Components of the agreement include:
• Eliminate a loophole related to so-called inverted corporations – corporations that moved their headquarters offshore to avoid federal taxes – to clarify that federal contracts will only be awarded to these companies when deemed essential to national security;
• Revise a provision governing college and university research to broaden criteria so all eligible institutions could compete for funding; and
• Eliminate a provision aimed at limiting liability for vaccine manufacturers. The agreement also calls on the Senate to consider and pass comprehensive reforms to the Vaccine Injury Compensation program in the next six months.
The Senators have been spearheading efforts to revise or eliminate the three "egregious" special interest provisions unrelated to Homeland Security but included at the eleventh hour in the Homeland Security bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
In November, they secured the commitment of both the Senate and House Majority Leaders, the Speaker of the House, and the Vice President to address their concerns in the Omnibus Appropriations bill to be considered by Congress later this month.
Since that time, the Senators have been negotiating new legislative language with their colleagues, and the changes will be incorporated into the Omnibus bill by Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). The Senators said they appreciate the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to help secure the agreement.
The Senators said they expect the House of Representatives to accept the provisions.
"The eleventh-hour addition of these special-interest provisions in the Homeland Security bill was both egregious and unacceptable. I am very pleased with the agreement we have reached to eliminate the most egregious of these provisions, and make changes that will meet our concerns. Senate Majority Leader Frist and Senator Gregg deserve credit for working with us to reach this agreement," said Senator Snowe. "It was especially important to me to assure families of children with autism full recourse in pursuing their claims. I believe the agreement we reached restores these cases to fair and equal footing without prejudicing the cases, eliminating a provision included in the dark of night that should never have been raised. At the same time, our agreement sets the stage for comprehensive improvements to the Vaccine Injury Compensation program for the future. We have also assured that colleges and universities can more fairly compete for homeland security research projects, and eliminated waivers that would have rewarded offshore corporations."
"The remedy of the three egregious provisions included in the Homeland Security bill is a victory for fairness. These three provisions – to which Senators Snowe, Chafee, and I strongly objected – should never have been slipped into the Homeland Security Bill at the eleventh-hour without the benefit of debate or committee review," Senator Collins said. "Because of our forceful protest, we have had the opportunity to remedy these hastily-added provisions to our satisfaction, as promised by the Senate and House leadership last year. Regardless of what one thinks of the merits of the provisions in question, the process that allowed them to become law was unacceptable and the reforms we are announcing today maintain the integrity of the legislative process."
"I appreciate the new Majority Leader's efforts to address these unresolved issues from the homeland security bill. This is a positive sign of Senator Frist's willingness to work with moderates within the party," said Senator Chafee. I also look forward to working with Chairman Gregg on a broader vaccine reform bill in the HELP Committee this year."
SUMMARY OF AGREEMENT ON SPECIAL INTEREST PROVISIONS
Vaccines
The Senators secured agreement to remove the provision that would have impacted pending court cases filed by families of autistic children.
Removing this provision, they said, would permit the families engaged in court cases against the manufacturers, component manufacturers, and administrators of vaccines to pursue their cases under the same set of circumstances that existed prior to the eleventh-hour insertion of the provision into the Homeland Security bill. They said their intention is to wipe the slate clean, without prejudicing pending court cases to benefit any litigant.
The Senators said they also will include in the bill a Sense of the Senate provision directing the Senate to consider and pass comprehensive legislation within six months to enhance the nation's ability to produce and develop new and effective vaccines, take steps to revitalize immunization efforts ensuring an adequate supply of vaccines, and ensure development of new vaccines; and provide patients who have suffered vaccine-related injuries an opportunity to seek fair and timely redress, and provide vaccine manufacturers, manufacturers of components or ingredients of vaccines, and physicians and other administrators adequate protections. Passage of comprehensive legislation, they said, would help bolster vaccines as the first line of defense against common childhood and adult diseases, as well as current and future biological threats.
Inverted Corporations
The Senators secured agreement to close a loophole in the bill's ban on the award of homeland security-related contracts to "inverted" corporations – U.S. corporations which have moved offshore for the purpose of avoiding federal taxation.
Due to a special-interest provision included in the last hours of consideration of the Homeland Security bill, the legislation as enacted would have required federal contracts to be awarded on the basis of the lowest bid, or if job losses could follow, regardless of where a company was incorporated. This requirement contracted the Senate's past actions to crack down on the most egregious corporate inversions.
Instead, the Senators said the Omnibus bill will include their language to remove the two waivers – regarding lower cost to the government, or job losses – while maintaining the critical waiver permitting award of a contract to an inverted corporation when deemed essential to national security interests. College and University Research
The Senators secured agreement to broaden the ability so all eligible colleges and universities could compete for research required by the Department of Homeland Security, rather than targeting that work toward specific institutions.
The language inserted in the Homeland Security bill in November required that colleges and universities meet extremely selective and narrow criteria that would have excluded the vast majority of institutions of higher learning in the U.S. from competing to conduct research.
The agreement will provider greater flexibility, while retaining the ability of the Secretary of Homeland Security to set criteria for the research. The new language grants the Secretary authority to determine criteria necessary, but with the flexibility to adjust or add criteria when necessary to meet the needs of the nation and national security. The revised language assures that all eligible schools can compete for Homeland Security research contracts.
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