107th Congress

Prostate Cancer

H.R. 281, H.R. 632, H.R. 1218, S. Res. 138, and S. Res. 325

Background

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. Current statistics indicate that of all the men who are diagnosed with cancer each year, more than one-fourth will have prostate cancer. Black men in the United States have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world. Asian and Native American men have the lowest rate. Although the incidence rate has begun to decline, several Members of Congress have expressed concern and have introduced legislation to increase funds going to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research on prostate cancer.

Of particular interest to NIH are H.R. 281, the Taxpayers' Cancer Research Funding Act of 2001; H.R. 632, the Men's Health Act of 2001; H.R. 1218, the African American Health Initiative Act of 2001; and S. Res. 138 and S. Res. 325, a resolution that designates September 2001 as "National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month."

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

H.R. 281—Taxpayers' Cancer Research Funding Act of 2001

H.R. 281, the Taxpayers' Cancer Research Funding Act of 2001, introduced by Representative Peter King (R-NY), would have established within the U.S. Department of the Treasury a trust fund to be known as the Breast and Prostate Cancer Research Fund. When filing an income tax return, individuals would have been given the opportunity of designating $5 (or $10 in the case of a joint return) to be paid to the fund. The money in the fund would have been made available for making research grants to a "qualified person selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)," through the peer-review process, to conduct research with respect to breast and prostate cancer. This money was to supplement, not supplant, existing funds for breast and prostate cancer research. H.R. 281 was identical to H.R. 547, introduced by Representative King in the 106th Congress.

H.R. 632—Men's Health Act of 2001

H.R. 632, the Men's Health Act of 2001, introduced by Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), would have amended the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men's Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) would have coordinated and promoted the status of men's health in the United States through the Director of the Office. The Secretary of HHS would have been required to submit a report describing the activities of the Office and the findings regarding men's health, not later than 2 years after the enactment of this legislation. (See the article entitled "Men's Health.")

H.R. 1218—African American Health Initiative Act of 2001

H.R. 1218, the African American Health Initiative Act of 2001, introduced by Representative Joe Baca (D-CA), would have provided grants to public entities or nonprofit, private community organizations for demonstration projects to conduct targeted health campaigns. These projects would have identified the best ways to reach African-American individuals in the population by designing culturally relevant health care messages and creating effective outreach programs and tools to reduce health risks.

One of the five goals of the projects would have been to reduce the incidence of death due to prostate cancer by increasing the number of African-American men screened and referred for treatment. Three of the studies would have been carried out in urban areas and two would have been carried out in rural areas over a 5-year period. A report from the Secretary of HHS describing the projects and the extent to which they had met their goals would have been required to be submitted to Congress not later than June 8, 2008.

S. Res. 138 and S. Res. 325—Resolution Designating the Month of September 2001 and September 2002 as "National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month"

S. Res. 138 was introduced by Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), and S. Res. 325 was introduced by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL). The resolutions declared that the Federal Government has a responsibility to increase prostate cancer research funding, raise prostate cancer screening awareness, and improve access to health care services for detecting and treating prostate cancer.

Status and Outlook

Although there was no further action on this legislation, it is anticipated that similar legislation will be introduced in the 108th Congress.

H.R. 281 was introduced on January 30, 2001, and was referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Ways and Means. On February 14, H.R. 281 was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

H.R. 632 was introduced on February 14, 2001, and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On March 14, the bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. The Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on June 27

H.R. 1218 was introduced on March 27, 2001, and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On April 16, the bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

S. Res. 138 was introduced on July 23, 2001, and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. On August 2, the Committee reported the bill favorably with amendments and without a written report. It was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders on August 2; on August 3, the resolution passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

S. Res. 325 was introduced on September 12, 2002, and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. On September 30, the Senate Judiciary Committee discharged the bill by unanimous consent, and it passed the Senate the same day by unanimous consent.