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![Official portrait of Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_ca_11_desaulnier_mark_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
3,965 records where Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2021
This resolution calls on all Americans to observe the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and honor those who lost their lives.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2021
Welcoming Evacuees Coming from Overseas to Mitigate Effects of Displacement Act of 2021 or the WELCOMED Act of 2021 This bill makes certain individuals from Afghanistan eligible for any benefit that is available to a refugee, such as resettlement assistance. Specifically, this bill shall apply to a national of Afghanistan (or an individual with no nationality who last habitually resided in Afghanistan) who is temporarily paroled into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit during the four-year period beginning on July 1, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2021
Improving Medicare Coverage Act This bill temporarily expands eligibility for Medicare. It also temporarily establishes a premium and cost-sharing assistance program for low-income beneficiaries. Specifically, the bill lowers the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 60. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish procedures to provide for automatic enrollment of qualifying individuals. Enrollment must be completed within 11 months of the bill's enactment. The bill also establishes a program under Medicare to assist low-income Medicare beneficiaries with premiums, coinsurance, deductibles, and other costs. Currently, such assistance is provided through Medicare Savings Programs, which are administered by state Medicaid programs. The bill also establishes a related special enrollment period under Medicare, expands eligibility for assistance to beneficiaries with income up to 200% of the federal poverty line, and provides for joint eligibility determinations with respect to the bill's program and the low-income subsidy program under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The bill's provisions generally take effect six months after the bill's enactment and terminate five years later.
United States · United States Congress · 31 August 2021
Maximizing Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for (MOBILE) Health Care Act This bill expands and otherwise modifies the allowable uses of New Access Point grant funds. These grants help health centers establish new delivery sites to provide comprehensive primary care to medically underserved populations. Specifically, health centers may use funds to construct or renovate buildings or to set up mobile medical clinics. In addition, a mobile clinic may qualify for grant funding as a new delivery site regardless of whether it is associated with a permanent, full-time site.
United States · United States Congress · 31 August 2021
Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes the Community Services Block Grant program through FY2031 and otherwise modifies the program. The program supports various antipoverty activities, primarily through formula-based allotments to states, Indian tribes, and territories. In particular, the bill makes changes to the program's administration and leadership; performance measurement; and allotments to states and territories. The bill also expands eligibility for services and activities funded by the program to 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL). Under current law, eligibility is generally set at the FPL.
United States · United States Congress · 31 August 2021
This bill posthumously provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 20 August 2021
Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act This bill specifically includes pharmacy services as part of covered home infusion therapy under Medicare, and specifies that certain payment components still apply regardless of whether or not a qualified supplier is physically present in the beneficiary's home. The bill also allows nurses and physician assistants to establish and review the plan of care for home infusion therapy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 2021
Streamlining Nutrition Assistance Paperwork Act of 2021 or the SNAP Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for a Department of Agriculture (USDA) waiver that allows states to use a written record to document telephonic signatures for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications. Under current law, states may allow individuals to sign their SNAP applications over the telephone, but states must preserve audio recordings of those telephonic signatures. During the COVID-19 emergency, USDA waived the requirement to preserve the audio recording and allowed states to document the telephonic signatures through written records.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 2021
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that policies concerning medication abortions should be grounded in science, be based on a review of medical evidence, and ensure equitable access for patients.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 2021
This resolution supports (1) the goals of Wildfire Preparedness Week, and (2) resources and educational initiatives that communicate how affected communities can prevent wildfires and react during a wildfire.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 2021
John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 This bill establishes new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices may take effect. Preclearance is the process of receiving preapproval from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights. A state and all of its political subdivisions shall be subject to preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if 15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 25 years; 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least 1 of which was committed by the state itself; or 3 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years and the state administers the elections. A political subdivision as a separate unit shall also be subject to preclearance for a 10-year period if three or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years. States and political subdivisions that meet certain thresholds regarding minority groups must preclear covered practices before implementation, such as changes to methods of election and redistricting. Further, states and political subdivisions must notify the public of changes to voting practices. Next, the bill authorizes DOJ to require states or political subdivisions to provide certain documents or answers to questions for enforcing voting rights. The bill also outlines factors courts must consider when hearing challenges to voting practices, such as the history of official voting discrimination in the state or political subdivision.
