[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1723 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1723

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for 
      the development and operation of research centers regarding 
  environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast 
                                cancer.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 3, 2001

Mrs. Lowey (for herself and Mrs. Myrick) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for 
      the development and operation of research centers regarding 
  environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast 
                                cancer.

    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 ``Breast Cancer and Environmental 
Research Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer 
        deaths among American women.
            (2) More women in the United States are living with breast 
        cancer than any other cancer (excluding skin cancer). 
        Approximately 3 million women in the United States are living 
        with breast cancer: 2 million who have been diagnosed and an 
        estimated 1 million who do not yet know they have the disease.
            (3) Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer 
        among women in the United States and worldwide (excluding skin 
        cancer). In 2001, it is estimated that 233,000 new cases of 
        breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United 
        States: 192,000 invasive breast cancer and 40,800 cases of 
        ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
            (4) Breast cancer is the second leading cause of breast 
        cancer death for women in the United States; approximately 
        40,000 women in the U.S. die from the disease each year. Breast 
        cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for U.S. women 
        between the ages of 20 and 59, and the leading cause of cancer 
        death for women worldwide.
            (5) A woman in the United States has a 1 in 8 chance of 
        developing invasive breast cancer in her lifetime--this risk 
        was 1 in 11 in 1975. In 2001, a new case of breast cancer will 
        be diagnosed every 2 minutes, and a woman will die from breast 
        cancer every 13 minutes.
            (6) All women are at risk for breast cancer. About 90 
        percent of women who develop breast cancer do not have a family 
        history of the disease.
            (7) The National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, a public 
        private partnership, has recognized the importance of expanding 
        the scope and breadth of biomedical, epidemiological, and 
        behavioral research activities related to the etiology of 
        breast cancer and the role of the environment.
            (8) To date, there has been only a limited research 
        investment to expand the scope or coordinate efforts across 
        disciplines or work with the community to study the role of the 
        environment in the development of breast cancer.
            (9) In order to take full advantage of the tremendous 
        potential for avenues of prevention, the Federal investment in 
        the role of the environment and the development of breast 
cancer should be expanded.
            (10) In order to understand the effect of chemicals and 
        radiation on the development of cancer, multi-generational, 
        prospective studies are probably required.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES; AWARDS FOR 
              DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING 
              ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS RELATED TO BREAST CANCER.

    Subpart 12 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 285l et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
section:

``SEC. 463B. RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS RELATED 
              TO BREAST CANCER.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Institute, based on 
recommendations from the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research 
Advisory Panel (hereafter in this section referred to as the `Panel'), 
shall make grants, after a process of peer review and programmatic 
review, to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and 
operation of not more than 8 centers for the purpose of conducting 
multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental 
factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Each such 
center shall be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research 
Center of Excellence. The Panel shall oversee the peer review process 
and shall conduct a programmatic review. The Panel will recommend the 
funding criteria and mechanisms by which the grant funds shall be 
allocated. The Panel shall make final programmatic recommendations on 
allocation of grant funds.
    ``(b) Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Advisory Panel.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish in the 
        Institute of Environmental Health Sciences the Breast Cancer 
        and Environmental Research Panel (hereafter in this section 
        individually referred to as the `Panel').
            ``(2) Membership.--The Panel shall be composed of nine 
        appointed members and nonvoting ex officio members. The 
        Secretary shall appoint--
                    ``(A) six members from physicians, and other health 
                professionals, who are not officers or employees of the 
                United States, and who represent multiple disciplines, 
                including clinical, basic and public health sciences, 
                and also different geographical regions of the country, 
                individuals shall come from practice settings as well 
                as academia and other research settings. Panel members 
                should be experienced in biomedical review; and
                    ``(B) three members from the general public who are 
                consumer representatives who have had breast cancer and 
                who represent a constituency.
            ``(3) Chair.--The members of the Panel shall select a 
        chairman from among the appointed members.
            ``(4) Meetings.--The Panel shall meet at the call of the 
        chairman or upon the request of the Director of the Institute, 
        but not less often than once a year.
    ``(c) Collaboration With Community.--Each center under subsection 
(a) shall establish and maintain ongoing collaborations with community 
organizations in the geographic area served by the center, including 
those that represent women with breast cancer.
    ``(d) Coordination of Centers; Reports.--The Director of the 
Institute shall, as appropriate, provide for the coordination of 
information among centers under subsection (a) and ensure regular 
communication between such centers, and may require the periodic 
preparation of reports on the activities of the centers and the 
submission of the reports to the Director.
    ``(e) Required Consortium.--Each center under subsection (a) shall 
be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting such 
requirements as may be prescribed by the Director of the Institute. 
Each center must require collaboration among highly accomplished 
scientists, other health professionals and advocates of diverse 
backgrounds from various areas of expertise.
    ``(f) Duration of Support.--Support of a center under subsection 
(a) may be for a period not exceeding 5 years. Such period may be 
extended for one or more additional periods not exceeding 5 years if 
the operations of such center have been reviewed by an appropriate 
technical and scientific peer review group established by the Director 
of the Institute and if such group has recommended to the Director that 
such period should be extended.
    ``(g) Geographic Distribution of Centers.--The Director of the 
Institute shall, to the extent practicable, provide for an equitable 
geographical distribution of centers under this section.
    ``(h) Innovative Approaches.--Centers shall use innovative 
approaches to study unexplored or under explored areas of the 
environment and breast cancer.
    ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2007. Such authorization is 
in addition to any other authorization of appropriations that is 
available for such purpose.''.
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