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108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1536
To provide for compassionate payments with regard to individuals who
contracted human immunodeficiency virus due to the provision of a
contaminated blood transfusion, and for other purposes.
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003
Mr. Edwards (for himself and Mr. Jeffords) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
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A BILL
To provide for compassionate payments with regard to individuals who
contracted human immunodeficiency virus due to the provision of a
contaminated blood transfusion, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Steve Grissom
Relief Fund Act of 2003''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--RELIEF FUND
Sec. 101. Steve Grissom relief fund.
Sec. 102. Compassionate payments.
Sec. 103. Determination and payment.
Sec. 104. Limitation on transfer of rights and number of petitions.
Sec. 105. Time limitation.
Sec. 106. Certain claims not affected by payment.
Sec. 107. Definitions.
TITLE II--TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS UNDER THE SSI PROGRAM
Sec. 201. Treatment of certain payments under the SSI program.
TITLE I--RELIEF FUND
SEC. 101. STEVE GRISSOM RELIEF FUND.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the
United States a trust fund to be known as the ``Steve Grissom Relief
Fund'', which shall be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) Investmetn of Amounts in Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be
invested in accordance with section 9702 of title 31, United States
Code, and any interest on and proceeds from any such investment shall
be credited to an become part of the Fund.
(c) Availability of Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available
only for disbursement by the Secretary of Health and Human Services
under section 103.
(d) Termination.--The Fund shall terminate upon the expiration of
the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
If all of the amounts in the Fund have not been expended by the end of
the 5-year period, investments of amounts in the Fund shall be
liquidated, the receipts of such liquidation shall be deposited in the
Fund, and all funds remaining in the Fund shall be deposited in the
miscellaneous receipts account in the Treasury of the United States.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Fund such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this title.
SEC. 102. COMPASSIONATE PAYMENTS.
(a) In General.--If the conditions described in subsection (b) are
met and if there are sufficient amounts in the Fund to make each
payment, the Secretary shall make a single payment of $100,000 from the
Fund to any individual who has an HIV infection, or who is diagnosed
with AIDS, and who is described in one of the following paragraphs:
(1) The individual was treated with HIV contaminated blood
transfusion, HIV contaminated blood components, HIV
contaminated human tissue, or HIV contaminated organs
(excluding Anti-hemophiliac Factor) in the United States during
the period beginning on July 1, 1982, and ending on December
31, 1987.
(2) The individual--
(A) is the lawful spouse of an individual described
in paragraph (1); or
(B) is the former lawful spouse of an individual
described in paragraph (1) and was the lawful spouse of
the individual at any time after a date, within the
period described in such subparagraph, on which the
individual was treated as described in such paragraph
and through medical documentation can assert reasonable
certainty of transmission of HIV from individual
described in paragraph (1).
(3) The individual acquired the HIV infection through
perinatal transmission from a parent who is an individual
described in paragraph (1) or (2).
(b) Conditions.--The conditions described in this subsection are,
with respect to an individual, as follows:
(1) Submission of medical documentation of hiv infection.--
(A) In general.--The individual submits to the
Secretary written medical documentation that
demonstrates that--
(i) the individual has (or had) an HIV
infection;
(ii) in the case of an individual described
in subsection (a)(1), the individual was
treated with a blood transfusion, blood
components, human tissue, or organs (excluding
anti-hemophiliac Factor) provided by a medical
professional in the United States during the
period described in such subsection;
(iii) prior to the treatment described in
subparagraph (B), there was no evidence of HIV
infection with respect to the individual
involved; and
(iv) a comprehensive physical examination,
or HIV testing, was conducted after the
treatment described in subparagraph (B) and
reveals evidence of HIV infection, and that
evidence, together with other medical records,
indicates the probable transmission of the HIV
to the individual through such treatment.
(B) Waivers.--The Secretary may waive the
requirements of subparagraph (A) with respect to an
individual if the Secretary determines that the
individual is unable to provide the documentation
required under such subparagraph because the documents
involved were destroyed or otherwise made unavailable
as a result of the occurrence a natural disaster or
other circumstance beyond the control of the
individual.
(2) Petition.--A petition for the payment is filed with the
Secretary by or on behalf of the individual.
(3) Determination.--The Secretary determines, in accordance
with section 103(b), that the petition meets the requirements
of this title.
(4) Fraud.--Any individual who--
(A) knowingly and willfully makes or causes to be
made any false statement or representation of a
material fact in connection with any documentation
provided under this subsection; or
(B) having knowledge of the occurrence of any event
affecting his or her initial or continued right to any
payment under this title conceals or fails to disclose
such event with an intent fraudulently to secure such
payment;
shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned for not
more than 5 years, or both.
SEC. 103. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT.
