I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2006
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of providing
information and education to the public on the prevention and treatment
of eating disorders.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 20, 1997
Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FROST, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr.
MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCKINNEY, Ms. MILLENDER-
MCDONALD, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. RIVERS, Mr.
RUSH, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. TOWNS, and Mr.
UNDERWOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a pro-
gram of providing information and education to the pub-
lic on the prevention and treatment of eating disorders.
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 ‘‘Eating Disorders In-
formation and Education Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa,
bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well
as eating disorders not otherwise defined or yet iden-
tified.
(2) Eating disorders primarily affect women
and girls, to the point that dieting and body dis-
satisfaction is considered normative behavior even
among those considered average or underweight.
(3) Many girls begin dieting at a young age and
in large numbers, as revealed in one study where 80
percent of girls reported they had already been on
a diet to lose weight before age 13.
(4) Dieting at an early age can interfere with
normal physiological development and can lead to se-
rious eating disorders, which can result in cardiac
impairments, 
depression, 
substance 
abuse,
osteoporosis, infertility, amneorrhea, anemia, and
other medical conditions.
(5) Eating disorders can lead to death, with the
National Institute of Mental Health reporting that 1
in 10 people with anorexia nervosa die of starvation,
cardiac arrest, or other medical complications.
(6) There are effective treatments for some eat-
ing disorders, although medical authorities are un-
certain to what extent these disorders are caused by
physiological factors, by psychosocial factors, or by
both.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION ON EATING
DISORDERS.
Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following section:
‘‘EATING DISORDERS
‘‘SEC. 520C. (a) INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.—
The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Center
for Mental Health Services, shall carry out a program to
provide information and education to the public on the
prevention and treatment of eating disorders.
‘‘(b) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS.—
In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide
for the operation of toll-free telephone communications to
provide information to the public on eating disorders, in-
cluding referrals for services for the prevention and treat-
ment of such disorders. Such communications shall be
available on a 24-hour, 7-day basis.
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized
to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, and
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years
1999 and 2000.’’.
Æ