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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4260 Introduced in House (IH)]

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Research Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Nearly 4 of 5 peer reviewed research projects deemed 
        worthy of funding by the National Institutes of Health are not 
        funded.
            (2) Less than 2 percent of the nearly one trillion dollars 
        our Nation spends on health care is devoted to health research, 
        while the defense industry spends 15 percent of its budget on 
        research.
            (3) Public opinion surveys have shown that Americans want 
        more Federal resources put into health research and support by 
        having a portion of their health insurance premiums set aside 
        for this purpose.
            (4) Ample evidence exists to demonstrate that health 
        research has improved the quality of health care in the United 
        States. Advances such as the development of vaccines, the cure 
        of many childhood cancers, drugs that effectively treat a host 
        of diseases and disorders, a process to protect our Nation's 
        blood supply from the HIV virus, progress against 
        cardiovascular disease including heart attack and stroke, and 
        new strategies for the early detection and treatment of 
        diseases such as colon, breast, and prostate cancer clearly 
        demonstrates the benefits of health research.
            (5) Among the most effective methods to control health care 
        costs are prevention and cure of disease and disability, thus, 
        health research which holds the promise of cure and prevention 
        of disease and disability is a critical component of any 
        comprehensive health care reform plan.
            (6) The state of our Nation's research facilities at the 
        National Institutes of Health and at universities is 
        deteriorating significantly. Renovation and repair of these 
        facilities are badly needed to maintain and improve the quality 
        of research.
            (7) Because the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 
        freezes discretionary spending for the next 5 years, the 
        Nation's investment in health research through the National 
        Institutes of Health is likely to decline in real terms unless 
        corrective legislative action is taken.
            (8) A health research fund is needed to maintain our 
        Nation's commitment to health research and to increase the 
        percentage of approved projects which receive funding at the 
        National Institutes of Health to at least 33 percent.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL FUND FOR HEALTH RESEARCH.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States an account, to be known as the ``National Fund for Health 
Research'' (hereafter referred to in this section as the ``Fund''), 
consisting of such amounts as are transferred to the Fund under 
subsection (b) and any interest earned on investment of amounts in the 
Fund.
    (b) Transfers to Fund.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        transfer to the Fund an amount equal to the amounts designated 
        under paragraph (2) and received in the Treasury.
            (2) Amounts.--
                    (A) In general.--With respect to each calendar year 
                beginning with the first full calendar year during 
                which a comprehensive health care reform program 
                utilizing a regional and corporate health alliance 
                structure has been implemented, each such alliance 
                shall set aside and transfer to the Treasury of the 
                United States the applicable amount under subparagraph 
                (B) and under section 6097 of the Internal Revenue Code 
                of 1986.
                    (B) Applicable amount.--The applicable amount under 
                this subparagraph with respect to a regional or 
                corporate alliance shall be equal to--
                            (i) with respect to the first full calendar 
                        year described in subparagraph (A), .25 percent 
                        of all health premiums received by the alliance 
                        for such year;
                            (ii) with respect to the second calendar 
                        year described in subparagraph (A), .50 percent 
                        of all health premiums received by the alliance 
                        for such year;
                            (iii) with respect to the third calendar 
                        year described in subparagraph (A), .75 percent 
                        of all health premiums received by the alliance 
                        for such year; and
                            (iv) with respect to the fourth and 
                        succeeding calendar years described in 
                        subparagraph (A), 1 percent of all health 
                        premiums received by the alliance for such 
                        year.
            (3) Designation of overpayments and contributions.--
                    (A)  In general.--Subchapter A of chapter 61 of the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to returns and 
                records) is amended by adding at the end the following 
                new part:

   ``PART IX--DESIGNATION OF OVERPAYMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE 
                   NATIONAL FUND FOR HEALTH RESEARCH

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

``SEC. 6097. AMOUNTS FOR THE NATIONAL FUND FOR HEALTH RESEARCH.

