[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 44 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E488-E489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      VACCINE INJURED CHILDREN'S COMPENSATION ACT OF 2001 (VICCA)

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                            HON. DAVE WELDON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2001

  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to join 
Representative Jerrold Nadler and several other Members of Congress in 
introducing Vaccine Injured Children's Compensation Act of 2001 
(VICCA). Over the past year, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program 
(VICP) has been subject to several congressional hearings. I have met 
with parents, doctors, and attorneys who have been involved in the 
current program seeking compensation for injuries that resulted from 
vaccines.
  Serious vaccine injuries are, thankfully, very rare. However, some 
children suffer serious adverse reactions to vaccines. In a small 
number of cases these are very debilitating reactions. We must work 
aggressively to understand why some children suffer adverse reactions 
so that we may develop precautionary measures to reduce adverse 
reactions. I am a strong proponent of vaccination. I believe it is 
important that children be vaccinated against these devastating 
diseases. Widespread vaccination has and will continue to spare our 
nation from the scourge of epidemics. Our nation benefits from 
widespread vaccination. Those of us who are healthy are the 
beneficiaries of national vaccination efforts. As such, I believe very 
strongly that we as a nation have an obligation to meet the needs of 
those children who suffer adverse reactions.
  I also believe that our federal public health officials should do 
more to ensure that we are

[[Page E489]]

doing all that we can to reduce the number of children who have adverse 
reactions. We must work aggressively to understand why some children 
suffer adverse reactions so that we may develop precautionary measures 
to reduce adverse reactions. I will continue to pursue this effort with 
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH).
  I was pleased when a Democrat controlled Congress and Republican 
President Reagan worked together in bipartisan fashion in 1986 to 
establish the VICP. VICP was established to ensure that our nation 
continues to have a strong vaccination program while compensating those 
families when a child suffers a serious adverse reaction to a vaccine. 
Back in the mid-1980s there was a real concern that due to lawsuits 
brought against vaccine manufacturers, some manufacturers would stop 
making their vaccines available leaving the American public without 
important vaccines.
  The Vaccine Injured Children's Compensation Act of 2001 (VICCA) would 
make a number of substantive and administrative changes to the VICP, in 
an attempt to restore the program so that it fulfills the promises that 
were intended. A broad coalition of Members of Congress from across the 
political spectrum has joined together to address these concerns.
  The bill clarifies that this program is to be a remedial, 
compensation program, which is consistent with the original intent 
expressed by Congress in the House Report accompanying the National 
Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. Today, the program is too 
litigious and adversarial. VICCA makes changes regarding burden of 
proof. Currently, the burden of proof is such that some children may 
not be receiving compensation that is due them. I believe we should 
bend over backwards to ensure that every child who was injured receives 
compensation. The intent of the program was to provide compensation for 
all claimants whose injuries may very well have been caused by the 
vaccine. The program needs to fully recognize that strict scientific 
proof is not always available. Serious side effects of vaccines are 
rare and as such, it is often difficult to prove causal relationships 
with the certainty that science and medicine often expect. Indeed there 
may be multiple factors that lead to an adverse reaction in some 
children and the program should recognize this. VICCA ensures that this 
is taken into account and it ensures that when the weight of the 
evidence is balanced, we err on the side of the injured child.
  Our bill will also make it easier to ensure that the costs associated 
with setting up a trust for the compensation award are a permitted use 
of the funds. This is important in ensuring that these funds are 
available to provide a lifetime of care for the injured child. The bill 
also stops the practice of discounting to ensure that the value of an 
award for pain and suffering is fully met.
  We also recognize the important need for counseling in helping 
parents and siblings of a profoundly injured child cope with these new 
challenges. The impact of these injuries go well beyond the child who 
is injured. This bill will ensure coverage of counseling services.
  The bill also ensures the payment of interim fees and costs to 
claimants attorneys. Under the current program, families and attorneys 
are often forced to bear these expenses for years while a claim is 
heard. Attorneys for the claimants are going to be paid for their fees 
and costs at the end of a claim, regardless of whether or not they 
prevail. Thus there is no logical reason why they should not be allowed 
to petition for interim fees and costs. This provision simply ensures a 
more fair process for the claimants, by ensuring that the injured child 
can have good representation while pursuing his or her claim. It 
ensures that they are able to put their best case forward. The current 
practice hinders the ability of many claimants to put their best case 
forward. This should not be the case in a program that was established 
to ensure provisions for children who have been injured.
  Finally, the bill makes a number of changes to statutes of 
limitation. The program should serve the purpose of compensating those 
who were harmed. Thus, it is important to ensure that it is as 
inclusive as possible to ensure that injured children are compensated 
and fully cared for.

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