[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1750 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1750

 Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the National Institutes of Health 
Office of Research on Women's Health and its continuing leadership and 
   achievements in conducting and supporting biomedical research to 
                        improve women's health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 2, 2010

 Ms. Slaughter (for herself, Ms. Berkley, Mrs. Capps, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. 
 Farr, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Moore of 
 Wisconsin, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Stark, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mr. 
 Waxman) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the National Institutes of Health 
Office of Research on Women's Health and its continuing leadership and 
   achievements in conducting and supporting biomedical research to 
                        improve women's health.

Whereas the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's 
        Health (ORWH) is a leader in the national commitment to research, 
        research training, and science-based education programs on women's 
        health and sex differences research;
Whereas the ORWH was originally established in 1990 in response to 
        congressional, scientific, and advocacy concerns regarding the lack of 
        systemic and consistent inclusion of women in NIH-funded clinical 
        research, and the lack of scientific data and information regarding the 
        health of women;
Whereas the ORWH has made significant progress in developing and implementing 
        policies to ensure the inclusion of women in NIH clinical research, and 
        thus encouraged the increased reporting in scientific literature of sex 
        and gender-related factors in health and clinical trial analysis;
Whereas the ORWH initiated the ``Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in 
        Women's Health'' program in 1999 and has supported the career 
        development and advancement of approximately 400 early-stage research 
        scientists to become independent researchers and obtain academic 
        promotions at major research institutions throughout the United States;
Whereas the ORWH initiated the ``Specialized Centers of Research on Sex and 
        Gender Factors Affecting Women's Health'' program in 2002 to support 
        interdisciplinary and sex differences research, from basic to 
        translational to clinical investigations, by accomplished scientists who 
        in 2009 alone published 116 journal articles, 176 abstracts, and 63 
        other publications;
Whereas the ORWH collaborates with NIH Institutes and Centers to support basic, 
        clinical, population, and translational research in laboratory, clinic, 
        and community settings throughout the United States;
Whereas the ORWH pursues research efforts to benefit all individuals burdened by 
        diseases and disorders within the ORWH's mission, including both men and 
        women, older and younger adults, children, minority populations who are 
        disproportionately affected by many of these diseases, and people from 
        economically disadvantaged backgrounds and other understudied or 
        underrepresented populations;
Whereas ORWH-supported research has dramatically increased vital understanding 
        of sex differences research, from single cells to multiple biological 
        systems and mechanisms, thus prompting sex differences research in 
        endocrinology, immunology, epigenetics, systems biology, neuroscience, 
        as well as in new technology-enabled fields such as genomics, 
        proteomics, and metabolomics;
Whereas research conducted and supported by the ORWH has been instrumental in 
        revolutionizing policies, research, and programs focusing on the health, 
        prevention, diagnostic, and treatment strategies for girls, women, and 
        their families, leading to remarkable improvements in health and quality 
        of life;
Whereas the ORWH additionally sponsors education and outreach programs, with 
        materials tailored for diverse audiences, to improve women's health by 
        disseminating science-based information to women and their families, 
        those at risk for disease, health care educators, and the general 
        public;
Whereas the ORWH has initiated or participated in collaborative and coordinated 
        research efforts and science-based public education programs in order to 
        maximize the Federal investment in research and synergize expertise 
        across the NIH or with other Federal agencies, and with public and 
        private organizations;
Whereas ORWH has just completed a farsighted research agenda for the next 
        decade, ``Moving Into the Future With New Dimensions and Strategies: A 
        Vision for 2020 for Women's Health Research'' that is based on the 
        culmination of a 2-year strategic planning process, involving more than 
        1,500 leading scientists, women's health advocates, public policy 
        experts, health care providers, Federal, State, and local elected 
        officials, and the general public in 5 regional scientific meetings;
Whereas the ORWH research agenda is visionary and addresses six major goals 
        including increasing study of sex differences in basic research studies, 
        incorporating findings of sex differences in the design and application 
        of new technologies, medical devices, and therapeutic drugs, actualizing 
        personalized prevention, diagnostics, and therapeutics for girls and 
        women, creating strategic alliances and partnerships in order to 
        maximize the national and international impact of women's health 
        research, developing and implementing new communication and social 
        networking technologies to increase understanding and appreciation of 
        women's health research, and employing innovative strategies to build a 
        well-trained, diverse, and vibrant women's health research workforce; 
        and
Whereas ORWH-supported initiatives and programs continue to make strides 
        addressing the expanded concepts of women's health across the entire 
        lifespan of a woman, while continuing to explore understudied areas of 
        reproductive health and the menopausal transition, developing distinct 
        research career paths for investigators in women's health, sex 
        differences, and interdisciplinary research, increasing the number of 
        investigator-initiated women's health research studies in areas such as 
        cardiovascular disease and stroke, musculoskeletal and immune disorders, 
        and mental health and substance abuse, thus increasing the scientific 
        knowledge on the health, diseases, disorders, and conditions that affect 
        diverse populations of women: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the National 
        Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health 
        (ORWH) and commends the ORWH for its leadership in research, 
        research training, and science-based education programs;
            (2) recognizes the ORWH-supported extramural and intramural 
        scientists whose studies have improved women's health, and 
        whose research continues to yield promising discoveries;
            (3) recognizes the volunteers who participate in clinical 
        studies and the patient and professional health organizations 
        who contribute to the shared research goals of preventing, 
        treating, and curing the diseases and disorders within the 
        ORWH's mission; and
            (4) reaffirms its support for the ORWH and its continued 
        commitment to research to improve women's health.
                                 <all>