United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020
Strictly Pay for Efficient and Expedited Delivery of Your COVID-19 Tests Act or the SPEEDY COVID-19 Tests Act This bill establishes and otherwise modifies requirements relating to Medicare payments for specified laboratory diagnostic tests during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). In particular, the bill requires laboratories, as a condition of Medicare participation, to furnish COVID-19 test results to health care providers within 28 days of when the test was ordered. The bill also adjusts payments based on how quickly laboratories return test results. For example, the bill increases payments for laboratories that return test results within 24 hours, but prohibits payment for results that take 72 hours or longer.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020
Veterans' Sentinel Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a pilot program establishing a working group in the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to collect and analyze data regarding on-campus (i.e., on VA property) suicides and on-campus attempted suicides by veterans. The working group is authorized to implement improvements to the process by which the VA collects data related to on-campus suicides to unify the disparate sources of such data. The VA must annually brief Congress regarding the progress and findings of the working group. The bill requires the VA to (1) annually evaluate the statistical trends of suicides and attempted suicides by veterans that occur on VA property, and (2) determine recommendations for preventing such suicides and attempted suicides. Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to submit a report on (1) the actions the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention has taken to meet the priority objective of the VA with respect to preventing veteran suicide, (2) the challenges the office has faced in making such actions, and (3) recommendations for improvements.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020
Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2020 This bill prohibits the use of corporal punishment in schools that receive federal funding. It also establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to corporal punishment, and creates a grant program for state educational agencies to implement positive behavioral interventions and supports to address student behavior and reduce exclusionary and aversive discipline practices.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020
Preventing Future Pandemics Act of 2020 This bill establishes measures to address global public health risks posed by wildlife markets, which are commercial markets that sell or slaughter wildlife for human consumption as food or medicine in communities where alternative nutritional or protein sources are available. Specifically, the bill prohibits importing, exporting, purchasing, or selling live wild animals in the United States for human consumption as food or medicine. The Department of the Interior must hire, train, and deploy at least 50 new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement attachés around the world, and the U.S. Agency for International Development must increase specified activities to address the threats and causes of zoonotic (animal-to-human transmission) disease outbreaks. Additionally, the United States must work with other United Nations member states to urge a global ban on commercial wildlife markets and enforcement of laws to end wildlife trafficking. Further, the President may impose sanctions against a foreign country or foreign nationals that the Department of State has determined are taking certain actions that enable or facilitate commercial wildlife markets. Among other reports required by the bill, the State Department must conduct a study and submit a report that includes an evaluation of (1) the impact that consumption of terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine has on the transmission of novel viral and other pathogens, (2) the role of consuming terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine in the transmission of microbes from animals to humans, and (3) the conditions at live wildlife markets that lead to this transmission.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2020
This resolution condemns the performance of unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures on individuals without their informed consent and recognizes the need for additional accountability, oversight, and transparency to protect individuals from such medical procedures while they are in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to fully cooperate with investigations about, and take other actions related to, medical procedures in one of its detention centers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Family Crisis Cash Assistance Act This bill provides funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program within 30 days that provides monthly cash-assistance payments to low- and moderate-income households during economic downturns or disasters. This funding is exempt from sequestration, a process of automatic spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. During any month the Department of Labor determines that a state or territory is in an economic downturn or the Federal Emergency Management Agency determines that an area is under a major disaster declaration, eligible households in those places receive payments. Payments vary based on household size and income. For households with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL), payments range from $2,000 to $4,000. Payments phase out for households with incomes between 200% and 300% of the FPL. In addition, payments may not be garnished or taxed, and jurisdictions may not impose conditions, such as work requirements or asset tests, on the receipt of these payments. The federal government must cover 100% of the payments. States and territories may carry out this program directly by submitting plans that meet certain requirements to HHS for approval. HHS must award planning grants to jurisdictions to develop the plans and cover certain program implementation costs. If a jurisdiction lacks an approved plan or otherwise fails to comply with program requirements, HHS must make the payments on behalf of that jurisdiction.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Improving Diaper Affordability Act of 2020 This bill includes diapers as deductible medical expenses and allows payments for diapers from certain tax-preferred spending and reimbursement accounts. The bill prohibits state or local governments from imposing a sales tax on the retail purchase of diapers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Jobs and Justice Act of 2020 This bill addresses a wide variety of domestic policy matters and focuses on economically distressed communities, opportunities for minorities and the disadvantaged, and civil rights enforcement. Included in the programs and requirements affected are those concerning the following areas: workforce development, including job training and wage standards; economic development, including through assistance to minority businesses; antipoverty measures, including programs to specifically address child poverty and persistent poverty; housing and savings matters, including housing affordability, discrimination, homelessness assistance, tenant protections, public housing funding, home ownership and foreclosure mitigation, and lead-safe housing; savings and consumer finance, including financial literacy and lending discrimination; public contracting; infrastructure development; job training for youth and older Americans; veterans' and military family benefits; health care coverage and access, including Medicare and Medicaid coverage; small business investment and commercial investment in underserved areas, including through tax benefits; elementary and secondary education, including education of girls and minorities and teacher preparation; higher education access, including through community college attendance; science, technology, and information security education; law enforcement officer conduct, resources and administration, juvenile justice, sentencing procedures, hate crimes, correctional facilities, and firearms sales and possession; election administration and voting rights; and environmental, agriculture, and energy matters, including climate change, environmental justice, and energy efficiency and transition to alternative and renewable resources.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants for mental and behavioral health screenings and mental health services to federally qualified health centers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
