I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5299
To provide for compassionate payments with regard to individuals who con-
tracted human immunodeficiency virus due to the provision of a contami-
nated blood transfusion, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 26, 2002
Mrs. MORELLA (for herself and Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To provide for compassionate payments with regard to indi-
viduals who contracted human immunodeficiency virus
due to the provision of a contaminated blood transfusion,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Steve Grissom Relief Fund Act of 2002’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—RELIEF FUND
Sec. 101. Steve Grissom relief fund.
Sec. 102. Compassionate payments.
Sec. 103. Determination and payment.
Sec. 104. Limitation on transfer of rights and number of petitions.
Sec. 105. Time limitation.
Sec. 106. Certain claims not affected by payment.
Sec. 107. Definitions.
TITLE II—TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS UNDER THE SSI
PROGRAM
Sec. 201. Treatment of certain payments under the SSI program.
TITLE I—RELIEF FUND
SEC. 101. STEVE GRISSOM RELIEF FUND.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known
as the ‘‘Steve Grissom Relief Fund’’, which shall be ad-
ministered by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN FUND.—Amounts
in the Fund shall be invested in accordance with section
9702 of title 31, United States Code, and any interest on
and proceeds from any such investment shall be credited
to and become part of the Fund.
(c) AVAILABILITY OF FUND.—Amounts in the Fund
shall be available only for disbursement by the Secretary
of Health and Human Services under section 103.
(d) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall terminate upon
the expiration of the 5-year period beginning on the date
of the enactment of this Act. If all of the amounts in the
Fund have not been expended by the end of the 5-year
period, investments of amounts in the Fund shall be liq-
uidated, the receipts of such liquidation shall be deposited
in the Fund, and all funds remaining in the Fund shall
be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts account in the
Treasury of the United States.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums as
may be necessary to carry out this title.
SEC. 102. COMPASSIONATE PAYMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—If the conditions described in sub-
section (b) are met and if there are sufficient amounts
in the Fund to make each payment, the Secretary shall
make a single payment of $100,000 from the Fund to any
individual who has an HIV infection, or who is diagnosed
with AIDS, and who is described in one of the following
paragraphs:
(1) The individual was treated with HIV con-
taminated blood transfusion, HIV contaminated
blood components, HIV contaminated human tissue,
or HIV contaminated organs (excluding Anti-hemo-
philiac Factor) in the United States during the pe-
riod beginning on July 1, 1982, and ending on De-
cember 31, 1987.
(2) The individual—
(A) is the lawful spouse of an individual
described in paragraph (1); or
(B) is the former lawful spouse of an indi-
vidual described in paragraph (1) and was the
lawful spouse of the individual at any time after
a date, within the period described in such sub-
paragraph, on which the individual was treated
as described in such paragraph and through
medical documentation can assert reasonable
certainty of transmission of HIV from indi-
vidual described in paragraph (1).
(3) The individual acquired the HIV infection
through perinatal transmission from a parent who is
an individual described in paragraph (1) or (2).
(b) CONDITIONS.—The conditions described in this
subsection are, with respect to an individual, as follows:
(1) SUBMISSION OF MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION
OF HIV INFECTION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The individual submits
to the Secretary written medical documentation
that demonstrates that—
(i) the individual has (or had) an HIV
infection;
(ii) in the case of an individual de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1), the individual
was treated with a blood transfusion, blood
components, human tissue, or organs (ex-
cluding anti-hemophiliac Factor) provided
by a medical professional in the United
States during the period described in such
subsection;
(iii) prior to the treatment described
in subparagraph (B), there was no evi-
dence of HIV infection with respect to the
individual involved; and
(iv) a comprehensive physical exam-
ination, or HIV testing, was conducted
after the treatment described in subpara-
graph (B) and reveals evidence of HIV in-
fection, and that evidence, together with
other medical records, indicates the prob-
able transmission of the HIV to the indi-
vidual through such treatment.
(B) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive
the requirements of subparagraph (A) with re-
spect to an individual if the Secretary deter-
mines that the individual is unable to provide
the documentation required under such sub-
paragraph because the documents involved were
destroyed or otherwise made unavailable as a
result of the occurrence a natural disaster or
other circumstance beyond the control of the in-
dividual.
(2) PETITION.—A petition for the payment is
filed with the Secretary by or on behalf of the indi-
vidual.
(3) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary deter-
mines, in accordance with section 103(b), that the
petition meets the requirements of this title.
(4) FRAUD.—Any individual who—
(A) knowingly and willfully makes or
causes to be made any false statement or rep-
resentation of a material fact in connection with
any documentation provided under this sub-
section; or
(B) having knowledge of the occurrence of
any event affecting his or her initial or contin-
ued right to any payment under this title con-
ceals or fails to disclose such event with an in-
tent fraudulently to secure such payment;
shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned
for not more than 5 years, or both.
