107th Congress

Biomedical Research Assistance Voluntary Option Act

H.R. 1340

Background

On April 3, 2001, Representative Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) introduced H.R. 1340, the Biomedical Research Assistance Voluntary Option (BRAVO) Act.

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

The bill would have amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to donate all or part of their tax refunds to support biomedical research conducted through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The minimum designation to NIH through this mechanism would have been $1.

The measure would have required the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer funds donated through this mechanism to the NIH Gift Fund. Amounts appropriated by Congress for NIH would not have been offset by the amount of transfers to the Gift Fund.

Status and Outlook

On April 3, 2001, H.R. 1340 was referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Ways and Means. The bill had 34 cosponsors.

On June 27, 2001, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health (Representative Bilirakis, Chairman) held a hearing to consider several pieces of public health legislation, including the BRAVO Act. On July 11, the Subcommittee held a markup session and approved the measure for full Committee consideration by voice vote, without amendment. No further action occurred during the 107th Congress.