[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E3-E4]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE RESEARCH CRITICAL ON WOMEN'S HEALTH AND 
                   ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTERS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 3, 2001

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to introduce a very important 
bill that will enhance scientific research analyzing the relationship 
between women's health and the environment: the Women's Health 
Environmental Research Centers Act. This legislation seeks to address 
the current lack of initiatives specifically examining women's health 
in connection with the environment.
  Scientists have recently uncovered startling linkages between 
environment exposures and disorders like Parkinson's Disease. These new 
findings have particular significance for women. Women may be at 
greater risk for disease associated to environmental exposures due to 
several factors, including body fat and size, a slower metabolism of 
toxic substances, hormone levels, and for many, more exposure to 
household cleaning reagents.
  The Pew Environmental Health Commission just released the results of 
an 18 month study in which they found that the nation suffers from a 
troubling shortage of strong leadership in environmental health. The 
Pew report stressed that an understanding of environmental factors 
offers the best disease prevention and cost saving opportunities. Among 
the recommendations of the Pew report is the development of a 
nationwide tracking network for environment toxins and disease. The 
Commission is strongly urging the incoming Administration to strengthen 
our public health infrastructure. During the current fiscal year, 
Congress has already asked the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) to develop a nationwide tracking network so we can 
begin to associate disease with certain environmental toxins, genetic 
susceptibility and lifestyle. I was proud to lead a group of my 
colleagues in writing to CDC Director Koplan to urge that this project 
be undertaken quickly and given priority by the agency.
  Over the past decade, evidence has accumulated linking effects of the 
environment on women and reproductive health, cancer, injury, asthma, 
autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple 
sclerosis, birth defects, Parkinson's Disease, mental retardation

[[Page E4]]

and lead poisoning. Lead and other heavy metals found in the 
environment have been implicated in increased bone loss and 
osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.
  Chronic diseases like those listed above account for 3 out of 4 
deaths in the U.S. annually. One hundred million Americans, more than a 
third of the population, suffer from some form of chronic disease. And 
chronic conditions are on the rise. Rates of learning disabilities have 
risen 50 percent in the last decade. Endocrine and metabolic diseases 
such as diabetes and neurological diseases such as migraine headaches 
and multiple sclerosis increased 20 percent between 1986 and 1995.
  The New York Breast Cancer Study found that women carrying a mutant 
form of a breast cancer gene are at higher risk of developing breast or 
ovarian cancer if they were born after 1940, as compared to women with 
the same mutant genes before 1940. This suggests that
  The interaction between environmental factors and one's genes also 
affect susceptibility to disease. This will be a major area of research 
now that the Human Genome Project has been completed and new disease-
related genes are being found at a rapid pace.
  While the scientific community has become increasingly aware of the 
unique susceptibilities of women to environmental and chemical 
exposures, our understanding of how these exposures contribute to the 
diseases of women, and how they interact with genetic factors, is quite 
negligible. It has been difficult to determine which genes are 
susceptible to certain environmental toxins because of the lack of 
large scale studies and centralized data collection. It is time we 
looked at these possible exposures and their effects from a variety of 
disciplines--oncology, microbiology, endocrinology and epidemiology.
  Current scientific findings indicate that environmental factors 
affect women's health. For example:
  More than 8 million Americans have autoimmune diseases. Most are 
several times more common in women than in men. More than 90% of 
patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) are women.
  Studies have shown that occupational exposure to silica is related to 
SLE and other diseases. These occupations include mining, pottery and 
glass making, farming and construction.
  Exposure to nitrous oxide (laughing gas) by women dental assistants 
has been correlated to a severe decrease in fertility according to one 
study.
  Over 9 million working women also have serious back pain. Women are 
twice as likely to endure job related injuries and illnesses than men.
  Dioxin exposure is a key factor in cancers and other reproductive 
health factors such as endometriosis, fertility and birth defects. 
Dioxins, which include 219 different chemicals and polychlorinated 
biphenyls (PCBs), have been found to disrupt human endocrine systems.
  More than 70,000 synthetic chemicals are in commercial use today, 
with an estimated 1000 new chemicals being introduced each year. Most 
Americans would be shocked to learn that only a handful of these 
chemicals have ever been adequately tested to determine their effect on 
humans (full data exists for only about 7% of these chemicals).
  The evidence is clear and accumulating daily that the byproducts of 
our technology are linked to illness and disease and that women are 
especially susceptible to these environmental health related problems. 
We need research programs that are specifically targeted towards 
women's health. The passage of the Women's Health Environmental 
Research Centers Act is a crucial step toward establishing the valuable 
and needed basic research on the interactions between women's health 
and the environment.
  This legislation has the strong support of a range of organizations, 
including the Society for Women's Health Research, the National Women's 
Health Network, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and 
Neonatal Nurses, and Physicians for Social Responsibility. I am proud 
to have as original cosponsors two distinguished colleagues: Rep. Sue 
Kelly of New York, a long-time activist on women's health issues, and 
Rep. David Price, who represents the Research Triangle area of North 
Carolina, where the National Institute for Environmental Health 
Sciences is located.
  The Women's Health Environmental Research Centers Act is a simple, 
common-sense step Congress can take toward filling the current gaps in 
women's health research. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this 
legislation and support its speedy passage.

                          ____________________