[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1734 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1734

     To provide for prostate cancer imaging research and education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 28, 2007

Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Kerry) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To provide for prostate cancer imaging research and education.

    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 ``Prostate Research, Imaging, and 
Men's Education Act'' or the ``PRIME Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Prostate cancer has reached epidemic proportions, 
        particularly among African-American men, and strikes and kills 
        men in numbers comparable to the number of women who lose their 
        lives from breast cancer.
            (2) Life-saving breakthroughs in screening, diagnosis, and 
        treatment of breast cancer resulted from the development of 
        advanced imaging technologies led by the Federal Government.
            (3) Men should have accurate and affordable prostate cancer 
        screening exams and minimally-invasive treatment tools, similar 
        to what women have for breast cancer.
            (4) While it is important for men to take advantage of 
        current prostate cancer screening techniques, a recent NCI-
        funded study demonstrated that the most common available 
        methods of detecting prostate cancer (PSA blood test and 
        physical exams) are not foolproof, causing numerous false 
        alarms and false reassurances.
            (5) The absence of advanced imaging technologies for 
        prostate cancer causes the lack of accurate information 
        critical for clinical decisions, resulting in missed cancers 
        and lost lives, as well as unnecessary and costly medical 
        procedures, with related complications.
            (6) With prostate imaging tools, men and their families 
        would face less physical, psychological, financial and 
        emotional trauma and billions of dollars could be saved in 
        private and public health care systems.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROSTATE CANCER IMAGING 
              TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Expansion of Research.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary''), acting through 
the Director of the National Institutes of Health and in consultation 
with the Secretary of Defense, shall carry out a program to expand and 
intensify research to develop innovative advanced imaging technologies 
for prostate cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment comparable to 
state-of-the-art mammography technologies.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2008 through 2012.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.

    (a) National Campaign.--The Secretary shall carry out a national 
campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of Americans with 
respect to the need for prostate cancer screening and for improved 
detection technologies.
    (b) Requirements.--The national campaign conducted under subsection 
(a) shall include--
            (1) roles for the Health Resources Services Administration, 
        the Office on Minority Health of the Department of Health and 
        Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
        and the Office of Minority Health of the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention; and
            (2) the development and distribution of written educational 
        materials, and the development and placing of public service 
        announcements, that are intended to encourage men to seek 
        prostate cancer screening and to create awareness of the need 
        for improved imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection 
        and minimally invasive treatment.
    (c) Racial Disparities.--In developing the national campaign under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall recognize and address the racial 
disparities in the incidences of prostate cancer and mortality rates 
with respect to such disease.
    (d) Grants.--The Secretary shall establish a program to award 
grants to nonprofit private entities to enable such entities to test 
alternative outreach and education strategies to increase the awareness 
and knowledge of Americans with respect to the need for prostate cancer 
screening and improved imaging technologies.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2008 through 2012.

SEC. 5. IMPROVING PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING BLOOD TESTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary 
of Defense, shall carry out research to develop an improved prostate 
cancer screening blood test using in-vitro detection.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2008 through 2012.

SEC. 6. REPORTING AND COMPLIANCE.

    (a) Report and Strategy.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
that details the strategy of the Secretary for implementing the 
requirements of this Act and the status of such efforts.
    (b) Full Compliance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) contains assurances that the provisions of this Act are 
        fully implemented; and
            (2) certifies such compliance, or in the case of a Federal 
        agency that has not complied, an explanation as to such failure 
        to comply.
                                 <all>