I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4260

To improve and protect the health of all Americans through an increase

in the funding available for health research that holds the promise

of the prevention, cure and treatment for disease and disability.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 20, 1994

Mr. COYNE (for himself, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. UPTON, Mr. COOPER, Mr.

FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. EDDIE

BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LEACH, Mr. MORAN, Mr.

UNDERWOOD, Mr. FORD of Tennessee, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. HOBSON, and

Mrs. MORELLA) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly

to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Government Operations, and Rules

A BILL

To improve and protect the health of all Americans through

an increase in the funding available for health research

that holds the promise of the prevention, cure and treatment for disease and disability.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Health Research Act

5 of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Nearly 4 of 5 peer reviewed research

4 projects deemed worthy of funding by the National

5 Institutes of Health are not funded.

6 (2) Less than 2 percent of the nearly one tril7 lion dollars our Nation spends on health care is de8 voted to health research, while the defense industry

9 spends 15 percent of its budget on research.

10 (3) Public opinion surveys have shown that

11 Americans want more Federal resources put into

12 health research and support by having a portion of

13 their health insurance premiums set aside for this

14 purpose.

15 (4) Ample evidence exists to demonstrate that

16 health research has improved the quality of health

17 care in the United States. Advances such as the de18 velopment of vaccines, the cure of many childhood

19 cancers, drugs that effectively treat a host of dis20 eases and disorders, a process to protect our Na21 tion’s blood supply from the HIV virus, progress

22 against cardiovascular disease including heart attack

23 and stroke, and new strategies for the early detec24 tion and treatment of diseases such as colon, breast,

25 and prostate cancer clearly demonstrates the bene26 fits of health research.
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1 (5) Among the most effective methods to con2 trol health care costs are prevention and cure of dis3 ease and disability, thus, health research which holds

4 the promise of cure and prevention of disease and

5 disability is a critical component of any comprehen6 sive health care reform plan.

7 (6) The state of our Nation’s research facilities

8 at the National Institutes of Health and at univer9 sities is deteriorating significantly. Renovation and

10 repair of these facilities are badly needed to main11 tain and improve the quality of research.

12 (7) Because the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

13 Act of 1993 freezes discretionary spending for the

14 next 5 years, the Nation’s investment in health re15 search through the National Institutes of Health is

16 likely to decline in real terms unless corrective legis17 lative action is taken.

18 (8) A health research fund is needed to main19 tain our Nation’s commitment to health research

20 and to increase the percentage of approved projects

21 which receive funding at the National Institutes of

22 Health to at least 33 percent.

23 SEC. 3. NATIONAL FUND FOR HEALTH RESEARCH.

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

25 Treasury of the United States an account, to be known
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1 as the ‘‘National Fund for Health Research’’ (hereafter

2 referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’), consisting of

3 such amounts as are transferred to the Fund under sub4 section (b) and any interest earned on investment of

5 amounts in the Fund.

6 (b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas8 ury shall transfer to the Fund an amount equal to

9 the amounts designated under paragraph (2) and re10 ceived in the Treasury.

11 (2) AMOUNTS.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each

13 calendar year beginning with the first full cal14 endar year during which a comprehensive

15 health care reform program utilizing a regional

16 and corporate health alliance structure has been

17 implemented, each such alliance shall set aside

18 and transfer to the Treasury of the United

19 States the applicable amount under subpara20 graph (B) and under section 6097 of the Inter21 nal Revenue Code of 1986.

22 (B) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—The applicable

23 amount under this subparagraph with respect

24 to a regional or corporate alliance shall be equal

25 to—
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1 (i) with respect to the first full cal2 endar year described in subparagraph (A),

3 .25 percent of all health premiums received

4 by the alliance for such year;

5 (ii) with respect to the second cal6 endar year described in subparagraph (A),

7 .50 percent of all health premiums received

8 by the alliance for such year;

9 (iii) with respect to the third calendar

10 year described in subparagraph (A), .75

11 percent of all health premiums received by

12 the alliance for such year; and

13 (iv) with respect to the fourth and

14 succeeding calendar years described in sub15 paragraph (A), 1 percent of all health pre16 miums received by the alliance for such

17 year.

18 (3) DESIGNATION OF OVERPAYMENTS AND CON19 TRIBUTIONS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chap21 ter 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

22 (relating to returns and records) is amended by

23 adding at the end the following new part:
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1 ‘‘PART IX—DESIGNATION OF OVERPAYMENTS

2 AND CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE NATIONAL

3 FUND FOR HEALTH RESEARCH

‘‘Sec. 6097. Amounts for the National Fund for Health Research.

4 ‘‘SEC. 6097. AMOUNTS FOR THE NATIONAL FUND FOR

5 HEALTH RESEARCH.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Every individual (other than a

7 nonresident alien) may designate that—

8 ‘‘(1) a portion (not less than $1) of any over9 payment of the tax imposed by chapter 1 for the

10 taxable year, and

11 ‘‘(2) a cash contribution (not less than $1),

12 be paid over to the National Fund for Health Research

13 established under section 3 of the Health Research Act

14 of 1994. In the case of a joint return of a husband and

15 wife, each spouse may designate one-half of any such over16 payment of tax (not less than $2).

