[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2925 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2925

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men's 
                                Health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 2000

 Mr. Thurmond introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 Representatives 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.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (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 employers 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 1 year in 1920 to 7 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 diagnosed 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 depression is higher in 
        men, with men representing 80 percent of all suicide cases, and 
        with men 43 times more likely to be admitted to psychiatric 
        hospitals than women.
            (11) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed 
        cancer in the United States among men, accounting 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 diagnosed 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 percent 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 detection 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 overall economic well-being.
            (18) Recent scientific studies have shown that regular 
        medical exams, preventive screenings, regular 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 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 Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office, shall 
coordinate and promote the status of men's health in the United 
States.''.
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