(a) Establishment of Filing Procedures.--The Secretary of Health
and Human Services shall establish procedures under which individuals
may submit petitions for payment under this title. The procedures shall
include a requirement that each petition filed under this Act include
written medical documentation that the relevant individual described in
section 102(a)(1) received the treatment described in such section.
(b) Determination.--For each petition filed under this title, the
Secretary shall determine whether the petition meets the requirements
of this title.
(c) Payment.--
(1) In general.--To the extent there are sufficient amounts
in the Fund to cover each payment, the Secretary shall pay,
from the Fund, each petition that the Secretary determines
meets the requirements of this title in the order received.
(2) Payments in case of deceased individuals.--
(A) In general.--In the case of an individual
referred to in section 102(a) who was diagnosed with
AIDS and who is deceased at the time that payment is
made under this section on a petition filed by or on
behalf of the individual, the payment shall be made as
follows:
(i) If the individual is survived by a
spouse who is living at the time of payment,
the payment shall be made to such surviving
spouse.
(ii) If the individual is not survived by a
spouse described in clause (i), the payment
shall be made in equal shares to all children
of the individual who are living at the time of
the payment.
(iii) If the individual is not survived by
a person described in clause (i) or (ii), the
payment shall be made in equal shares to the
parents of the individual who are living at the
time of the payment.
(iv) If the individual is not survived by a
person described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii),
the payment shall revert back to the Fund.
(B) Filing of petition by survivor.--If an
individual eligible for payment under section 102(a)
dies before filing a petition under this title, a
survivor of the individual may file a petition for
payment under this title on behalf of the individual if
the survivor may receive payment under subparagraph
(A).
(C) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph:
(i) Spouse.--The term ``spouse'' means an
individual who was lawfully married to the
relevant individual at the time of death.
(ii) Child.--The term ``child'' includes a
recognized natural child, a stepchild who lived
with the relevant individual in a regular
parent-child relationship, and an adopted
child.
(iii) Parent.--The term ``parent'' includes
fathers and mothers through adoption.
(3) Timing of payment.--The Secretary may not make a
payment on a petition under this title before the expiration of
the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act or after the expiration of the 5-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Action on Petitions.--The Secretary shall complete the
determination required by subsection (b) regarding a petition not later
than 120 days after the date the petition is filed under this title.
(e) Humanitarian Nature of Payment.--This Act does not create or
admit any claim of or on behalf of the individual against the United
States or against any officer, employee, or agent thereof acting within
the scope of employment or agency that relate to an HIV infection
arising from a treatment described in section 102(a)(1), at any time
during the period beginning on July 1, 1982, and ending on December 31,
1987. A payment under this Act shall, however, when accepted by or on
behalf of the individual, be in full satisfaction of all such claims by
or on behalf of that individual.
(f) Termination of Duties of Secretary.--The duties of the
Secretary under this section shall cease when the Fund terminates.
(g) Treatment of Payments Under Other Laws.--A payment under
subsection (c)(1) to an individual--
(1) shall be treated for purposes of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 as damages described in section 104(a)(2) of such
Code;
(2) shall not be included as income or resources for
purposes of determining the eligibility of the individual to
receive benefits described in section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title
31, United States Code, or the amount of such benefits, and
such benefits shall not be secondary to, conditioned upon
reimbursement from, or subject to any reduction because of
receipt of, any such payment; and
(3) shall not be treated as a third party payment or
payment in relation to a legal liability with respect to such
benefits and shall not be subject (whether by subrogation or
otherwise) to recover, recoupment, reimbursement, or collection
with respect to such benefits (including the Federal or State
governments or any entity that provides such benefits under a
contract).
(h) Regulatory Authority.--The Secretary may issue regulations
necessary to carry out this title.
(i) Time of Issuance of Procedures.--The Secretary shall, through
the promulgation of appropriate regulations, guidelines, or otherwise,
first establish the procedures to carry out this title not later than
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 104. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF RIGHTS AND NUMBER OF PETITIONS.
(a) Rights Not Assignable or Transferable.--Any right under this
title shall not be assignable or transferable.
(b) One Petition With Respect to Each Victim.--With respect to each
individual described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 102(a),
the Secretary may not make payment with respect to more than one
petition filed in respect to an individual.
SEC. 105. TIME LIMITATION.
The Secretary may not make any payment with respect to any petition
filed under this title unless the petition is filed within 5 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 106. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY PAYMENT.
A payment made under section 103(c)(1) shall not be considered as
any form of compensation, or reimbursement for a loss, for purposes of
imposing liability on the individual receiving the payment, on the
basis of such receipt, to repay any insurance carrier for insurance
payments or to repay any person on account of worker's compensation
payments. A payment under this title shall not affect any claim against
an insurance carrier with respect to insurance or against any person
with respect to workers' compensation.
SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title:
(1) AIDS.--The term ``AIDS'' means acquired immune
deficiency syndrome.
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