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CHRISTOPHER REEVE ON MEDICAL RESEARCH[S. 441 National Fund for Health Research Act]Wednesday, April 9, 1997 Mr. HARKIN: Mr. President, on March 13, 1997, along with Senator Arlen Specter, I introduced bipartisan legislation, S. 441, the National Fund for Health Research Act. This important bill would provide additional resources for health research over and above those provided to the National Institutes of Health in the annual appropriations process. The fund will help eradicate some of the illnesses that now strike millions of Americans. At this time I would like to submit for the Record a letter from Christopher Reeve endorsing the National Fund for Health Research Act. Christopher Reeve has worked tirelessly since his accident to increase funding for medical research. We all owe Christopher Reeve a debt of gratitude for bringing health care concerns to the attention of all Americans. He and I both realize that the Fund for Health Research Act could hold the key to finding successful treatments for hundreds of diseases. In his letter, Christopher Reeve states that S. 441 will give our best researchers the funds they need to stay ahead of a developing crisis. I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment and urge the Senate to move quickly on this legislation. I now ask that the text of Christopher Reeve's letter be printed in the Record. The letter follows: Christopher Reeve, March 20, 1997
President Clinton Dear Mr. Clinton: I was sorry to hear about your unfortunate accident but glad to know you will make a full recovery and that your activities won't be limited in the future. The sight of you in a wheelchair was very moving but also a helpful image for all Americans particularly the disabled. At the risk of becoming a pest, I'm taking this opportunity to ask your support for legislation introduced last week by Senators Specter and Harkin which would require insurance companies to donate 1 penny out of every dollar they receive in premiums to the NIH. It is estimated that this would provide an additional $6 billion dollars annually for research. I feel it is an excellent proposal because it does not raise taxes, the insurance companies can afford it and they ultimately receive the additional benefit of having to pay for fewer claims. And as I am sure you're aware, recent studies have shown the cost effectiveness of research, is of course a crucial factor in the balanced budget debate. As America ages, the attendant health problems will not go away unless we give our best researchers the funds they need to stay ahead of a developing crisis. Thank you again for all the helpful comments you have made so far about research since the convention last year. Now is the time for all of us to push into high gear. With best wishes for a speedy recovery. Sincerely, Christopher Reeve (Signed by Michael Manganiello, Special Assistant to Christoper Reeve)
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 441
To improve health care quality and reduce health care costs by
establishing a National Fund for Health Research that would
significantly expand the nation's investment in medical research.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 13, 1997
Mr. Harkin (for himself and Mr. Specter) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve health care quality and reduce health care costs by
establishing a National Fund for Health Research that would
significantly expand the nation's investment in medical research.
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 ``National Fund for Health Research
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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 3 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 and development.
(3) Public opinion surveys have shown that Americans want
more Federal resources put into health research and are willing
to pay for it.
(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) Health research which holds the promise of prevention
of intentional and unintentional injury and cure and prevention
of disease and disability, is critical to holding down health
care costs in the long term.
(6) Expanded medical research is also critical to holding
down the long-term costs of the medicare program under title
XVIII of the Social Security Act. For example, recent research
has demonstrated that delaying the onset of debilitating and
costly conditions like Alzheimer's disease could reduce general
health care and medicare costs by billions of dollars annually.
(7) 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.
(8) Because discretionary spending is likely to decline in
real terms over 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.
(9) 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.
(10) Americans purchase health insurance and participate in
the medicare program to protect themselves and their families
against the high cost of illness and disability. Because of
this, it makes sense to devote 1 cent of every health insurance
dollar to finding preventions, cures, and improved treatments
for illnesses and disabilities through medical research.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the
United States a fund, to be known as the ``National Fund for Health
Research'' (hereafter in this section referred to 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 amounts equivalent to amounts designated
under paragraph (2) and received in the Treasury.
(2) Amounts.--
Health plan set aside.--With respect to each
calendar year beginning with the first full calendar
year after the date of enactment of this Act, each
health plan shall set aside and transfer to the
Treasury of the United States an amount equal to--
(i) for the first full calendar year, .25
percent of all health premiums received with
respect to the plan for such year;
(ii) for the second full calendar year, .5
percent of all health premiums received with
respect to the plan for such year;
(iii) for the third full calendar year, .75
percent of all health premiums received with
respect to the plan for such year; and
(iv) for the fourth and each succeeding
full calendar year, 1 percent of all health
premiums received with respect to the plan for
such year.
(3) Transfers based on estimates.--The amounts transferred
by paragraph (1) shall annually be transferred to the Fund
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. Proper adjustment shall be made in
amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates
were in excess of or less than the amounts required to be
transferred.
(4) Definition.--As used in this subsection, the term
``health plan'' means a group health plan (as defined in
section 2791(a) of the Public Health Service Act (as added by
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)) and
any individual health insurance (as defined in section 2791(b)(5))
operated by a health insurance issuer.
(c) Obligations From Fund.--
(1) In general.--Subject to the provisions of paragraph
(4), with respect to the amounts made available in the Fund in
a fiscal year, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
distribute--
(A) 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:
(i) for carrying out the responsibilities
of the Office of the Director, including the
Office of Research on Women's Health and the
Office of Research on Minority Health, the
Office of Alternative Medicine, the Office of
Rare Disease Research, the Office of Behavioral
and Social Sciences Research (for use for
efforts to reduce tobacco use), the Office of
Dietary Supplements, and the Office for Disease
Prevention; and
(ii) for construction and acquisition of
equipment for or facilities of or used by the
National Institutes of Health;
(B) 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;
(C) 1 percent of such amounts during any fiscal
year for carrying out section 301 and part D of title
IV of the Public Health Service Act with respect to
health information communications; and
(D) the remainder of such amounts during any fiscal
year to member institutes and centers, including the
Office of AIDS Research, of the National Institutes of
Health 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.
(2) Plans of allocation.--The amounts transferred under
paragraph (1)(D) shall be allocated by the Director of the
National Institutes of Health 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) Grants and contracts fully funded in first year.--With
respect to any grant or contract funded by amounts distributed
under paragraph (1), the full amount of the total obligation of
such grant or contract shall be funded in the first year of
such grant or contract, and shall remain available until
expended.
(4) Trigger and release of monies and phase-in.--
(A) Trigger and release.--No expenditure shall be
made under paragraph (1) 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.
(B) Phase-in.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall phase-in the distributions required
under paragraph (1) so that--
(i) 25 percent of the amount in the Fund is
distributed in the first fiscal year for which
funds are available;
(ii) 50 percent of the amount in the Fund
is distributed in the second fiscal year for
which funds are available;
(iii) 75 percent of the amount in the Fund
is distributed in the third fiscal year for
which funds are available; and
(iv) 100 percent of the amount in the Fund
is distributed in the fourth and each
succeeding fiscal year for which funds are
available.
(d) Budget Treatment of Amounts in Fund.--The amounts in the Fund
shall be excluded from, and shall not be taken into account, for
purposes of any budget enforcement procedure under the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985.
105th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 441 To improve health care quality and reduce health care costs by establishing a National Fund for Health Research that would significantly expand the nation's investment in medical research.
March 13, 1997 Mr. Harkin (for himself and Mr. Specter) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILLTo improve health care quality and reduce health care costs by establishing a National Fund for Health Research that would significantly expand the nation's investment in medical research.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 "National Fund for Health Research Act". SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following: SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the "National Fund for Health Research" (hereafter in this section referred to 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.-- <all>
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