This resolution calls for renewed U.S. leadership in addressing the climate crisis that is disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children. It also recognizes the need for the executive branch to prepare a climate recovery plan that puts the United States on a trajectory consistent with reducing global atmospheric carbon dioxide to below 350 parts per million by the year 2100.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
Air Carrier Worker Support Extension Act of 2020 This bill extends authority for the Department of the Treasury to provide financial assistance to passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and contractors of passenger air carriers for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits. The maximum amounts of financial assistance that may be provided by Treasury for this purpose are $25.5 billion for passenger air carriers, $300 million for cargo air carriers, and $3 billion for contractors . The bill provides specific deadlines and procedures under which Treasury must provide financial assistance to air carriers and contractors. To be eligible for financial assistance, an air carrier or contractor must (1) agree not to reduce pay and benefits or conduct involuntary furloughs until March 31, 2021; and (2) agree, through March 31, 2022, not to repurchase stock, pay dividends, or make other capital distributions. Additionally, Treasury may require carriers that receive assistance to maintain service to points served before March 1, 2020. Such authority terminates on April 1, 2022. The bill limits the maximum allowable compensation of an officer or employee of an air carrier or contractor that receives assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
Educators are Heroes Act This bill establishes and provides funding for the Educator Fund, from which the Department of the Treasury shall make grants to local educational agencies to provide premium pay to teachers and other staff for each hour of in-person work at a public elementary or secondary school during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
This resolution recognizes (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Masks for Students Act This bill requires that a specified Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) policy relating to public assistance remain in effect to provide cloth facial coverings to public schools (kindergarten through 12th grade) that provide in-person learning during the coronavirus emergency period. The coronavirus emergency period is the period beginning on March 13, 2020, and ending on the later of (1) the last day on which a presidential declaration of emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act with respect to the coronavirus (i.e., the virus that causes COVID-19) is in effect, or (2) the last day on which a presidential declaration of national emergency under the National Emergencies Act with respect to the coronavirus is in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Educating for Democracy Act of 2020 This bill authorizes the Department of Education to award grants to states, qualified nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, and qualified researchers to support and expand access to American civics and history education. It also requires the National Assessment of Educational Progress in civics and history to be administered every two years to certain grade levels.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
This resolution supports Peripheral Artery Disease Awareness Month and encourages the public to observe the month with appropriate awareness and educational activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2020
National Women's Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, half-dollar clad coins, and proof silver $1 coins in recognition and celebration of the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. All minted coins shall include a specified surcharge, which shall be paid to the National Women's Hall of Fame Foundation to establish an endowment fund to provide for the long-term financing of the hall's operations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the federal government has a duty to develop a holistic agenda to respond to racial injustice, unemployment, the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, and climate change. The resolution further outlines the goals of this agenda to build a society with greater racial, economic, and gender justice; dignified work; healthy communities; and a stable climate. Additionally, the resolution identifies efforts to support these goals.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
Ending Health Disparities During COVID-19 Act of 2020 or the EHDC Act of 2020 This bill expands COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) relief efforts, expands data collection and health literacy, supports research, promotes diversity in the health professional workforce, increases access to telehealth and other health care, and otherwise addresses the health of minority populations and immigrants. For example, the bill provides funding for emergency aid and services, grants to address COVID-19 health inequities, grants to address social determinants of health, and payments for language services. It also expands COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
This resolution supports the designation of National Student Sleep Health Week and recognizes the importance of policies to improve sleep health in children and adolescents. It also encourages public health officials, educators, parents, and others to promote adequate sleep.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2020
COVID Community Care Act This bill provides FY2020 supplemental funding for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Health Service to implement programs to prevent and respond to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) in medically underserved areas and among tribal populations, respectively. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2020
Save our Social Security Now Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from implementing the Internal Revenue Service Notice entitled Relief with Respect to Employment Tax Deadlines Applicable to Employers Affected by the Ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease 2019 Pandemic and renders such notice null and void.. The notice requires Treasury to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of certain payroll tax obligations for a specified period.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2020
