I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4160 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institute 
of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct and coordinate a research 
program on hormone disruption, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 1, 2009 
Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 
DOGGETT, and Mr. STARK) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to 
conduct and coordinate a research program on hormone 
disruption, 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 ‘‘Environmental Hor-
mone Disruption Research Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Many compounds found or introduced into 
the environment by human activity are capable of 
disrupting the hormone system of humans and ani-
mals. The consequences of such disruption can be 
profound because of the crucial role hormones play 
in controlling development and metabolism. Few 
standardized and validated screens or tests have 
been developed to routinely and systematically assess 
chemicals for disruptive effects on hormone systems. 
Even fewer have statistical power to detect sufficient 
problems. 
(2) In the last 30 years, the United States has 
experienced an increase in the incidence of such 
human disorders as childhood cancers, testicular 
cancer, hypospadias, juvenile diabetes, attention def-
icit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity dis-
order, autism, thyroid disorders, learning disabilities, 
cognitive impairment, and auto-immune disorders. 
Exposure to hormone-disrupting pollutants may be 
contributing to these increases. The impact on chil-
dren’s health as a result of prenatal exposures in 
particular needs further research. 
(3) In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention’s ‘‘National Report on Human Expo-
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sure to Environmental Chemicals’’ reported on 
human exposure to 27 chemicals, and found unex-
pectedly high levels of certain chemicals used in con-
sumer products. The hazards to humans of these 
chemicals, singly and in combination, are not well 
understood. 
(4) Many wildlife populations have disrupted re-
production or development, including birds, fish, am-
phibians, and mammals. The effects vary among 
species, and some are due to exposure to hormone- 
disrupting substances. 
(5) Observed disruptions in wildlife include thy-
roid dysfunction, decreased fertility, decreased 
hatching success, gross birth deformities, metabolic 
and behavioral abnormalities, demasculinization and 
feminization of male organisms, deformation and 
masculinization of female organisms, and com-
promised immune systems. If due to exposure to 
hormone-disrupting substances, then these effects 
may signal hazards to human health. 
(6) Laboratory studies have corroborated stud-
ies of some effects in wildlife and have identified bio-
logical mechanisms to explain the effects shown. The 
chemicals found in wildlife are also found in hu-
mans. 
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(7) Hormone disruption might occur at very low 
environmental doses, especially when exposure oc-
curs in the womb or immediately after birth, periods 
during which rapid development is occurring. 
(8) In 1998, a research committee on hormone 
disrupters, organized under the auspices of the Of-
fice of Science and Technology Policy, concluded 
that ‘‘scientific knowledge is inadequate to fully in-
form public policy, and a government-wide coordi-
nated research effort that addresses the key sci-
entific uncertainties . . . is needed’’. 
(9) In 1999, in response to a request from Con-
gress and funded through the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency and the Department of the Interior, the 
National Academy of Sciences compiled a lengthy 
list of research, monitoring, and testing priorities re-
lated to hormone disruption. 
(10) The National Institute of Environmental 
Health Sciences conducts much of the Federal Gov-
ernment’s research on hormone disruption, often 
working in partnership with other agencies. 
(11) While recognizing the many contributions 
of animal testing to understanding toxic hazards, the 
Congress also recognizes the desirability of speeding 
the use of validated nonanimal screens and tests (to 
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reduce animal suffering and to reduce costs) and ex-
pediting judgments about hazards from toxic chemi-
cals. 
(12) The Department of the Interior has con-
siderable experience assessing the occurrence of 
chemicals in the environment, ecological health, and 
the hazards to wildlife health and associated human 
health posed by chemicals in the environment, as a 
result of monitoring by the Department of the Na-
tion’s water resources and wildlife disease, and re-
search by the Department on the effects of chemi-
cals on wildlife. 
(13) The National Academy of Sciences has 
recognized the expertise of the United States Geo-
logical Survey (‘‘USGS’’) in such areas as food web 
contamination and water quality assessment and has 
encouraged more coordinated work on human health 
between the USGS and the National Institutes of 
Health. 
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SEC. 
3. 
NATIONAL 
INSTITUTE 
OF 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH 
SCIENCES; 
DIRECTED 
NATIONAL 
PROGRAM OF RESEARCH ON HORMONE DIS-
RUPTION. 
Subpart 12 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 2851 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 463C. DIRECTED NATIONAL PROGRAM OF RESEARCH 
ON HORMONE DISRUPTION. 