    ``(a) In General.--Every individual (other than a nonresident 
alien) may designate that--
            ``(1) a portion (not less than $1) of any overpayment of 
        the tax imposed by chapter 1 for the taxable year, and
            ``(2) a cash contribution (not less than $1),
be paid over to the National Fund for Health Research established under 
section 3 of the Health Research Act of 1994. In the case of a joint 
return of a husband and wife, each spouse may designate one-half of any 
such overpayment of tax (not less than $2).
    ``(b) Manner and Time of Designation.--Any designation under 
subsection (a) may be made with respect to any taxable year only at the 
time of filing the original return of the tax imposed by chapter 1 for 
such taxable year. Such designation shall be made either on the 1st 
page of the return or on the page bearing the taxpayer's signature.
    ``(c) Overpayments Treated as Refunded.--For purposes of this 
section, any overpayment of tax designated under subsection (a) shall 
be treated as being refunded to the taxpayer as of the last day 
prescribed for filing the return of tax imposed by chapter 1 
(determined with regard to extensions) or, if later, the date the 
return is filed.
    ``(d) Designated Amounts Not Deductible.--No amount designated 
pursuant to subsection (a) shall be allowed as a deduction under 
section 170 or any other section for any taxable year.
    ``(e) Termination.--This section shall not apply to taxable years 
beginning in a calendar year after a determination by the Secretary 
that the sum of all designations under subsection (a) for taxable years 
beginning in the second and third calendar years preceding the calendar 
year is less than $5,000,000.''.
                    (B) Clerical amendment.--The table of parts for 
                subchapter A of chapter 61 of such Code is amended by 
                adding at the end the following new item:

                              ``Part IX. Designation of overpayments 
                                        and contributions for the 
                                        National Fund for Health 
                                        Research.''.
                    (C) Effective date.--The amendments made by this 
                paragraph shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
                December 31, 1993.
    (c) Expenditures From Fund.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay 
        annually, within 30 days after the President signs an 
        appropriations Act for the Departments of Labor, Health and 
        Human Services, and Education and related agencies, or by the 
        end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, to the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services on behalf of the National 
        Institutes of Health, an amount equal to the amount in the 
        National Fund for Health Research at the time of such payment, 
        to enable the Secretary to carry out the purpose of section 
        404F of the Public Health Service Act, less any administrative 
        expenses which may be paid under paragraph (3).
            (2) Purposes for expenditures from fund.--Part A of title 
        IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 404F. EXPENDITURES FROM THE NATIONAL FUND FOR HEALTH RESEARCH.

    ``(a) In General.--From amounts received for any fiscal year from 
the National Fund for Health Research, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall distribute--
            ``(1) 2 percent of such amounts during any fiscal year to 
        the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health 
        to be allocated at the Director's discretion for the following 
        activities:
                    ``(A) for carrying out the responsibilities of the 
                Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, 
                including the Office of Research on Women's Health and 
                the Office of Research on Minority Health, the Office 
                of Alternative Medicine and the Office of Rare Diseases 
                Research; and
                    ``(B) for construction and acquisition of equipment 
                for or facilities of or used by the National Institutes 
                of Health;
            ``(2) 2 percent of such amounts for transfer to the 
        National Center for Research Resources to carry out section 
        1502 of the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 
        1993 concerning Biomedical and Behavioral Research Facilities;
            ``(3) 1 percent of such amounts during any fiscal year for 
        carrying out section 301 and part D of title IV with respect to 
        health information communications; and
            ``(4) the remainder of such amounts during any fiscal year 
        to member institutes of the National Institutes of Health and 
        Centers in the same proportion to the total amount received 
        under this section, as the amount of annual appropriations 
        under appropriations Acts for each member institute and Centers 
        for the fiscal year bears to the total amount of appropriations 
        under appropriations Acts for all member institutes and Centers 
        of the National Institutes of Health for the fiscal year.
    ``(b) Plans of Allocation.--The amounts transferred under 
subsection (a) shall be allocated by the Director of NIH or the various 
directors of the institutes and centers, as the case may be, pursuant 
to allocation plans developed by the various advisory councils to such 
directors, after consultation with such directors.''.
            (3) Administrative expenses.--Amounts in the National Fund 
        for Health Research shall be available to pay the 
        administrative expenses of the Department of the Treasury 
        directly allocable to--
                    (A) modifying the individual income tax return 
                forms to carry out section 6097 of the Internal Revenue 
                Code of 1986;
                    (B) carrying out this section with respect to such 
                Fund; and
                    (C) processing amounts received under this section 
                and transferring such amounts to such Fund.
            (4) Trigger and release of fund monies.--No expenditures 
        shall be made pursuant to section 3(c) during any fiscal year 
        in which the annual amount appropriated for the National 
        Institutes of Health is less than the amount so appropriated 
        for the prior fiscal year.
    (d) Budget Enforcement.--Amounts contained in the National Fund for 
Health Research shall be excluded from, and shall not be taken into 
account for purposes of, any budget enforcement procedures under the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 or the Balanced Budget Emergency 
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

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