This joint resolution expresses congressional disapproval of the Internal Revenue Service rule relating to Relief with Respect to Employment Tax Deadlines Applicable to Employers Affected by the Ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease 2019 Pandemic . The rule requires the deferral of the payment of employment taxes on wages between September 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2020
Science in Blood Donation Act of 2020 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its guidance on reducing the risk of transmitting by blood transfusion human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. Specifically, the FDA shall update its guidance to remove recommendations to not receive blood donations from a man who had sex with another man in the past three months. The FDA shall also remove recommendations to not receive blood donations from a woman who in the last three months had sex with such a man. The FDA's updated guidance shall be based on an individual risk assessment of sexual behaviors that evaluate all donors equally without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2020
Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2020 This bill establishes within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a National Center on Antiracism and Health and a law enforcement violence prevention program. Among other activities, the new center must declare racism a public health crisis, collect and analyze data, and administer research and grant programs to address racism and its impact on health and well-being. Additionally, the bill specifically directs the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in coordination with the Department of Justice and other relevant stakeholders, to carry out the law enforcement violence prevention program by conducting research and supporting other activities pertaining to law enforcement violence and public health.
United States · United States Congress · 1 September 2020
Strengthening Mental Health Supports for BIPOC Communities Act This bill requires states and other jurisdictions that receive certain block grants for community mental health services and substance abuse prevention and treatment to report on services and outreach provided through those grants to members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
United States · United States Congress · 1 September 2020
Safe Considerations of the Health Of Our Learning Students Act or SCHOOLS Act This bill requires a study on safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) in schools. It also establishes a grant program to assist state educational agencies with implementing health and safety measures in schools. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must study and report on the safety precautions necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools. The study must address (1) the minimum criteria that a community needs to meet to reopen schools for full-time in-person instruction; and (2) the best practices for such criteria, including with respect to public health capacity to conduct testing and contact tracing in the community. Additionally, the study must address the practices for crisis response personnel in schools, including the designation of at least one staff member to provide crisis response in each school. Further, the study must recommend practices related to staffing, facility conditions, transportation, and the organization of classes and other group settings. Finally, the Department of Education must award grants for state educational agencies to (1) implement guidance from the CDC related to health and safety measures; and (2) carry out certain activities, such as purchasing sanitation supplies. To receive a grant, a state educational agency must, among other things, offer remote digital learning options to students for the 2020-2021 school year. These grants may not be used to support private schools or for vouchers.
United States · United States Congress · 1 September 2020
Federal Disaster Housing Stability Act of 2020 This bill imposes limits on foreclosures and evictions in areas affected by a declared disaster or emergency. A servicer of certain federally backed residential mortgages for a property in such an area may not initiate the foreclosure process or take other foreclosure-related actions relating to that property unless the property is vacant or abandoned. Similarly, the landlord of a dwelling in such an area may not (1) initiate eviction proceedings against a tenant in that dwelling for nonpayment of rent or fees, (2) charge that tenant a penalty for nonpayment of rent, or (3) otherwise require the tenant to vacate the dwelling. These restrictions shall be in place until the declared emergency or disaster ends or the unemployment rate for the affected state remains below a certain threshold for two consecutive months, whichever occurs later.
United States · United States Congress · 28 August 2020
Foster Youth Dental Act of 2020 This bill expands Medicaid coverage of current and former foster youth, particularly with respect to dental services. Specifically, the bill requires state Medicaid programs to cover early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services, including dental services, for current and former foster youth under the age of 26. States must set a special payment rate, based on rates in the private sector, for dental services provided to such individuals; the bill provides an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for excess expenses that result from such payments. The bill's requirements take effect 80 days after the date of enactment of the bill. The bill also accelerates the application of certain provisions that require a state Medicaid program to cover former foster youth from other states until the age of 26; such provisions currently apply to former foster youth who reach the age of 18 on or after January 1, 2023. The bill instead applies these provisions to former foster youth who reach the age of 18 on or after the date of enactment of the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2020
Every American Has the Right To Vote Act This bill prohibits states from denying or abridging the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in a federal election based on a criminal conviction. (Currently, some states disallow individuals from voting, either temporarily or indefinitely, after incarceration for a felony.) Further, states and federal courts must notify individuals who are convicted of a criminal offense of their right to vote in federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 22 August 2020
Rejecting and Eliminating the Foul Use of Symbols Exulting Confederate Principles Act or the REFUSE Confederate Principles Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish, within the National Park Service (NPS), a program to be known as the Emancipation Historic Preservation Program to award grants to states and other eligible entities to remove a Confederate symbol; remove and replace a Confederate symbol with an alternative monument, memorial, statue, commemorative structure, symbol, or signage; remove and replace a Confederate symbol with an alternative monument, memorial, statue, commemorative structure, symbol, or signage to commemorate or depict the freedom of enslaved African Americans; and remove and transfer a Confederate symbol to a state historic preservation program. Interior shall also provide technical assistance to eligible entities related to these activities. None of the funds made available by this bill may be used by Interior, the NPS, or an eligible entity for the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, reconstruction, or new construction of a Confederate symbol.
