[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1028 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1028

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 8, 2003

   Mr. Crapo 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 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) A silent health crisis is affecting the health and 
        well-being of America's men.
            (2) While this health crisis is of particular concern to 
        men, it is also a concern for women regarding their fathers, 
        husbands, sons, and brothers.
            (3) Men's health is a concern for employers who pay the 
        costs of medical care, and lose productive employees.
            (4) Men's health is a concern to Federal and State 
        governments which absorb the enormous costs of premature death 
        and disability, including the costs of caring for dependents 
        left behind.
            (5) The life expectancy gap between men and women has 
        increased from one year in 1920 to almost six years in 2001.
            (6) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer 
        in the United States among men, accounting for 30 percent of 
        all cancer cases in men.
            (7) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly diagnosed with 
        prostate cancer this year alone, and over 30,000 will die.
            (8) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with age, and 
        more than 70 percent of such cases are diagnosed in men age 65 
        and older.
            (9) The incidence of prostate cancer is significantly 
        higher in African-American men and the resulting mortality rate 
        is twice that in white men.
            (10) An estimated 7,500 men, ages 15 to 40, will be 
        diagnosed this year with testicular cancer, and 400 of these 
        men will die of this disease in 2003. A common reason for delay 
        in treatment of this disease is a delay in seeking medical 
        attention after discovering a testicular mass.
            (11) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the rate of doctor visits for such reasons as 
        annual examinations and preventive services is 100 percent 
        higher for women more than for men.
            (12) 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.
            (13) 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.
            (14) Recent scientific studies have shown that regular 
        medical exams, preventive screenings, regular exercise, and 
        healthy eating habits can help save lives.
            (15) 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 OF MEN'S HEALTH.

    (a) In General.--Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                        ``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.''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Director of the Office of Men's Health, shall submit 
to the Congress a report describing the activities of such Office, 
including findings that the Director has made regarding men's health.
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