‘‘(a) RESEARCH.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti-
tute shall establish within the Institute a comprehen-
sive program to— 
‘‘(A) carry out research on the health ef-
fects on women and children that may result 
through disruption of the hormone systems; 
‘‘(B) carry out research, development, and 
demonstrations with respect to technologies to 
mitigate the occurrence of hormone-disrupting 
pollutants in the environment and their unin-
tended effects on ecological and wildlife health, 
in cooperation with the United States Geologi-
cal Survey (referred to in this section as the 
‘USGS’); 
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‘‘(C) coordinate research on hormone dis-
ruption in the United States with such research 
conducted in other nations; and 
‘‘(D) provide for the dissemination of in-
formation described in paragraph (2) to the 
public. 
‘‘(2) ISSUES.—The program established under 
paragraph (1) shall provide for the following: 
‘‘(A) Collection, compilation, publication, 
and dissemination of scientifically valid infor-
mation on— 
‘‘(i) possible unintended human health 
effects of hormone-disrupting pollutants, 
with emphasis on exposures to low doses of 
individual chemicals and chemical mixtures 
during critical life stages of development, 
particularly effects of prenatal exposures 
on children’s health; 
‘‘(ii) the extent of human exposure to 
hormone-disrupting pollutants, with par-
ticular emphasis on exposures during crit-
ical life stages of development and in resi-
dential and occupational settings; and 
‘‘(iii) exposure of wildlife species to 
hormone-disrupting pollutants and possible 
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health effects associated with such expo-
sures. 
‘‘(B) Research, in coordination with the 
Environmental Protection Agency and the 
USGS, on mechanisms by which hormone-dis-
rupting pollutants interact with biological sys-
tems. 
‘‘(C) Research on improved in vitro, in 
vivo, and in silico methods to screen and test 
hormone disruption. 
‘‘(D) Research on the identity, levels, 
transport, and fate of hormone-disrupting pol-
lutants in the environment. 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR’S DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti-
tute shall have principal responsibility, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the USGS, for conducting 
and coordinating research on the unintended effects 
of hormone-disrupting pollutants on human health 
and the environment. 
‘‘(2) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of the enactment of the Environ-
mental Hormone Disruption Research Act of 2009, 
the Director of the Institute and the Director of the 
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USGS shall enter into an agreement to carry out the 
research program established under subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Director of 
the Institute may transfer funds to other Federal 
agencies to carry out the Director’s responsibilities 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Director of the Institute, 
in consultation with the Director of the USGS, shall 
make available to the public, every 2 years following 
the date of the enactment of the Environmental 
Hormone Disruption Research Act of 2009, a report 
summarizing findings and conclusions on the extent 
to which hormone disruption by pollutants in the en-
vironment poses a threat to human health and the 
environment. 
‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY COMMISSION.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a commission to be known as the Hormone 
Disruption Research Interagency Commission (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘Interagency Commis-
sion’) to advise the Director of the Institute and the 
Director of the USGS on the development of a com-
prehensive agenda for conducting research on hor-
mone disruption. 
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‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Commis-
sion shall be composed of 14 members, as follows: 
‘‘(A) The Director of the Institute, who 
shall serve as the Chairperson. 
‘‘(B) The Director of the USGS, who shall 
serve as the Vice Chairperson. 
‘‘(C) The Director of the National Insti-
tute of Child Health and Human Development. 
‘‘(D) The Commissioner of Food and 
Drugs. 
‘‘(E) The Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention. 
‘‘(F) The Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
‘‘(G) The Director of the National Insti-
tute for Occupational Safety and Health. 
‘‘(H) The Administrator of the Agency for 
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 
‘‘(I) The Director of the Fish and Wildlife 
Service. 
‘‘(J) The Secretary of Defense. 
‘‘(K) The Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
‘‘(L) The Chairman of the Consumer 
Product Safety Commission. 
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‘‘(M) The Director of the National Science 
Foundation. 
‘‘(N) The Director of the National Insti-
tute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 
‘‘(3) STAFF.—Each department or agency rep-
resented by a member on the Interagency Commis-
sion shall provide appropriate staff to carry out the 
duties of the Interagency Commission. 
‘‘(4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 12 
months after the date of the enactment of the Envi-
ronmental Hormone Disruption Research Act of 
2009, the Interagency Commission shall recommend 
to the Director of the Institute and the Director of 
the USGS a research program, including levels of 
funding for intramural and extramural research. 
‘‘(5) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Director of the 
Institute, through publication of notice in the Fed-
eral Register, shall provide the general public with 
an opportunity to comment on the recommendations 
of the Interagency Commission. 
‘‘(6) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 
date of the enactment of the Environmental Hor-
mone Disruption Research Act of 2009, the Inter-
agency Commission shall conduct a review of the 
program established under subsection (a) and sub-
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