United States · United States Congress · 18 August 2020
This resolution expresses support for the designation of James Weldon Johnson Park in Jacksonville, Florida, as part of the National Park Service's African American Civil Rights Network. The park stood at the center of the 1960s race riots in Jacksonville where ax handles were used to beat African Americans who were attempting to desegregate lunch counters. The resolution recognizes designating James Weldon Johnson Park as part of the National Park Service's African American Civil Rights Network shall mark the day of the Ax Handle Saturday attack as a reminder of what happened and honor those who stood up for justice.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Delivering for America Act This bill prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from making changes to operations or levels of service from those that were in effect on January 1, 2020. Specifically, the USPS may not, during the period beginning on enactment of this bill and ending on the last day of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency or January 1, 2021, whichever is later, implement or approve any change to the operations or the level of service that would impede prompt, reliable, and efficient services, including changes in the nature of services that will generally affect service on a nationwide basis; revisions of service standards; closures or consolidations of post offices or reduction of facility hours; prohibitions on payment of overtime pay to USPS officers or employees; changes that would prevent the USPS from meeting its service standards or that would reduce measurements of performance concerning those standards; changes that would have the effect of delaying mail, allowing non-delivery to a delivery route, or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
This resolution expresses support for the designation of Hemming Park in Jacksonville, Florida, as part of the National Park Service's African American Civil Rights Network. Hemming Park stood at the center of the 1960s race riots in Jacksonville, Florida, where ax handles were used to beat African Americans who were attempting to desegregate lunch counters. The resolution recognizes designating Hemming Park as part of the National Park Service's African American Civil Rights Network shall mark the day of the Ax Handle Saturday attack as a reminder of what happened and honor those who stood up for justice.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Mobile Options for Testing In Our Neighborhoods Act or the MOTION Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants within 120 days to, among others, specified health facilities, governmental health departments, and nonprofits for establishing or maintaining mobile testing programs for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and the virus that causes it. In awarding these grants, HHS must take into account certain state-based plans for COVID-19 testing and give priority to applicants that serve communities with limited access to transportation, medically underserved populations, and areas with shortages of health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
Strengthening Oversight of DHS Intelligence Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure that its handling of intelligence is consistent with privacy rights, civil rights, and civil liberties. Specifically, the DHS senior official with primary responsibility for privacy policy shall ensure that intelligence information is shared, retained, and disseminated in a manner consistent with protecting privacy rights. The DHS Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties shall ensure that intelligence information is shared, retained, and disseminated in a manner consistent with protecting civil rights and civil liberties. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis within DHS shall ensure that intelligence information is handled in a manner consistent with the guidance from the DHS privacy official and the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2020
Removing Barriers to Basic Needs Act of 2020 This bill modifies eligibility requirements under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) to temporarily waive requirements related to the denial of assistance and benefits for certain drug-related convictions. Any state law, policy, or regulation that imposes conditions on eligibility for SNAP and TANF based on an individual's conviction of an offense related to a controlled substance shall have no force or effect until December 31, 2022.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2020
Bias In Automobile Stops Act of 2020 or the BIAS Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of Transportation to provide grants to institutions of higher education for research and training in the operation or establishment of an implicit bias training program as it relates to racial profiling at traffic stops. To be eligible for grants such institutions must (1) have an active research program or demonstrate that the applicant is beginning a research program to study implicit bias as it relates to racial profiling before and during traffic stops, and (2) partner with state and local police departments to conduct the research and carry out the implementation of implicit bias training with state and local police departments.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2020
Prevent Federal Law Enforcement Abuse in the Protection of Federal Property Act This bill establishes and modifies several requirements for officers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who are designated to protect federal property. In particular, the bill adds specificity to the circumstances under which DHS officers and agents may place individuals under arrest for a felony (without a warrant) in and around federal property. Among other requirements, an arrest must be based on probable cause and must occur on the federal property itself, in the immediate vicinity, or in an area that is covered by an agreement between DHS and another agency or state or local government; arrests may be made in other areas if part of an active pursuit. DHS officers and agents must also (1) display appropriate insignia and their full name while on duty, (2) identify themselves while making an arrest, and (3) inform the individual being arrested as to the cause of the arrest.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2020
