[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E371-E372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING THE ``MEDICAL INNOVATION TAX 
                                CREDIT''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 9, 1999

  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today, Congressman Sander 
Levin and I have introduced legislation, H.R.--that will establish a 
new ``Medical Innovation Tax Credit.'' Last year, we introduced similar 
legislation with strong, bipartisan support. This bill is designed to 
provide incentives for companies to utilize our Nation's medical 
schools and teaching hospitals to conduct important clinical testing 
research. These institutions have led the world on the development of 
medical advances, including cures for small pox, treatments for 
diabetes, cancer, and leukemia as well as the

[[Page E372]]

irradication of polio. It is important that we make every effort to 
insure that American teaching hospitals and medical schools remain 
leaders in the fight against disease.
  Medical schools and teaching hospitals are the training grounds for 
our nation's health care professionals. They are centers for 
development of innovative medical technologies and treatments, as well 
as the backbone for innovation in American medicine. They are able to 
develop life saving drugs, medical devices and surgical techniques due 
to their unique position to link research, medical training and patient 
care. Unfortunately, medical schools and teaching hospitals face 
serious financial challenges due to profound changes in the health care 
marketplace. As funding shrinks, so does the vital, life saving medical 
research they perform.
  The Medical Innovation Tax Credit is a response to this alarming 
decline in utilization of the Country's superior medical facilities for 
clinical trials. Under the credit, companies would be eligible for an 
incremental 20% tax credit for expenditures on human clinical trials 
performed by: (1) non-profit or public medical schools; (2) teaching 
hospitals owned by or affiliated with an institution of higher 
learning; (3) a medical research organization affiliated with a medical 
school or teaching hospital; or (4) non-profit research hospitals that 
are designated as cancer centers by the National Cancer Institute of 
the National Institutes of Health. The credit requires that research be 
performed in the United States, encouraging companies to retain and 
expand their clinical research projects, rather than relocating such 
activities abroad.
  I urge my colleagues to join with me in the establishment of the 
Medical Innovation Tax Credit. A tax credit that is truly a ``credit 
for life.''

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