(i) If the individual is survived by a
spouse who is living at the time of pay-
ment, the payment shall be made to such
surviving spouse.
(ii) If the individual is not survived by
a spouse described in clause (i), the pay-
ment shall be made in equal shares to all
children of the individual who are living at
the time of the payment.
(iii) If the individual is not survived
by a person described in clause (i) or (ii),
the payment shall be made in equal shares
to the parents of the individual who are
living at the time of the payment.
(iv) If the individual is not survived
by a person described in clause (i), (ii), or
(iii), the payment shall revert back to the
Fund.
(B) FILING OF PETITION BY SURVIVOR.—
If an individual eligible for payment under sec-
tion 102(a) dies before filing a petition under
this title, a survivor of the individual may file
a petition for payment under this title on behalf
of the individual if the survivor may receive
payment under subparagraph (A).
(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this
paragraph:
(i) 
SPOUSE.—The 
term 
‘‘spouse’’
means an individual who was lawfully mar-
ried to the relevant individual at the time
of death.
(ii) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ in-
cludes a recognized natural child, a step-
child who lived with the relevant individual
in a regular parent-child relationship, and
an adopted child.
(iii) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ in-
cludes fathers and mothers through adop-
tion.
(3) TIMING OF PAYMENT.—The Secretary may
not make a payment on a petition under this title
before the expiration of the 120-day period begin-
ning on the date of the enactment of this Act or
after the expiration of the 5-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) ACTION
ON PETITIONS.—The Secretary shall
complete the determination required by subsection (b) re-
garding a petition not later than 120 days after the date
the petition is filed under this title.
(e) HUMANITARIAN NATURE
OF PAYMENT.—This
Act does not create or admit any claim of or on behalf
of the individual against the United States or against any
officer, employee, or agent thereof acting within the scope
of employment or agency that relate to an HIV infection
arising from a treatment described in section 102(a)(1),
at any time during the period beginning on July 1, 1982,
and ending on December 31, 1987. A payment under this
Act shall, however, when accepted by or on behalf of the
individual, be in full satisfaction of all such claims by or
on behalf of that individual.
(f) TERMINATION OF DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—The
duties of the Secretary under this section shall cease when
the Fund terminates.
(g) TREATMENT
OF
PAYMENTS
UNDER
OTHER
LAWS.—A payment under subsection (c)(1) to an
individual—
(1) shall be treated for purposes of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 as damages described in sec-
tion 104(a)(2) of such Code;
(2) shall not be included as income or resources
for purposes of determining the eligibility of the in-
dividual to receive benefits described in section
3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United States Code, or the
amount of such benefits, and such benefits shall not
be secondary to, conditioned upon reimbursement
from, or subject to any reduction because of receipt
of, any such payment; and
(3) shall not be treated as a third party pay-
ment or payment in relation to a legal liability with
respect to such benefits and shall not be subject
(whether by subrogation or otherwise) to recovery,
recoupment, reimbursement, or collection with re-
spect to such benefits (including the Federal or
State governments or any entity that provides such
benefits under a contract).
(h) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may
issue regulations necessary to carry out this title.
(i) TIME OF ISSUANCE OF PROCEDURES.—The Sec-
retary shall, through the promulgation of appropriate reg-
ulations, guidelines, or otherwise, first establish the proce-
dures to carry out this title not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 104. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF RIGHTS AND NUM-
BER OF PETITIONS.
(a) RIGHTS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE.—
Any right under this title shall not be assignable or trans-
ferable.
(b) ONE PETITION WITH RESPECT TO EACH VIC-
TIM.—With respect to each individual described in para-
graph (1), (2), or (3) of section 102(a), the Secretary may
not make payment with respect to more than one petition
filed in respect to an individual.
SEC. 105. TIME LIMITATION.
The Secretary may not make any payment with re-
spect to any petition filed under this title unless the peti-
tion is filed within 5 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 106. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY PAYMENT.
A payment made under section 103(c)(1) shall not
be considered as any form of compensation, or reimburse-
ment for a loss, for purposes of imposing liability on the
individual receiving the payment, on the basis of such re-
ceipt, to repay any insurance carrier for insurance pay-
ments or to repay any person on account of worker’s com-
pensation payments. A payment under this title shall not
affect any claim against an insurance carrier with respect
to insurance or against any person with respect to work-
er’s compensation.
SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title:
(1) AIDS.—The term ‘‘AIDS’’ means acquired
immune deficiency syndrome.
(2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Steve
Grissom Relief Fund.