Medicaid Expansion During Crisis Act This bill alters certain provisions relating to Medicaid presumptive eligibility for pregnant women, children, breast and cervical cancer patients, and patients of certain family planning services. (Presumptive eligibility allows qualifying individuals to receive services before their applications are fully processed.) Specifically, the bill extends the applicable presumptive eligibility periods by five months. The bill also provides a 100% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) to states for expenses related to such eligibility determinations during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2020
Congressman John R. Lewis Election Day Act of 2020 This bill designates November 3, 2020, as a legal public (i.e., national) holiday known as John Lewis Election Day. It also urges U.S. private employers to give their employees the day off on November 3, 2020, so they may cast votes in elections held on that day.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2020
Fairness for Seniors and People with Disabilities During COVID-19 Act of 2020 This bill restricts the recovery by the Social Security Administration (SSA) of certain overpayments of benefits made between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The bill also specifies that an individual who received Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or similar payments from a state, for any month during that period shall not be deemed ineligible for Medicaid coverage for that month on the basis that the individual is later determined to be ineligible for SSI or similar payments. Specifically, the SSA shall not recover any overpayments of Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits, SSI benefits, or benefits for certain World War II veterans made during this period, unless the overpayments resulted from fraud or the misuse of benefits by a representative payee. For actions underway to recover overpayments, including those initiated before March 2020, the SSA must also notify individuals of their opportunity to request a reduction or suspension of adjustments to their benefits or a suspension of certain installment payments during the specified period. Additionally, the SSA must report on the time frame for resuming overpayment processing and collection activities. Beginning in March 2020, the SSA has operated under modified work processes in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2020) emergency, including the suspension of certain procedures for identifying changes to eligibility status and adjusting benefits to account for them. However, in August 2020, the SSA issued an interim final rule concerning the resumption of these procedures, which included a simplified waiver process for beneficiaries who incurred an overpayment between March 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2020
Pandemic Community Reserve and Public Health Response Act This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants and otherwise expand the federal public health reserve corps, including by reactivating retired personnel, to assist with COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) response efforts. This corps includes, among others, the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, the Medical Reserve Corps, and certain personnel of the Federal Emergency Management Agency appointed to respond to disasters and emergencies. Specifically, HHS must award grants to governmental health departments to recruit and train personnel to serve in the federal public health reserve corps and assist with COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and treatment. To carry out these grants, health departments may establish partnerships with institutions that offer medical training and public health programs, giving priority to partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions. HHS must also develop a training program, in consultation with the Department of Defense, that addresses activation and surge capacity of the reserve corps to respond to COVID-19. In addition, HHS must award grants, in consultation with the Department of Labor, to local workforce development boards to develop career plans and other activities to facilitate the transition of reserve corps personnel to other health-related occupations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2020
Save our Stages Act or the SOS Act This bill authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make grants to eligible live venue operators, producers, promoters, or talent representatives to address the economic effects of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic on certain live venues. Specifically, the SBA may make (1) an initial grant of up to $12 million dollars to an eligible operator, promoter, producer, or talent representative; and (2) a supplemental grant that is equal to 50% of the initial grant. An initial grant must be used for costs incurred between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, but a supplemental grant may be used for expenses incurred through June 30, 2021. Such grants shall be used for specified expenses such as payroll costs, rent, utilities, and personal protective equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2020
Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act This bill modifies loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill provides for automatic forgiveness of a paycheck protection loan that is not more than $150,000 if the recipient submits a one-page form. Such form must allow a recipient to submit specified demographc and expenditure information, and certain individuals (e.g., the President, the Vice President, or the head of an executive department) are not eligible for such forgiveness. Further, the bill prohibits any enforcement or other action against a lender relating to loan origination, forgiveness, or guarantee based on the lender's reliance on certifications or documentation submitted by a loan applicant or recipient.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2020
Child Nutrition Relief Act of 2020 This bill extends the authority of the Department of Agriculture to waive certain requirements for the school meal programs due to COVID-19.
![Official portrait of Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000193_200.jpg)