II
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2115
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 12, 2014
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Reed, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Markey, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Boxer, and Mrs. Hagan) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of a fund to provide for an expanded and sustained national investment in biomedical research.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
American Cures Act
.
Biomedical Research Fund
Purpose
It is the purpose of this section to establish a Biomedical Research Fund (referred to in
this section as the Fund
), to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, to provide for an expanded and sustained
national investment in biomedical research through the programs
and agencies described in subsection (b)(2).
Use of fund
In general
For each fiscal year, amounts shall be transferred from the Fund to the accounts related to the programs and agencies described in paragraph (2) to ensure that funding for such programs and agencies for such fiscal year does not fall below 105 percent of the level of funding provided for the fiscal year immediately preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is being made and an additional amount to account for any increases in the Gross Domestic Product for the year involved.
Agencies
The programs and agencies described in this paragraph are the following:
The National Institutes of Health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Department of Defense health program.
The medical and prosthetics research program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Minimum continued funding requirement
Amounts appropriated for each of the programs and agencies described in subsection (b)(2) for a fiscal year shall not be less than the amounts appropriated for such programs and agencies for fiscal year 2014.
Funding
There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, and appropriated, to the Fund, out of any monies in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary in each fiscal year to enable the transfers to be made in accordance with subsection (b)(1).
Transfer authority
The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives may provide for the transfer of funds in the Fund to eligible programs and agencies under this section, subject to subsection (b).
Exemption of certain payments from sequestration
In general
Section 255(g)(1)(A)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (2 U.S.C.
905(g)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after Advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and Other Funds (16–0327–0–1–600).
the following:
Biomedical Research Fund.
.
Applicability
The amendment made by this section shall apply to any sequestration order issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) on or after the date of enactment of this Act.