[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1189 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1189

To provide procedures for claims for compassionate payments with regard 
 to individuals with blood-clotting disorders, such as hemophilia, who 
   contracted human immunodeficiency virus due to contaminated blood 
                               products.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               August 11 (legislative day, July 10), 1995

Mr. DeWine (for himself and Mr. Graham) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide procedures for claims for compassionate payments with regard 
 to individuals with blood-clotting disorders, such as hemophilia, who 
   contracted human immunodeficiency virus due to contaminated blood 
                               products.
    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 ``Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act 
of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the Federal Government through the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services has the authority to protect the safety of 
        the blood supply and blood products sold in this country;
            (2) according to the 1995 Institute of Medicine Study 
        entitled ``HIV and the Blood Supply'', the failure of the 
        Federal Government to use its authority with regard to the 
        safety of the blood supply and the blood products led to missed 
        opportunities to prevent the spread of the human 
        immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through blood and blood products;
            (3) blood-clotting agents, called antihemophilic factor, 
        that are used in the treatment of hemophilia are manufactured 
        from the blood plasma of 10,000 to 20,000 or more donors, 
        placing persons with hemophilia at particularly high risk for 
        HIV during the period of 1980 to 1987;
            (4) the failure of the Federal Government and the blood 
        products industry to develop and implement known viral 
        hepatitis inactivation processes prior to 1983 resulted in the 
        exposure of the blood supply and blood products to HIV;
            (5) although heat treatment of blood-clotting products 
        became available in 1983, the Federal Government did not 
        require the recall of nonheat treated products until 1989;
            (6) as evidence became available concerning the 
        transmission of HIV through the blood supply and blood 
        products, the Federal Government did not take necessary and 
        prompt action; failing to either require the blood industry to 
        implement donor screening and deferral practices or to require 
        the automatic recall of products linked to donors with or 
        suspected of having AIDS;
            (7) the Federal Government did not require the blood 
        products industry to communicate directly with individuals with 
        blood-clotting disorders regarding treatment options and the 
        risks associated with contaminated blood products, nor did the 
        Federal Government attempt to communicate fully to such 
        individuals regarding these risks and possible treatment 
        options;
            (8) although a blood test for HIV became available in 1985, 
        the Federal Government did not appropriately propose 
        recommendations for a ``lookback'', the process of tracing 
        recipients of possibly infected blood products, until 1991;
            (9) individuals with blood-clotting disorders, such as 
        hemophilia, who have HIV infections incur annual medical costs 
        that often exceed $150,000, due to the expense of the necessary 
        medications and the complications caused by the combination of 
        the 2 illnesses;
            (10) Ricky Ray was born with hemophilia and, like his 2 
        younger brothers and thousands of others, became infected with 
        the deadly HIV through use of contaminated blood-clotting 
        products;
            (11) Ricky Ray and his family have brought national 
        attention to the suffering of individuals with blood-clotting 
        disorders, such as hemophilia, and their families, who have 
        been devastated by HIV; and
            (12) Ricky Ray died at the age of 15 on December 13, 1992, 
        of hemophilia-associated AIDS, and this Act should bear his 
        name.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish a 
procedure to make partial restitution to individuals who were infected 
with HIV after treatment, during the period beginning in 1980 and 
ending in 1987, with contaminated blood products.

SEC. 3. TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a trust fund to be known as the ``Ricky Ray Hemophilia 
Relief Fund'', which shall be administered 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 Attorney General under section 5.
    (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 
liquidated, 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 to carry out this Act $1,000,000,000.
SEC. 4. CLAIMS RELATING TO BLOOD-CLOTTING DISORDERS AND HIV.

    Any individual who submits to the Attorney General written medical 
documentation that the individual has an HIV infection shall receive 
$125,000, from amounts available in the Fund, if each of the following 
conditions is met:
            (1) Characteristics of individual.--The individual is 
        described in 1 of the following subparagraphs:
                    (A) The individual has any form of blood-clotting 
                disorder, such as hemophilia, and was treated with 
                blood-clotting agents (in the form of blood components 
                or blood products) at any time during the period 
                beginning on January 1, 1980, and ending on December 
                31, 1987.
                    (B) The individual--
                            (i) is the lawful spouse of an individual 
                        described in subparagraph (A); or
                            (ii) is the former lawful spouse of an 
                        individual described in subparagraph (A) and 
                        was the lawful spouse of the individual at any 
                        time after a date, within the period described 
                        in such subparagraph, on which the individual 
                        was treated as described in such subparagraph.
                    (C) The individual acquired the HIV infection 
                through perinatal transmission from a parent who is an 
                individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
            (2) Claim.--A claim for the payment is filed with the 
        Attorney General by or on behalf of the individual.
            (3) Determination.--The Attorney General determines, in 
        accordance with section 5(b), that the claim meets the 
        requirements of this Act.

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.

