[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1440 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1440

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2007

Mr. Fossella (for himself and Mr. Hill) 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 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Risks to the health and well-being of America's men are 
        on the rise due to a lack of education, awareness, and pursuit 
        of preventive screening and care.
            (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 important to 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) It is estimated that in 2007, 115,000 men will be 
        diagnosed with lung cancer, and another 90,000 of America's men 
        will die from it.
            (11) 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 2007. A common reason for delay in treatment of 
        this disease is a delay in seeking medical attention after 
        discovering a testicular mass.
            (12) According to the Census Bureau, by the time men and 
        women reach age 65, the ratio of men to women reduces to 85 to 
        100. The growing disparity in this statistic suggests that, 
        among other factors, the declining health of men increases the 
        risk of women entering retirement age as widows.
            (13) 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.
            (14) 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.
            (15) Educating men, their families, and health care 
        providers about the importance of early detection of male 
        health problems can reduce mortality rates for male-specific 
        disease and improve the overall health and well-being of 
        America's men.
            (16) Recent scientific studies show that regular medical 
        exams, preventive screenings, regular exercise, and healthy 
        eating habits can help save lives.
            (17) 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.  (a) The Secretary shall establish within the 
Department of Health and Human Services an office to be known as the 
Office of Men's Health (in this section referred to as the `Office'), 
which shall be headed by a director appointed by the Secretary.
    ``(b) The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office, 
shall--
            ``(1) conduct or support programs and activities to improve 
        the state of men's health in the United States; and
            ``(2) provide for consultation among the offices and 
        agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services for the 
        purpose of coordinating programs and activities relating to 
        men's health.''.
    (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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