[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 5120-5121] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]VACCINE INJURED CHILDREN'S COMPENSATION ACT OF 2001 (VICCA) ______ 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 [[Page 5121]] 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 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. ____________________