    (a) Establishment of Filing Procedures.--The Attorney General shall 
establish procedures under which individuals may submit claims for 
payment under this Act. The procedures shall include a requirement that 
each claim filed under this Act include written medical documentation 
that the relevant individual described in section 4(1)(A) has a blood-
clotting disorder, such as hemophilia, and was treated as described in 
such section.
    (b) Determination of Claims.--For each claim filed under this Act, 
the Attorney General shall determine whether the claim meets the 
requirements of this Act.
    (c) Payment of Claims.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall pay, from 
        amounts available in the Fund, each claim that the Attorney 
        General determines meets the requirements of this Act.
            (2) Payments in case of deceased individuals.--
                    (A) In general.--In the case of an individual 
                referred to in section 4 who is deceased at the time 
                that payment is made under this section on a claim 
                filed by or on behalf of the individual, the payment 
                shall be made to the estate of the individual, if such 
                an estate exists. If no such estate exists, the payment 
                may be made only as follows:
                            (i) If the individual is survived by a 
                        spouse who is living at the time of payment, 
                        the payment shall be made to such surviving 
                        spouse.
                            (ii) If the individual is not survived by a 
                        spouse described in clause (i), the payment 
                        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 payment.
                    (B) Filing of claim by estate or survivor.--If an 
                individual eligible for payment under section 4 dies 
                before filing a claim under this Act--
                            (i) the estate of the individual, if such 
                        an estate exists, may file a claim for payment 
                        under this Act on behalf of the individual; or
                            (ii) if no such estate exists, a survivor 
                        of the individual may file a claim for payment 
                        under this Act on behalf of the individual if 
                        the survivor may receive payment under 
                        subparagraph (A).
                    (C) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph:
                            (i) The term ``spouse'' means an individual 
                        who was lawfully married to the relevant 
                        individual.
                            (ii) The term ``child'' includes a 
                        recognized natural child, a stepchild who lived 
                        with the relevant individual in a regular 
                        parent-child relationship, and an adopted 
                        child.
                            (iii) The term ``parent'' includes fathers 
                        and mothers through adoption.
            (3) Timing of payment.--The Attorney General may not make a 
        payment on a claim under this Act before the expiration of the 
        90-day period beginning 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.
            (4) Choice of payment methods.--An individual whom the 
        Attorney General determines to be entitled to a payment under 
        subsection (c)(1) may choose to receive the payment in the form 
        of--
                    (A) a lump sum of $125,000, which shall be paid not 
                later than 90 days after the Attorney General 
                determines that the individual is entitled to receive 
                payment under subsection (c)(1); or
                    (B) 4 subpayments, of which--
                            (i) the 1st subpayment shall consist of 
                        $50,000 and shall be paid not later than 90 
                        days after the Attorney General determines that 
                        the individual is entitled to receive payment 
                        under subsection (c)(1); and
                            (ii) the 2d, 3d, and 4th subpayments shall 
                        each consist of $25,000 and shall
                         each be paid upon the expiration of the 6-
month period beginning on the date of the preceding subpayment.
    (d) Action on Claims.--The Attorney General shall complete the 
determination required by subsection (b) regarding a claim not later 
than 90 days after the claim is filed under this Act.
    (e) Payment in Full Settlement of Claims Against United States.--
Payment under this Act, when accepted by an individual described in 
section 4 or by the estate of or a survivor of such an individual on 
behalf of the individual, shall be in full satisfaction of all claims 
of or on behalf of the individual against the United States (but not 
against any other person or entity) that arise out of both an HIV 
infection and treatment, at any time during the period beginning on 
January 1, 1980, and ending on December 31, 1987, with blood-clotting 
agents (in the form of blood components or blood products).
    (f) Administrative Costs Not Paid From Fund.--No costs incurred by 
the Attorney General in carrying out this Act may be paid from the Fund 
or set off against, or otherwise deducted from, any payment made under 
subsection (c)(1).
    (g) Termination of Duties of Attorney General.--The duties of the 
Attorney General under this section shall cease when the Fund 
terminates.
    (h) Treatment of Payments Under Other Laws.--A payment under 
subsection (c)(1) to an individual or an estate--
            (1) shall be treated for purposes of the internal revenue 
        laws of the United States as damages received on account of 
        personal injuries or sickness; and
            (2) shall not be included as income or resources for 
        purposes of determining the eligibility of the individual to 
        receive benefits described in section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 
        31, United States Code, or the amount of such benefits.
    (i) Use of Existing Resources.--The Attorney General should use 
funds and resources available to the Attorney General to carry out the 
functions of the Attorney General under this Act.
    (j) Regulatory Authority.--The Attorney General may issue 
regulations necessary to carry out this Act.
    (k) Time of Issuance of Regulations, Guidelines, and Procedures.--
The initial regulations, guidelines, and procedures to carry out this 
Act shall be issued not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (l) Judicial Review.--An individual whose claim for compensation 
under this Act is denied may seek judicial review solely in a district 
court of the United States. The court shall review the denial on the 
administrative record and shall hold unlawful and set aside the denial 
if the denial is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or 
otherwise not in accordance with law.

SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER AND NUMBER OF CLAIMS.

    (a) Claims Not Assignable or Transferable.--A claim under this Act 
shall not be assignable or transferable.
    (b) 1 Claim With Respect to Each Victim.--With respect to each 
individual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(1), 
the Attorney General may not pay more than 1 claim filed to receive 
compensation under this Act for the harm suffered by the individual.

SEC. 7. LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.

    The Attorney General may not pay any claim filed under this Act 
unless the claim is filed within 3 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 8. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY PAYMENT.

    A payment made under section 5(c)(1) shall not be considered as any 
form of compensation, or reimbursement for a loss, for purposes of 
imposing liability on the individual receiving the payment, on the 
basis of such receipt, to repay any insurance carrier for insurance 
payments or to repay any person on account of worker's compensation 
payments. A payment under this Act shall not affect any claim against 
an insurance carrier with respect to insurance or against any person 
with respect to worker's compensation.

SEC. 9. LIMITATION ON AGENT AND ATTORNEY FEES.

    Notwithstanding any contract, the representative of an individual 
may not receive, for services rendered in connection with the claim of 
an individual under this Act, more than 5 percent of a payment made 
under this Act on the claim. Any such representative who violates this 
section shall be fined not more than $50,000.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``AIDS'' means acquired immune deficiency 
        syndrome.
            (2) The term ``Fund'' means the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief 
        Fund.
            (3) The term ``HIV'' means human immunodeficiency virus.
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