[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3215 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3215

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize women's health 
 research award programs conducted through the National Institutes of 
                                Health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            October 18 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

  Mr. Harkin 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 reauthorize women's health 
 research award programs conducted through the National Institutes of 
                                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 ``Women's Health Research Career 
Enhancement Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Public Health Service's Task Force on Women's 
        Health Issues concluded in 1985 that women's health care was 
        compromised by the lack of research focus on women's health 
        concerns. Since then, progress has been made to expand women's 
        health research, but more can be done to strengthen our 
        nation's capacity to aggressively investigate the diseases and 
        conditions primarily affecting women.
            (2) A growing body of evidence demonstrates dramatic 
        differences between women's and men's biology, including 
        symptoms of disease, mechanism of disease and responses to 
        treatment.
            (3) Women and men differ in disease presentation and 
        treatment outcomes of coronary heart disease. Women comprise 80 
        percent of the population suffering from osteoporosis. Women 
        comprise 75 percent of those afflicted with autoimmune 
        diseases. Women and men metablolize food, alcohol, medication, 
        and atmospheric toxins differently.
            (4) Scientific research will reap maximum returns when it 
        involves teams of investigators with expertise in various 
        disciplines. A comprehensive, targeted effort is necessary to 
        develop a multi-disciplinary cadre of researchers with the 
        interest and expertise to develop the field of gender based 
        health research so that it has the greatest impact on all women 
        and men.
            (5) Mentoring between junior and senior scientists is 
        vitally important to promoting an inclusive and diverse 
        research environment, leading to the retention and advancement 
        of talented scientists from all segments of the population and 
        enhancing the nation's investment in treatments and cures for 
        the diseases and conditions that affect Americans.
            (6) The Women's Reproductive Health Research Career 
        Development Centers and the Building Interdisciplinary Research 
        Careers in Women's Health grant programs have stimulated 
        women's health research across a variety of disciplines.
            (7) Expanding the initiatives described in paragraph (6) 
        will speed breakthroughs in women's health research by building 
        and improving the network of scientific investigators who are 
        experts in the diseases and conditions that affect women.

SEC. 3. BUILDING INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CAREERS IN WOMEN'S HEALTH.

    Part A of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 310A. BUILDING INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CAREERS IN WOMEN'S 
              HEALTH.

    ``(a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of the section to provide funding 
to enable the Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health, in 
coordination with the Director of the National Institute of Child 
Health and Human Development and other Institutes and centers of the 
National Institutes of Health, to carry out the Building 
Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health program (as 
authorized under section 301) to support the career development of 
scientists who are commencing basic, translational, clinical, 
behavioral or health services research relevant to women's health in an 
interdisciplinary scientific setting.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2001 through 2006 to enable the Director of the Office of Research on 
Women's Health to carry out the program described in subsection (a).
    ``(c) Requirements for Grants.--
            ``(1) Eligibility.--In making awards under the program 
        described in subsection (a), the Director of the Office of 
        Research on Women's Health, acting through the Director of the 
        National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and 
        other Institutes and centers of the National Institutes of 
        Health, shall, with respect to an institution, consider--
                    ``(A) domestic for-profit and nonprofit, non-
                Federal, public or private organizations;
                    ``(B) the extent to which the institution has the 
                clinical specialities and subspecialities, and the 
                clinical and research facilities, sufficient to meet 
                the objective of the program of bridging clinical or 
                post-doctoral training with a career in 
                interdisciplinary research relevant to women's health; 
                and
                    ``(C) other factors determined appropriate by the 
                Directors.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--With respect to the program 
        described in subsection (a), nothing in this subsection shall 
        be construed to prohibit the application by the Director of the 
        Office of Research on Women's Health of eligibility or other 
        requirements, including requirements applied to applicants 
        under such program in the fiscal year prior to the date of 
        enactment of this section.''.

SEC. 3. WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT 
              CENTERS.

    Part A of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 
et seq.), as amended by section 3, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 310B. WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT 
              CENTERS.

    ``(a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to provide for 
the funding of Women's Reproductive Health Research Career Development 
Centers to enable the Director of the National Institute of Child 
Health and Human Development, in collaboration with the Director of the 
National Institutes of Health, to--
            ``(1) assist in improving the health of women and infants 
        by training new researchers in reproductive health science;
            ``(2) address concerns raised in a recent study by the 
        National Research Council about the declining number of 
        physician-investigators; and
            ``(3) provide newly trained obstetric-gynecologic 
        clinicians with training and support, through the Women's 
        Reproductive Health Research Career Development Centers, to 
        assist in such clinicians in their pursuit of research careers 
        to address problems in women's obstetric and gynecologic 
        health.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2001 through 2006 to enable the Director of the National Institute of 
Child Health and Human Development to fund Women's Reproductive Health 
Research Career Development Centers for the purposes described in 
subsection (a).
    ``(c) Rule of Construction.--With respect to the program described 
in subsection (a), nothing in this section shall be construed to 
prohibit the application by the Director of the National Institute of 
Child Health and Human Development of eligibility or other 
requirements, including requirements applied to applicants under such 
program, in the fiscal year prior to the date of enactment of this 
section.''.
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