United States · United States Congress · 13 August 2021
Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021 This bill addresses the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters and voting access on tribal lands. The bill includes provisions expanding the types of facilities that can be used as voter registration agencies; increasing polling site accessibility, including by expanding early in-person voting and providing ballot drop boxes; providing enforcement power to citizens and attorneys general; requiring approval for actions like moving a polling place; validating certain tribal identification for voting or registering to vote; permitting voters to designate another individual to return a ballot on their behalf; and expanding requirements for bilingual voting accessibility. In addition, the bill establishes a Native American voting task force grant program for the purpose of increasing voter outreach, education, registration, turnout, and accessibility for Native American communities. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on (1) the prevalence of nontraditional or nonexistent mailing addresses among Indians, members of tribes, and individuals residing on Indian lands; and (2) the alternatives for removing barriers to voter registration, receipt of voter information and materials, and receipt of ballots.
United States · United States Congress · 13 August 2021
Diversifying Investigations Via Equitable Research Studies for Everyone Trials Act or the DIVERSE Trials Act This bill requires activities to increase diversity in clinical trials. It also expands reporting by laboratories that test for and diagnose COVID-19 and requires a study on data collection and data sharing during public health emergencies. Specifically, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must issue guidance on decentralized clinical trials to promote meaningful demographic and geographic diversity in patient engagement, enrollment, and participation. Decentralized clinical trials include those executed through telemedicine or other digital technologies to allow for the remote collection and assessment of clinical trial data. The FDA may also work with foreign regulators to harmonize international regulations governing decentralized clinical trials and the use of digital health technology. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may support community education, outreach, and recruitment activities for clinical trials of treatments for conditions that disproportionately impact populations underrepresented in clinical trials. The bill also specifies that drug or device manufacturers may provide, subject to some limits, free digital health technologies and other remuneration to patients in approved clinical trials without violating laws that address fraud and abuse in federal programs. Furthermore, laboratories that test for and diagnose COVID-19 must report additional demographic data, including information about social determinants of health. HHS must also contract with the National Academy of Medicine to study and propose a design for an interoperable platform to facilitate data sharing during public health emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 August 2021
This resolution supports (1) fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, and (2) investments in the vaccine supply chain and other efforts to meet global needs for vaccines.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 2021
Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions related to ocean shipping policies and is designed to support the growth and development of U.S. exports and promote reciprocal trade in the foreign commerce of the United States. Among other provisions, the bill sets forth requirements for operating a shipping exchange involving ocean transportation in the foreign commerce of the United States; prohibits ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators from retaliating or discriminating against shippers because such shippers have patronized another carrier, or filed a complaint; requires the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to publish and annually update all its findings of false certifications by ocean common carriers or marine terminal operators and all penalties assessed against such carriers or operators; requires ocean common carriers to adhere to minimum service standards that meet the public interest; directs the FMC to establish rules prohibiting ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators from adopting and applying unjust and unreasonable demurrage and detention fees; requires ocean common carriers to report to the FMC each calendar quarter on total import and export tonnage and the total loaded and empty 20-foot equivalent units per vessel that makes port in the United States; authorizes the FMC to initiate investigations of an ocean common carrier's fees or charges and apply enforcement measures, as appropriate; and revises annual reporting requirements for the FMC on foreign laws and practices to include practices by ocean common carriers.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2021
Bringing Enhanced Treatments and Therapies to ESRD Recipients Kidney Care Act or the BETTER Kidney Care Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a demonstration program for Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the program, renal dialysis facilities, kidney disease specialists, physician practices, and other health care practitioners may form an organization that partners with certain health care entities to provide integrated care to beneficiaries with ESRD. Such care must include all covered Medicare benefits as well as transition services for transplantations, palliative care, and hospice. Each organization must have a minimum number or percentage of participating beneficiaries (350 or 60% of beneficiaries served at the organization's facilities) and must also comply with certain fiscal, governance, and quality of care requirements. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must study certain data that is reported to the CMS regarding pediatric dialysis care, as well as the effects of race-based corrections to a specified kidney function test on referrals of ESRD patients for transplant evaluations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2021
