[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3865 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3865

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny any deduction for 
certain gifts and benefits provided to physicians by prescription drug 
                             manufacturers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2004

  Mr. Stark introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny any deduction for 
certain gifts and benefits provided to physicians by prescription drug 
                             manufacturers.

    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 ``Prescription Drug Safety and 
Affordability Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) gifts to physicians from pharmaceutical companies lead 
        to the unnecessary prescribing of prescription drugs, inflating 
        the costs of prescriptions and jeopardizing patient safety,
            (2) the pharmaceutical industry annually spends 
        $13,000,000,000 promoting and marketing their products, by way 
        of meals, travel subsidies, and other gifts to medical 
        professionals,
            (3) drug companies annually spend more than $15,000 per 
        physician on such promotions,
            (4) the present extent of physician-industry interactions 
        appears to adversely affect prescribing and professional 
        behavior and should be further addressed at the level of policy 
        and education, and
            (5) either redirecting these funds to research or lowering 
        the costs of prescription drugs is a much more needed 
        expenditure by the pharmaceutical industry.

SEC. 3. DISALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION FOR PHYSICIAN GIFT EXPENSES OF 
              PRESCRIPTION DRUG MANUFACTURERS.

    (a) General Rule.--Part IX of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to items not deductible) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 280I. PHYSICIAN GIFT EXPENSES OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG 
              MANUFACTURERS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--No deduction shall be allowed under this 
chapter for any physician gift expense paid or incurred by any 
prescription drug manufacturer.
    ``(b) Physician Gift Expense.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `physician gift expense' means any gift provided directly or 
indirectly to or for the benefit of a physician, including gifts of 
meals, sponsored teachings, symposia, and travel, but not including 
product samples.
    ``(c) Prescription Drug Manufacturer.--For purposes of this 
section, the term `prescription drug manufacturer' means--
            ``(1) any person engaged in the trade or business of 
        manufacturing or producing any prescription drug, and
            ``(2) any person who is a member of an affiliated group 
        which includes a person described in paragraph (1).
For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term `affiliated group' 
means any affiliated group as defined in section 1504 (determined 
without regard to paragraphs (3) and (4) of 1504(b)).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part IX of 
subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new item:

``Sec. 280I. Physician gift expenses of prescription drug 
                            manufacturers.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2004.
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