Bill Text: NJ SR54 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges US President and Congress to repeal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-25 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [SR54 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-SR54-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Urges US President and Congress to repeal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution urging the United States President and Congress to repeal the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.
Whereas, The federal "National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act" (NCVAI) was signed into law on November 14, 1986 and created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO), and vaccine information statement requirements for patients and providers; and
Whereas, The NCVAI was originally intended to shield vaccine manufacturers from liability insurance and injury litigation costs to encourage the development and production of vaccines; and
Whereas, The NVICP is a no-fault alternative tort system for litigating vaccine injury claims that aims to ensure an adequate supply of vaccines, to stabilize vaccine costs, and to establish and maintain an accessible and efficient forum for individuals found to be injured by certain vaccines; and
Whereas, Since the inception of the program, the NCIVP has received more than 21,000 injury claims and only about 30 percent of those claims have been compensated; and
Whereas, The NCIVP has paid out more than $4.2 billion dollars in public funding for petitioner awards and attorney fees; and
Whereas, A 2014 United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that most claims took multiple years to adjudicate observing that claims from fiscal year 1999 to March 31, 2014 took on average five and half years; and
Whereas, The GAO report comments that the program has an adversarial environment, as some petitioners are required to demonstrate a covered vaccine caused an injury not listed on the VICP injury tables; and
Whereas, Many stakeholders are calling for an increase to the NVICP's three-year statute of limitations to extend the period of time for when claims can be filed; and
Whereas, Children, today, typically receive routine doses for 15 different types of vaccines and the number of vaccines developed and recommended for children has increased over time; and
Whereas, The economic and legal immunity granted to manufacturers of vaccines may have removed the economic and legal incentives for the companies to manufacture safe vaccine products; and
Whereas, The NCVAI does not meet the law's intended goal of creating a more stable supply of safe and affordable vaccines for children and creating a fair system where injuries are justly settled and petitioners are compensated appropriately and in a timely manner; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Senate of the State of New Jersey urges the United States President and Congress to repeal the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the United States President, the Majority and Minority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and to every member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the United States President and Congress to repeal the federal "National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986" (NCVIA). The NCVIA was enacted in order to secure the continued supply, development, and production of vaccines by eliminating drug manufacturer's financial liability for vaccine injury claims. The NCVIA also established an alternative tort system, known as the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), to create an accessible and efficient forum for individuals found to be injured by certain vaccines. The NCVIA also created the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO), and vaccine information statement requirements for patients and providers.
Since the NVICP's inception, only about 30 percent of the 21,000 injury claims filed to the NVICP have been awarded compensation. A 2014 United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports noted that it took an average of five and half years for a claim to be adjudicated. Other issues with the current process of filing a vaccine injury claim through the NVICP include: filing a claim for an injury not listed on the NVICP's Vaccine Injury Table and the three-year statute of limitations that make it difficult to file an injury claim after that period of time.
While the NCVAI was intended to create a more stable supply of safe and affordable vaccines and a fair system for settling vaccine injury claims, the economic and legal immunity granted to vaccine drug manufacturers is counterproductive to the law's goals, as there is less incentive to manufacture safe vaccine products.