9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act This bill increases funding for and otherwise modifies a federal program that provides medical monitoring and treatment to responders and survivors who suffer from health conditions related to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. Among the changes, the bill allows certain health care providers other than physicians to determine whether an individual's health condition is related to the attacks, and it establishes a research program to study the impacts of the attacks on health and educational outcomes of individuals who were 21 years of age or younger when the attacks occurred.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2021
Disaster Relief Medicaid Act This bill establishes a series of programs and requirements relating to Medicaid coverage of individuals affected by a federally declared major disaster. In particular, the bill provides for specific disaster relief coverage under Medicaid for individuals who meet specified income eligibility standards and, during the seven-day period preceding the disaster, were either residents of the impacted area or were employed in the impacted area (and subsequently lost employment). Coverage is effective for two years after the date of the disaster declaration. State Medicaid programs must provide disaster relief coverage that is at least as comprehensive as the state's Medicaid coverage and the Medicaid coverage of the individual's home state, as applicable. The bill applies a 100% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) to such coverage and related administrative expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2021
National Firearms Amendments Act of 2021 This bill includes within the definition of firearm under the National Firearms Act a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun that has the capacity to accept a detachable ammunition feeding device.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2021
This bill requires airports to broadcast in terminals automated announcements about the penalty for interfering with cabin or flight crews.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2021
Equal Pay for Equal Work Act This bill establishes the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force to improve enforcement of equal pay laws.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
Hold Accountable and Lend Transparency on Campus Sexual Violence Act of 2021 or the HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act of 2021 This bill addresses dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking incidents on college campuses, including by expanding requirements governing the disclosure of such incidents and efforts to prevent them. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to make available an online survey tool regarding student experiences with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, harassment, and stalking. ED must publish a biennial report that includes campus-level data for each institution of higher education (IHE). The bill permits ED to impose civil penalties on IHEs that have violated a law under the jurisdiction of its Office for Civil Rights. In addition, the bill directs ED, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice to create a task force on sex-based harassment and violence in education.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
National Discovery Trails Act This bill amends the National Trails System Act to include national discovery trails as part of the national trails system. Such trails (1) shall be extended, continuous, interstate trails located to provide for outstanding outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities; (2) shall provide for the conservation and enjoyment of significant natural, cultural, and historic resources and be so located as to represent metropolitan, urban, rural, and back country regions of the Nation; and (3) may be designated on federal lands and, with the owner's consent, on nonfederal lands. The 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail extending from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, splitting into northern and southern routes near Cincinnati, Ohio, and rejoining at Denver, Colorado, is designated as a national discovery trail. The bill sets forth requirements for designation of a trail as a national discovery trail. The appropriate federal department for each national discovery trail shall (1) administer the trail in cooperation with at least one competent trailwide volunteer-based organization; and (2) submit a comprehensive plan for the trail's protection, management, development, and use.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Restoring Justice for Workers Act This bill prohibits predispute arbitration agreements that require arbitration of an employment dispute. It allows a postdispute arbitration agreement if the employee enters into it voluntarily without coercion and is informed in writing of rights and protections under such agreement. An employer may not retaliate against an employee for refusing to enter into an agreement for arbitrating an employment dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Unlawful Gun Buyer Alert Act This bill establishes a notification requirement following a firearms-related background check that results in a denial. Specifically, the bill requires the national instant criminal background check system to notify federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies if a firearms-related background check determines that an individual is ineligible to receive or possess a firearm. The notification requirement applies even if more than three business days have elapsed since the background check was initiated, and a firearm has already been transferred to the individual.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2021 This bill establishes several requirements relating to the prices of prescription drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under Medicare. