DEFENSE WOMEN’S HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER.

SEC. 251. DEFENSE WOMEN’S HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER. (a) Authority To Establish Center.—The Secretary of Defense may establish a Defense Women’s Health Research Center (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Center”) at an existing Department of Defense medical center to serve as the coordinating agent for multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research within the Department of Defense on women’s health issues related to service in the Armed Forces. The Secretary shall determine whether or not to establish the Center not later than May 1, 1994. If established, the Center shall also coordinate with research supported by the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies that is aimed at improving the health of women. (b) Support of Research.—The Center shall support health research into matters relating to the service of women in the military, including the following matters: (1) Combat stress and trauma. (2) Exposure to toxins and other environmental hazards associated with military equipment. (3) Psychology related stress in warfare situations. (4) Mental health, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. (5) Human factor studies related to women in combat areas. 107 STAT. 1607 (c) Competition Requirement Relating to Establishment of Center.—The Center may be established only pursuant to a competition among existing Department of Defense medical centers. (d) Implementation Plan.—The Secretary of Defense shall prepare a plan for the implementation of subsection (a). The plan shall be submitted to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives before May 1, 1994. (e) Activities for Fiscal Year 1994.—During fiscal year 1994, the Center may address the following: (1) Program planning, infrastructure development, baseline information gathering, technology infusion, and connectivity. (2) Management and technical staffing. (3) Data base development of health issues related to service by women on active duty as compared to service by women in the National Guard or Reserves. (4) Research protocols, cohort development, health surveillance, and epidemiologic studies, to be developed in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health whenever possible. (f) Funding.—Of the funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 201, $20,000,000 shall be available for the establishment of the Center or for medical research at existing Department of Defense medical centers into matters relating to service by women in the military. (g) Report.—(1) If the Secretary of Defense determines not to establish a women's health center under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives, not later than May 1, 1994, a report on the plans of the Secretary for the use of the funds described in subsection (f). (2) If the Secretary determines to establish the Center, the Secretary shall, not less than 60 days before the establishment of the Center, submit to those committees a report describing the planned location for the Center and the competitive process used in the selection of that location.