[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4096 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4096

    To amend the Public Health Service Act to extend the deadlines 
  applicable to filing petitions for compensation under the National 
                  Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2009

Mr. Perriello introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Public Health Service Act to extend the deadlines 
  applicable to filing petitions for compensation under the National 
                  Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

    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 Vaccine Injury Compensation 
Program Modernization Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF FILING DEADLINE.

    (a) General Rule.--Section 2116(a) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300aa-16(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``36 months'' and 
        inserting ``6 years (excluding any period during which the 
        person who suffered the injury has not yet attained 18 years of 
        age)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``24 months'' and inserting ``6 
                years''; and
                    (B) by striking ``48 months'' and inserting ``6 
                years''; and
            (3) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking ``the first 
        symptom or manifestation of onset or of the significant 
        aggravation'' each place it appears and inserting ``the first 
        symptom, manifestation, or diagnosis, whichever is later, of 
        onset or of the significant aggravation''.
    (b) Additional Provisions.--Section 2116(a) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300aa-16(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Additional Extension.--
            ``(1) Minimum period.--If an injury or death occurs as a 
        result of a vaccine set forth in the Vaccine Injury Table which 
        is administered after September 30, 1988, and before the date 
        of the enactment of this subsection, the end of the limitation 
        period applicable under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) 
        for filing a petition for compensation under the Program for 
        such injury or death, notwithstanding the provisions of such 
        paragraphs, shall be not earlier than 2 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this subsection.
            ``(2) Effect of previous dismissal.--Notwithstanding 
        section 2111(b)(2), if a petition is filed within the 
        limitation period applicable under paragraph (1), the petition 
        may not be dismissed on the basis of a previous dismissal for 
        untimely filing.
    ``(e) Discovery Rule.--The limitation period applicable under 
paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) shall not begin to run until the 
person who suffered a vaccine-related injury or death (or the legal 
representative thereof) first knew or should have reasonably known that 
the person may have experienced a vaccine-related injury or death.''.
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