[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2997 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2997
To amend section 1928 of the Social Security Act to encourage the
production of influenza vaccines by eliminating the price cap
applicable to the purchase of such vaccines under contracts entered
into by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a tax credit to encourage
vaccine production capacity, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 18, 2004
Mr. Inhofe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend section 1928 of the Social Security Act to encourage the
production of influenza vaccines by eliminating the price cap
applicable to the purchase of such vaccines under contracts entered
into by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a tax credit to encourage
vaccine production capacity, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Flu Vaccine Incentive Act of 2004''
or the ``FLU-VIA''.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF PRICE CAP FOR THE PURCHASE OF INFLUENZA
VACCINES.
(a) In General.--
(1) Vaccines for children program.--Section 1928(d)(3) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396s(d)(3)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``With'' and
inserting ``Except as provided in subparagraph (D),
with''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(D) Nonapplication to influenza vaccines.--With
respect to contracts entered into for the purchase of a
pediatric vaccine that is an influenza vaccine, and to
the maximum extent practicable, with respect to any
other contracts entered into by the Secretary for the
purchase of an influenza vaccine, the price for the
purchase of such vaccine shall be established without
regard to subparagraph (B).''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1)
shall apply to contracts entered into on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(b) Application to Purchases for Other Federal Programs.--Section
1928(d)(3)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396s(d)(3)(D)), as
amended by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to the purchase of
an influenza vaccine by any Federal agency and in lieu of the price
that would otherwise apply to such a purchase under the schedule for
the purchase of drugs by the Veterans Administration under section 8126
of title 38, United States Code, under agreements negotiated by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 340B of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b), or otherwise.
SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF INFLUENZA VACCINE
MANUFACTURING FACILITIES.
(a) Influenza Vaccine Manufacturing Facilities Investment Tax
Credit.--
(1) Allowance of credit.--Section 46 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to amount of investment credit)
is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (1), by
striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting
``, and'', and by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) the influenza vaccine manufacturing facilities
investment credit.''.
(2) Amount of credit.--Section 48 of such Code is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Influenza Vaccine Manufacturing Facilities Investment
Credit.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of section 46, the
influenza vaccine manufacturing facilities investment credit
for any taxable year is an amount equal to 20 percent of the
qualified investment for such taxable year.
``(2) Qualified investment.--For purposes of paragraph (1),
the qualified investment for any taxable year is the basis of
each influenza vaccine manufacturing facilities property placed
in service by the taxpayer during such taxable year.
``(3) Influenza vaccine manufacturing facilities
property.--For purposes of this subsection, the term `influenza
vaccine manufacturing facilities property' means real and
tangible personal property--
``(A)(i) the original use of which commences with
the taxpayer, or
``(ii) which is acquired through purchase (as
defined by section 179(d)(2)),
``(B) which is depreciable under section 167,
``(C) which is used for the manufacture,
distribution, or research and development of influenza
vaccines, and
``(D) which is in compliance with any standards and
regulations which are promulgated by the Food and Drug
Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, or the Environmental Protection Agency
and which are applicable to such property.
``(4) Certain progress expenditure rules made applicable.--
Rules similar to rules of subsections (c)(4) and (d) of section
46 (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of
the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990) shall apply for
purposes of this subsection.
``(5) Termination.--This subsection shall not apply to any
property placed in service after December 31, 2014.''.
(b) Technical Amendments.--
(1) Subparagraph (C) of section 49(a)(1) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``and'' at the end
of clause (ii), by striking the period at the end of clause
(iii) and inserting ``, and'', and by adding at the end the
following new clause:
``(iv) the basis of any influenza vaccine
manufacturing facilities property.''.
(2) Subparagraph (E) of section 50(a)(2) of such Code is
amended by inserting ``or 48(c)(4)'' before the period.
(3)(A) The section heading for section 48 of such Code is
amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 48. OTHER CREDITS.''.
(B) The table of sections for subpart E of part IV of
subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking
the item relating to section 48 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 48. Other credits.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2004, under
rules similar to the rules of section 48(m) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of
the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990).
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING NEW
TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF INFLUENZA VACCINES.
(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) 30 years ago, more than a dozen companies produced the
influenza vaccine in the United States. As of 2004, only 2
companies make the vaccine for the United States.
(2) Currently, the influenza vaccine is grown in eggs
through a process that takes approximately 6 months and
consumes tens of thousands of eggs.
(3) Companies are developing new technologies for the
faster and safer production of the influenza vaccine. For
example, one manufacturer is testing a process that relies on
cell lines from silk moths, a technique that promises to shave
the production time by at least a month and reduce the costs
significantly.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that it is
prudent to allocate a greater percentage of the amounts appropriated to
the National Institutes of Health for research to the development of
new technologies for the production of influenza vaccines.
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