[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2234 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2234

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for expanding, 
  intensifying, and coordinating activities of the Office on Women's 
 Health in the Department of Health and Human Services with respect to 
                     autoimmune diseases in women.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 23, 2002

  Mrs. Boxer 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 provide for expanding, 
  intensifying, and coordinating activities of the Office on Women's 
 Health in the Department of Health and Human Services with respect to 
                     autoimmune diseases in women.

    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 Autoimmune Diseases Research 
and Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) The term ``autoimmune disease'' refers to a varied 
        group of more than 80 serious, chronic illnesses that involve 
        the human organ system, the nervous, gastrointestinal and 
        endocrine systems, the skin and other connective tissues, eyes, 
        and blood and blood vessels.
            (2) These diseases include, but are not limited to, 
        Epstein-Barr virus, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, 
        multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Hashimoto's 
        thyroiditis, Graves' disease, and vasculitis syndromes.
            (3) 50 million Americans are afflicted with some form of 
        autoimmune disease.
            (4) 75 percent of autoimmune diseases occur in women, most 
        frequently during but not limited to the childbearing years.
            (5) Taken together, autoimmune diseases represent the 
        fourth largest cause of disability among women in the United 
        States.
            (6) Female-to-male ratios in autoimmune diseases are 
        dramatically skewed toward women, in some cases by ratios as 
        high as 50 to 1.
            (7) Autoimmune diseases remain among the most poorly 
        understood and poorly recognized of any category of illnesses; 
        while science suggest they may have a genetric component, they 
        can cluster in families as different illnesses.
            (8) To help women live longer, healthier lives, more 
        research is needed to shed light on genetic as well as hormonal 
        and environmental risk factors that contribute to the causes of 
        these diseases, as well as providing early diagnosis and 
        treatment.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION OF ACTIVITIES REGARDING 
              AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES ON WOMEN.

    Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 399O. AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES IN WOMEN.

    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, an `autoimmune disease' means 
an illness in which the body's immune system becomes misdirected, 
attacking the organs it was designed to protect. It includes, but is 
not limited to, Epstein-Barr virus, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, 
scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Hashimoto's 
throiditis, Graves disease, and vasculitis syndromes.
    ``(b) In General.--The Director of the Office on Women's Health in 
the Department of Health and Human Services shall expand, intensify, 
and coordinate research and related activities of the Department with 
respect to autoimmune diseases in women.
    ``(c) Coordination With Other Institutes.--The Director of the 
Office on Women's Health shall coordinate activities under subsection 
(b) with other similar activities conducted by the other 
national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of 
Health to the extent that such Institutes and agencies have 
responsibilities that are related to autoimmune diseases in women.
    ``(d) Certain Programs.--In carrying out subsection (b), the 
Director of the Office of Women's Health shall conduct or support 
research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and develop 
methods for preventing, autoimmune diseases in women. Activities under 
such subsection shall include conducting and supporting the following:
            ``(1) Research to determine the prevalence of autoimmune 
        diseases in women, including African American women and other 
        women who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups.
            ``(2) Basic research concerning the etiology and causes of 
        autoimmune diseases in women, including genetic, hormonal, and 
        environmental factors.
            ``(3) Epidemiological studies to address the frequency and 
        natural history of such diseases and the differences among men 
        and women, and among racial and ethnic groups, with respect to 
        such diseases.
            ``(4) The development of safe, efficient, and cost-
        effective diagnostic approaches to evaluating women with 
        suspected autoimmune diseases.
            ``(5) Clinical research for the development and evaluation 
        of new treatments for women, including rehabilitation.
            ``(6) Studies to gain a better understanding of methods of 
        preventing autoimmune diseases in women.
            ``(7) Information and education programs for patients and 
        health care providers on genetic, hormonal, and environmental 
        risk factors associated with autoimmune diseases in women, and 
        on the importance of the prevention or control of such risk 
        factors and timely referral with appropriate diagnosis and 
        treatment. Such programs shall include information and 
        education on the prevalence and nature of autoimmune diseases 
        in women, and on health-related behaviors that can improve 
        certain risk factors.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2007. The 
authorization of appropriations established in the preceding sentence 
is in addition to any other authorization of appropriation that is 
available for such purpose.''.
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