[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 499 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 499

 To establish a congressional commemorative medal for organ donors and 
                            their families.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 2, 1999

   Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Levin, Mrs. 
 Murray, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. 
    Inouye) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a congressional commemorative medal for organ donors and 
                            their families.

    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 ``Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall design and strike a bronze 
medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be 
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, to commemorate organ 
donors and their families.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Any organ donor, or the family or family member of 
any organ donor, shall be eligible for a medal described in section 2.
    (b) Documentation.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall direct the entity holding the Organ Procurement and 
Transplantation Network (hereafter in this Act referred to as ``OPTN'') 
to contract to--
            (1) establish an application procedure requiring the 
        relevant organ procurement organization, as described in 
        section 371(b)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        273(b)(1)), through which an individual or their family made an 
        organ donation, to submit to the OPTN contractor documentation 
        supporting the eligibility of that individual or their family 
        to receive a medal described in section 2; and
            (2) determine, through the documentation provided, and, if 
        necessary, independent investigation, whether the individual or 
        family is eligible to receive a medal described in section 2.

SEC. 4. PRESENTATION.

    (a) Delivery to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.--The 
Secretary of the Treasury shall deliver medals struck pursuant to this 
Act to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
    (b) Delivery to Eligible Recipients.--The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall direct the OPTN contractor to arrange for the 
presentation to the relevant organ procurement organization all medals 
struck pursuant to this Act to individuals or families that, in 
accordance with section 3, the OPTN contractor has determined to be 
eligible to receive medals under this Act.
    (c) Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), only 
        1 medal may be presented to a family under subsection (b). Such 
        medal shall be presented to the donating family member, or in 
        the case of a deceased donor, the family member who signed the 
        consent form authorizing, or who otherwise authorized, the 
        donation of the organ involved.
            (2) Exception.--In the case of a family in which more than 
        1 member is an organ donor, the OPTN contractor may present an 
        additional medal to each such organ donor or their family.

SEC. 5. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services or the 
OPTN contractor may provide duplicates of the medal described in 
section 2 to any recipient of a medal under section 4(b), under such 
regulations as the Secretary of Health and Human Services may issue.
    (b) Limitation.--The price of a duplicate medal shall be sufficient 
to cover the cost of such duplicates.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL MEDALS.

    The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for 
purposes of section 5111 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.

    No provision of law governing procurement or public contracts shall 
be applicable to the procurement of goods or services necessary for 
carrying out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 8. SOLICITATION OF DONATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury may enter into an 
agreement with the OPTN contractor to collect funds to offset 
expenditures relating to the issuance of medals authorized under this 
Act.
    (b) Payment of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), all 
        funds received by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation 
        Network under subsection (a) shall be promptly paid by the 
        Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to the Secretary 
        of the Treasury.
            (2) Limitation.--Not more than 5 percent of any funds 
        received under subsection (a) shall be used to pay 
        administrative costs incurred by the OPTN contractor as a 
        result of an agreement established under this section.
    (c) Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law--
            (1) all amounts received by the Secretary of the Treasury 
        under subsection (b)(1) shall be deposited in the Numismatic 
        Public Enterprise Fund, as described in section 5134 of title 
        31, United States Code; and
            (2) the Secretary of the Treasury shall charge such fund 
        with all expenditures relating to the issuance of medals 
        authorized under this Act.
    (d) Start-Up Costs.--A 1-time amount not to exceed $55,000 shall be 
provided to the OPTN contractor to cover initial start-up costs. The 
amount will be paid back in full within 3 years of the date of the 
enactment of this Act from funds received under subsection (a).
    (e) No Net Cost to the Government.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall take all actions necessary to ensure that the issuance of medals 
authorized under section 2 results in no net cost to the Government.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Organ.--The term ``organ'' means the human kidney, 
        liver, heart, lung, pancreas, and any other human organ (other 
        than corneas and eyes) specified by regulation of the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services or the OPTN contractor.
            (2) Organ procurement and transplantation network.--The 
        term ``Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network'' means 
        the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network established 
        under section 372 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        274).

SEC. 10. SUNSET PROVISION.

    This Act shall be effective during the 5-year period beginning on 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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