Tom Harkin: “I am pleased today to join many of my colleagues in support of the ``Women's Health Research and Prevention Amendments…”

“I am pleased today to join many of my colleagues in support of the ``Women's Health Research and Prevention Amendments of 1998.'' This legislation, introduced by my distinguished colleague, Senator Bill Frist, and cosponsored by nearly all the members of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, is an important step forward in the study and prevention of diseases and conditions unique to women. In the late 1980's, I learned that there was an embarrassing lack of research on diseases and conditions prevalent in women. In addition, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported that women were routinely excluded from medical research studies at NIH. Because of this information, in 1990, I fought for legislation creating the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since its creation, the Office successfully worked to ensure that research focuses on women's health and that women be included in clinical trials. Senator Frist's legislation builds upon the base of research and prevention knowledge we have developed over the past few years. The bill reauthorizes essential programs relating to women's health research at NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”