I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 2717
To direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to take certain steps regarding research related to menopause,
perimenopause, or mid-life women’s health, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL8, 2025
Ms. H
OULAHAN(for herself and Mrs. BICE) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to take certain steps regarding research
related to menopause, perimenopause, or mid-life wom-
en’s health, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Servicewomen and Vet-4
erans Menopause Research Act’’. 5
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SEC. 2. EVALUATION OF CERTAIN RESEARCH RELATED TO 1
MENOPAUSE, PERIMENOPAUSE, OR MID-LIFE 2
WOMEN’S HEALTH. 3
(a) I
NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in co-4
ordination with Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall evalu-5
ate— 6
(1) the results of completed research related to 7
menopause, perimenopause, or mid-life women’s 8
health among women who are members of the 9
Armed Forces or veterans; 10
(2) the status of such research that is ongoing; 11
(3) any gaps in knowledge and research on— 12
(A) treatments, including hormone and 13
non-hormone treatments, for menopause-related 14
symptoms; 15
(B) the safety and effectiveness of treat-16
ments for menopause-related symptoms; 17
(C) the relation of service in the Armed 18
Forces to perimenopause and menopause and 19
the impact of such service on perimenopause 20
and menopause; 21
(D) the effect of combat roles on symp-22
toms relating to perimenopause and menopause, 23
including exposure to burn pits, toxic chemicals, 24
and PFAS; and 25
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(E) the impact of perimenopause and 1
menopause on the mental health of women who 2
are members of the Armed Forces or veterans; 3
(4) the availability of and uptake of professional 4
training resources for covered providers relating to 5
mid-life women’s health with respect to the care, 6
treatment, and management of perimenopause and 7
menopausal symptoms, and related support services; 8
and 9
(5) the availability of and uptake of treatments 10
for women who are members of the Armed Forces 11
or veterans who are experiencing perimenopause or 12
menopause. 13
(b) R
EPORT; STRATEGICPLAN.—Not later than 180 14
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-15
retary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 16
shall each submit to Congress a report containing— 17
(1) the findings of the evaluation conducted 18
under subsection (a); 19
(2) recommendations for improving professional 20
training resources described in subsection (a)(4) for 21
covered providers; and 22
(3) a strategic plan that— 23
(A) resolves the gaps in knowledge and re-24
search identified in the report; and 25
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(B) identifies topics in need of further re-1
search relating to potential treatments for 2
menopause-related symptoms of women who are 3
members of the Armed Forces or veterans. 4
(c) N
ONDUPLICATION AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF 5
E
FFORTS.—In carrying out activities under this section, 6
the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 7
Affairs shall ensure that such activities supplement, and 8
minimize the duplication of, existing efforts of the Sec-9
retary of Health and Human Services to share information 10
regarding matters described in subsection (a). 11
(d) D
EFINITIONS.—In this section: 12
(1) The term ‘‘covered provider’’ means a 13
health care provider who is an employee of the De-14
partment of Defense or the Department of Veterans 15
Affairs. 16
(2) The term ‘‘menopause’’— 17
(A) means the stage of a woman’s life 18
when menstruation stops permanently and she 19
can no longer get pregnant; and 20
(B) is not a disease state, but a normal 21
part of aging for women. 22
(3) The term ‘‘mid-life’’ means a life stage for 23
a woman that— 24
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(A) coincides with perimenopause, which 1
may be physical or emotional; 2
(B) encompasses the late reproductive age, 3
which can begin at approximately 35 years of 4
age, to late postmenopausal stages, which can 5
extend to approximately 65 years of age, of re-6
productive aging; and 7
(C) often marks the onset of many chronic 8
diseases. 9
(4) The term ‘‘perimenopause’’— 10
(A) mean the time when levels of the hor-11
mone estrogen fall unevenly in a woman’s body; 12
and 13
(B) is also called the menopausal transi-14
tion. 15
(5) The term ‘‘PFAS’’ means perfluoroalkyl 16
and polyfluoroalkyl substances. 17
(6) The term ‘‘postmenopausal’’ means a pe-18
riod— 19
(A) that begins after a woman has not 20
menstruated for 12 months and lasts thereafter 21
for the rest of the woman’s life; and 22
(B) during which a woman is at increased 23
risk for osteoporosis and heart disease. 24
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SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ADDITIONAL RESEARCH 1
RELATED TO MENOPAUSE, PERIMENOPAUSE, 2
OR MID-LIFE WOMEN’S HEALTH. 3
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of De-4
fense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should each 5
conduct research related to menopause, perimenopause, or 6
mid-life health regarding women who are members of the 7
Armed Forces or veterans. 8
Æ
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