17 ‘‘(b) MANNER AND TIME OF DESIGNATION.—Any

18 designation under subsection (a) may be made with re19 spect to any taxable year only at the time of filing the

20 original return of the tax imposed by chapter 1 for such

21 taxable year. Such designation shall be made either on the

22 1st page of the return or on the page bearing the tax23 payer’s signature.

24 ‘‘(c) OVERPAYMENTS TREATED AS REFUNDED.—For

25 purposes of this section, any overpayment of tax des-
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1 ignated under subsection (a) shall be treated as being re2 funded to the taxpayer as of the last day prescribed for

3 filing the return of tax imposed by chapter 1 (determined

4 with regard to extensions) or, if later, the date the return

5 is filed.

6 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATED AMOUNTS NOT DEDUCTIBLE.—

7 No amount designated pursuant to subsection (a) shall be

8 allowed as a deduction under section 170 or any other sec9 tion for any taxable year.

10 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to

11 taxable years beginning in a calendar year after a deter12 mination by the Secretary that the sum of all designations

13 under subsection (a) for taxable years beginning in the

14 second and third calendar years preceding the calendar

15 year is less than $5,000,000.’’.

16 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of

17 parts for subchapter A of chapter 61 of such

18 Code is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new item:

‘‘Part IX. Designation of overpayments and contributions for the

National Fund for Health Research.’’.

20 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments

21 made by this paragraph shall apply to taxable

22 years beginning after December 31, 1993.

23 (c) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas2 ury shall pay annually, within 30 days after the

3 President signs an appropriations Act for the De4 partments of Labor, Health and Human Services,

5 and Education and related agencies, or by the end

6 of the first quarter of the fiscal year, to the Sec7 retary of Health and Human Services on behalf of

8 the National Institutes of Health, an amount equal

9 to the amount in the National Fund for Health Re10 search at the time of such payment, to enable the

11 Secretary to carry out the purpose of section 404F

12 of the Public Health Service Act, less any adminis13 trative expenses which may be paid under paragraph

14 (3).

15 (2) PURPOSES FOR EXPENDITURES FROM

16 FUND.—Part A of title IV of the Public Health

17 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.) is amended by

18 adding at the end the following new section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 404F. EXPENDITURES FROM THE NATIONAL FUND

20 FOR HEALTH RESEARCH.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts received for any

22 fiscal year from the National Fund for Health Research,

23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall distrib24 ute—
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1 ‘‘(1) 2 percent of such amounts during any fis2 cal year to the Office of the Director of the National

3 Institutes of Health to be allocated at the Director’s

4 discretion for the following activities:

5 ‘‘(A) for carrying out the responsibilities of

6 the Office of the Director, National Institutes

7 of Health, including the Office of Research on

8 Women’s Health and the Office of Research on

9 Minority Health, the Office of Alternative Medi10 cine and the Office of Rare Diseases Research;

11 and

12 ‘‘(B) for construction and acquisition of

13 equipment for or facilities of or used by the Na14 tional Institutes of Health;

15 ‘‘(2) 2 percent of such amounts for transfer to

16 the National Center for Research Resources to carry

17 out section 1502 of the National Institutes of

18 Health Revitalization Act of 1993 concerning Bio19 medical and Behavioral Research Facilities;

20 ‘‘(3) 1 percent of such amounts during any fis21 cal year for carrying out section 301 and part D of

22 title IV with respect to health information commu23 nications; and

24 ‘‘(4) the remainder of such amounts during any

25 fiscal year to member institutes of the National In-
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1 stitutes of Health and Centers in the same propor2 tion to the total amount received under this section,

3 as the amount of annual appropriations under ap4 propriations Acts for each member institute and

5 Centers for the fiscal year bears to the total amount

6 of appropriations under appropriations Acts for all

7 member institutes and Centers of the National Insti8 tutes of Health for the fiscal year.

9 ‘‘(b) PLANS OF ALLOCATION.—The amounts trans10 ferred under subsection (a) shall be allocated by the Direc11 tor of NIH or the various directors of the institutes and

12 centers, as the case may be, pursuant to allocation plans

13 developed by the various advisory councils to such direc14 tors, after consultation with such directors.’’.

15 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Amounts in

16 the National Fund for Health Research shall be

17 available to pay the administrative expenses of the

18 Department of the Treasury directly allocable to—

19 (A) modifying the individual income tax re20 turn forms to carry out section 6097 of the In21 ternal Revenue Code of 1986;

22 (B) carrying out this section with respect

23 to such Fund; and
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1 (C) processing amounts received under this

2 section and transferring such amounts to such

3 Fund.

4 (4) TRIGGER AND RELEASE OF FUND MON5 IES.—No expenditures shall be made pursuant to

6 section 3(c) during any fiscal year in which the an7 nual amount appropriated for the National Insti8 tutes of Health is less than the amount so appro9 priated for the prior fiscal year.

10 (d) BUDGET ENFORCEMENT.—Amounts contained in

11 the National Fund for Health Research shall be excluded

12 from, and shall not be taken into account for purposes

13 of, any budget enforcement procedures under the Congres14 sional Budget Act of 1974 or the Balanced Budget Emer15 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

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