Pryce Introduces Legislation to Further Federal Commitment to Women’s Health

Legislation would put in statute five federal women’s health offices

WASHINGTON –Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH) today introduced legislation that will further prioritize the federal government’s commitment to women’s health.  Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) partnered with Rep. Pryce to champion this bipartisan initiative.

Pryce said, “While we have come a long way over the last several decades in recognizing the unique health needs of women in this country, there is still work to be done.  Heart disease strikes women on average ten years later than men, and women are more likely than men to have a second heart attack within a year of the first one.  Why is this?  The offices of women’s health are asking tough questions like this one, and others.  They’re providing critical research and information services to women in Ohio and across the country, and we want to solidify our commitment to their missions by making them permanent.”

“Having just celebrated Mother’s Day, I can think of no better way to show our mothers and daughters that the federal government is committed to ensuring that these critical programs conducting prevention, treatment, and research will carry on in the years ahead,” said Pryce.

While several offices of women’s health exist within the federal government, only two are federally authorized and protected by law: the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health, and the Office for Women’s Services at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 

The Women’s Health Office Act would provide the statutory authority to five additional federal women’s health offices in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. 

The House has already demonstrated its support for this legislation.  In September 2002, the House passed the Women’s Health Office Act, but the Senate did not consider the bill before the end of the 107^th Congress.

On a related note, National Women’s Check-Up Day was celebrated on Monday, May 10^th, the day after Mother’s Day.  This day marked the kick-off of National Women’s Health Week, a nationwide effort, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to encourage women to visit health care professionals to receive regular, preventive check-ups and screenings. 

Women can prepare themselves for their check-ups with the Department of Health and Human Service’s "A Checklist for Your Next check-up."  This checklist can be found by visiting: www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthywom.htm.  For more information about other National Women’s Health Week activities, visit www.4women.gov/whw or call 1-800-994-WOMAN.