Whereas 6,500,000 women in the United States are living with endometriosis; Whereas endometriosis is a chronic disease affecting 176,000,000 women throughout the world and an estimated 1 in 10 women in the United States ages 18 through 49; Whereas medical societies and patient groups including the Endometriosis Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the American Social Health Association all have expressed the need for greater public attention and updated resources targeted to public education about this unmet health need for women; Whereas endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to that normally found in the uterus begins to grow outside the uterus; Whereas, while endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological disorders in the United States, there is a lack of awareness and prioritization of endometriosis as an important health issue for women; Whereas women can suffer up to 6 to 10 years before properly diagnosed; Whereas approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of all women with endometriosis will have difficulty getting pregnant; Whereas endometriosis is a painful and debilitating disorder; Whereas endometriosis is associated with increased health care costs and poses a substantial burden to patients in the health care system; Whereas the total annual direct health care cost of symptoms associated with endometriosis is $56,000,000,000, or nearly $11,000 per patient; Whereas 51 percent of endometriosis patients report that the disease detrimentally affects their performance of their job; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the average number of bed days for patients with endometriosis was 18 days per year; Whereas women with endometriosis can lose 11 hours per work week through lost productivity; Whereas, in 2010, endometriosis patients were hospitalized over 100,000 days because of this disease