[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2679 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2679

   To amend the Public Health Service Act, part A of title IV of the 
Social Security Act, and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 with respect to the 
  establishment of a demonstration program to provide inducements to 
    parents to ensure that the children of the parents are properly 
            immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 1993

   Mr. Torricelli introduced the following bill; which was referred 
 jointly to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act, part A of title IV of the 
Social Security Act, and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 with respect to the 
  establishment of a demonstration program to provide inducements to 
    parents to ensure that the children of the parents are properly 
            immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases.

    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 ``Childhood Immunizations Improvement 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM REGARDING CHILDHOOD 
              IMMUNIZATIONS.

    Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 
et seq.), as amended by section 308 of Public Law 102-531 (106 Stat. 
3495), is amended by inserting after section 317D the following 
section:

       ``demonstration program regarding childhood immunizations

    ``Sec. 317E. (a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to 
States to carry out demonstration projects for the purpose of providing 
to children, without charge, immunizations against vaccine-preventable 
diseases in accordance with the schedule established under subsection 
(d).
    ``(b) Requirement Regarding Project Sites.--The Secretary may make 
a grant under subsection (a) only if the State involved agrees that 
immunizations provided pursuant to such subsection will be provided 
exclusively on the premises of facilities at which individuals are 
required to present themselves for purposes relating to the receipt of 
assistance under--
            ``(1) a State plan approved under part A of title IV of the 
        Social Security Act (relating to aid to families with dependent 
        children);
            ``(2) the Food Stamp Act of 1977; or
            ``(3) other Federal or State programs, subject to the 
        approval of the Secretary.
    ``(c) Parental Incentives Regarding Immunizations.--With respect to 
a program of assistance specified in or approved under subsection (b), 
the Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) only if--
            ``(1) the State involved identifies which of such programs 
        are being administered at the facility or facilities at which 
        immunizations are to be provided pursuant to subsections (a) 
        and (b);
            ``(2) the State submits to the Secretary a plan for 
        increasing, decreasing, or denying assistance under the 
        programs so identified as inducements to parents to ensure that 
        the children of the parents are immunized in accordance with 
        the schedule established under subsection (d);
            ``(3) the programs so identified authorize the inducements 
        that are provided for in the plan;
            ``(4) the Secretary approves the plan; and
            ``(5) the State agrees that, in carrying out such programs, 
        the State will implement such inducements in accordance with 
        the plan.
    ``(d) Schedule of Immunizations.--The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) establish a list of the vaccines that the Secretary 
        recommends for administration to all children for the purpose 
        of immunizing the children against vaccine-preventable diseases 
        (subject to such contraindications for particular medical 
        categories of children as the Secretary may establish); and
            ``(2) establish a schedule of recommendations with respect 
        to administering the vaccines to children, including 
        recommendations regarding the age of children, the number of 
        immunizations, and the dosage of vaccines.
    ``(e) Rule of Construction Regarding Eligibility for 
Immunizations.--Subsections (b) and (c) may not be construed as 
prohibiting the Secretary from authorizing grantees under subsection 
(a) to provide immunizations pursuant to such subsection to the 
children of individuals who are not receiving assistance under any of 
the programs specified in or approved under subsection (b).
    ``(f) Application for Grant.--The Secretary may make a grant under 
subsection (a) only if an application for the grant is submitted to the 
Secretary and the application is in such form, is made in such manner, 
and contains such agreements, assurances, and information as the 
Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out this section.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 1994 through 1997.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION IN SOCIAL SECURITY ACT WITH RESPECT TO 
              DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    Section 402(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (44);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (45) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (45) the following:
            ``(46) at the option of the State, provide for increasing, 
        decreasing, or denying aid under the plan as an inducement to 
        parents for purposes of demonstration projects under section 
        317E of the Public Health Service Act (relating to 
        immunizations for children).''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION IN FOOD STAMP ACT OF 1977 WITH RESPECT TO 
              DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Reduction of Allotment.--Section 8 of the Food Stamp Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2017) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f)(1) The allotment issued to a household that--
            ``(A) includes a child less than 2 years of age; and
            ``(B) reports to a State agency office located in a 
        facility in which immunizations are made available to such 
        child under a demonstration project carried out under section 
        317E of the Public Health Service Act;
shall be determined monthly in accordance with paragraph (2).
    ``(2) If such household fails to demonstrate to the satisfaction of 
the State agency that such child has received each immunization from 
such project (or from an alternative source) in accordance with the 
immunization schedule in effect under section 317E(d) of such Act, the 
allotment of such household determined under this section without 
regard to this subsection shall be reduced by such amount, and for such 
period, as the State agency determines to be an appropriate inducement 
to obtain such immunization from such project for such child.''.
    (b) Effective Date and Application of Amendment.--
            (1) Effective date.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        the amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on 
        October 1, 1994.
            (2) Application of amendment.--The amendment made by 
        subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to certification 
        periods beginning before the October 1, 1994.

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