[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5624 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5624

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2006

    Mr. Fossella (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. 
Gilchrest, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Holden, Mr. Holt, Mr. Issa, Mrs. 
  Johnson of Connecticut, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr. King of New 
   York, Mr. Lantos, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. 
 McNulty, Mrs. Musgrave, Mr. Owens, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Payne, Mr. Rangel, 
Mr. Rogers of Michigan, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Weldon of 
 Pennsylvania, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, and Mr. Wynn) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The 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 2002.
            (6) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer 
        in the United States among men, accounting for 33 percent of 
        all cancer cases.
            (7) An estimated 230,000 men will be newly diagnosed with 
        prostate cancer this year alone, and approximately 30,000 will 
        die.
            (8) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with age, and 
        more than 75 percent of such cases are diagnosed in men age 65 
        and older.
            (9) The incidence of prostate cancer and the resulting 
        mortality rate in African American men is twice that in white 
        men.
            (10) Over 8,000 men, ages 15 to 40, will be diagnosed this 
        year with testicular cancer, and 390 of these men will die of 
        this disease in 2005. A common reason for delay in treatment of 
        this disease is a delay in seeking medical attention after 
        discovering a testicular mass.
            (11) Studies show that women are 100 percent more likely 
        than men to visit a doctor, have regular physician check-ups, 
        and obtain preventive screening tests for serious diseases.
            (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 
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.''.
    (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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