75 percent of such cases are di-
agnosed in men age 65 and older.
(14) The incidence of prostate cancer and the
resulting mortality rate in African American men is
twice that in white men.
(15) 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.
(16) 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.
(17) 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.
(18) Recent scientific studies have shown that
regular medical exams, preventive screenings, reg-
ular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help
save lives.
(19) 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.
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.’’.
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