[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 19 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WOMEN'S HEALTH OFFICE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2005

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, today, along with my colleague 
Representative Deborah Pryce, I have introduced a bill that makes 
women's health a priority. On September 17, 2002, the House passed the 
Women's Health Office Act, legislation that would provide statutory 
authority to five federal women's health offices. Unfortunately, the 
other body did not consider this legislation before the end of the 
107th Congress so it was never signed into law.
  Currently, only two women's health offices are federally authorized 
and protected by law: the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) 
at the National Institutes of Health, and the Office for Women's 
Services at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA). These offices provide critical health research 
services to the women of this country.
  Statutory authorization is not provided for the federal offices and 
positions residing in the Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the 
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA). I believe it is important to give statutory 
authority to these offices.
  Enactment of the Women's Health Office Act will ensure that the needs 
and gaps in research, policy, programs, and education and training in 
women's health will continue to receive the attention they require in 
the 21st century.

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