Congress is considering a bill that would establish an Office of Men's Health within the Department of Health and Human Services. The proposal is backed by male advocacy groups such as the Men's Health Network and Men's Health America, who claim that similar advocacy on behalf of women has led to the relative neglect of men's health needs—prostate and testicular cancer as well as generally higher mortality rates. Advocates note a sharp decrease in the percentage of men enrolled in studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, from 45 percent in 1994 to 19 percent today. As of 1990, the National Cancer Institute spent $81 million on breast cancer research, but only $13.2 million on prostate cancer, which causes nearly as many deaths, albeit at a later age.

Men's groups also advocate universal, regular prostate cancer screening for men over 50, even though there is vigorous disagreement among medical authorities over its supposed benefits. A similar controversy erupted in 1997, when, following a severe browbeating from the Senate, the NIH reversed its position that annual mammograms should not be recommended for all women in their 40s. A panel determined that the risk of a false positive diagnosis and unnecessary surgery most likely outweighed the benefits of mammography for women at that age.

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