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"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."

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CongressDaily/A.M.National Journal

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

HEALTH

Senate GOP Forging Ahead With Vaccine Compensation Changes Senate Republicans are pushing ahead with legislation to change the program that compensates families of children harmed by the side effects of mandatory vaccines, despite controversy over provisions of the bill that may prompt Democrats to tack on dozens of amendments during a Wednesday markup.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled this week to mark up childhood vaccination legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Frist. But Democrats on the panel are readying for a renewed fight over provisions in Frist's bill that they said would prevent families of children harmed by the thimerosal, a mercury-based vaccine additive that has been linked to childhood disorders, from receiving compensation.

Frist's original bill, part of which funneled thimerosal victims into the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, touched off a firestorm last year when it was slipped into the homeland security bill. It was later repealed as part of the FY03 omnibus spending bill, with critics charging that the last-minute rider absolved thimerosal maker Eli Lilly and Co.

The bill set for Wednesday markup also makes a number of changes to the VICP. The controversial provisions dealing with the side effects of vaccines on children were stripped -- along with the smallpox vaccine compensation plan -- from a bill that the Senate panel passed enacting the president's "BioShield" project dealing with bioterror agents.

Some lawmakers had hoped senators could reach a compromise, with Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind. Burton remains optimistic that negotiations this week in the Senate will yield a bill that does not prevent families that believe their children were harmed by thimerosal from seeking damages.

Burton has authored a bill extending from three to six years the period under which families may file for claims under the VICP. Like Barton's bill, Frist's bill also extends the filing period to six years and increases compensation amounts.

But unlike Frist's bill, the Burton-Pallone bill would allow the families who claim their children's problems were caused by thimerosal anytime since 1988 to file for compensation. "We want to make sure no child is left out in the cold whose parents believe was harmed," Burton said. "We want to make sure that the pharmaceutical industry and the government don't leave them out in the cold."

Burton said he would wait to see the Senate bill and would try to "make improvements" to it if it bars some families involved in lawsuits from receiving compensation. Burton attributes his own grandson's autism to vaccinations.

But the prospects for compromise appear dim. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ranking member Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is flatly opposed to Frist's proposed thimerosal provisions, an aide said.

In an effort to stymie the legislation, Democrats on the panel may offer up dozens of amendments during the scheduled Wednesday markup session. Democrats could deal with the bill amendments "like we did with the smallpox legislation last week," an aide said, referring to the 74 amendments Kennedy introduced during markup. By Emily Heil

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