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.) If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under health insurance programs, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities. The negotiated prices also apply to other federal health care programs, private health insurance, and the uninsured; pharmacies that charge more than the negotiated price for uninsured individuals are subject to civil penalties. Manufacturers must also comply with specified reporting requirements relating to prices and licensing, subject to civil penalties. The bill also institutes an excise tax on drugs for which the price spikes beyond a certain limit, subject to specified exemptions, as well as on drugs for which the price exceeds the negotiated price.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act of 2021 This bill requires certain medical devices with a digital interface to meet nonvisual accessibility standards established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Specifically, the FDA must establish regulations to require a Class II or Class III medical device with a digital interface to provide a blind or low-vision user access to the same services and information, and generally the same ease of use, as provided to a user who is not low-vision or blind. (The FDA classifies medical devices in three classes. Class I devices are low-risk, Class II devices are moderate-risk, and Class III devices are high-risk.) A Class II or Class III medical device that does not meet the nonvisual accessibility standards established under this bill may not be sold.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act This bill provides rights and protections for domestic workers (e.g., housekeepers, nannies, caretakers, personal assistants, and chauffeurs), including pay and leave rights, and health and safety protections. Specifically, the bill repeals the exemption of domestic live-in employees from certain minimum wage and maximum hour requirements. Employers must provide written notice of termination and provide at least 30 days of lodging and two weeks of severance pay to terminated live-in employees. Live-in employees also must be provided with reasonable access to telephone and internet service during their employment. The bill requires employers to provide domestic workers with a written agreement covering wages, sick leave, benefits, and other matters. Further, domestic workers may request and be granted changes to work schedules due to personal events. The bill also provides domestic workers with certain privacy rights, extends to domestic workers protections against discrimination in employment, and increases the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid-funded medical services provided by domestic workers. The Department of Labor must (1) award grants for a domestic worker national hotline for reporting emergencies, training on hazards facing domestic workers, and workforce investment activities for domestic workers; and (2) establish a Domestic Worker Wage and Standards Board to investigate standards in the domestic workers industry. Labor must publish online a document that describes the rights and protections for domestic workers under this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Protecting Renters from Evictions Act of 2021 This bill extends through December 31, 2021, the order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention titled Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID–19 and published on September 4, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
Supreme Court Ethics Act This bill establishes a new statutory requirement for the Judicial Conference of the United States to issue a judicial code of conduct for judges and justices of U.S. courts, including Justices of the Supreme Court. Currently, the Judicial Conference issues a code of conduct for judges of U.S. courts (but not for Justices of the Supreme Court).
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
Nondebtor Release Prohibition Act of 2021 This bill addresses the release by bankruptcy courts of creditor or other third-party claims against non-debtors. Complex bankruptcies may involve third-party claims against non-debtors associated with the debtor, such as the debtor's officers, directors, or employees. Currently, in carrying out a bankruptcy plan, bankruptcy courts may release non-debtors from liability (there is a split in the judicial circuits regarding this practice). The bill generally prohibits a bankruptcy court from (1) releasing or modifying a non-debtor's liability through the approval of a bankruptcy plan or through an order, or (2) enjoining a judicial proceeding or other act to collect or otherwise enforce such a claim or cause of action against a non-debtor. However, the bill provides for the release of such liability if express consent is given by the third party. The bill also generally limits an order or decree to temporarily enjoin a proceeding against a non-debtor to 90 days. Additionally, the bill gives appellate jurisdiction to the appropriate U.S. court of appeals regarding an order or decree to temporarily enjoin or stay a proceeding against a non-debtor in a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy case. Currently, U.S. district courts have appellate jurisdiction for these matters. Upon request of an interested party, and after notice and a hearing, the court shall dismiss a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy case if the debtor was involved in certain restructuring activity that (1) had the intent or foreseeable effect of separating a debtor's assets from a debtor's liabilities and the debtor assuming or retaining such liabilities, and (2) occurred in the 10-year period prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
This resolution urges the United States to protect the human rights of unhoused individuals, to establish regulations and enforcement tools to protect unhoused individuals from violations of civil and human rights, and to establish blanket legal protections for third parties providing goods or services to unhoused individuals. The resolution also urges the United States to establish a process to award appropriate damages, attorney's fees, and costs to a prevailing plaintiff in an action alleging a violation of the human and civil rights of unhoused individuals. Relatedly, the resolution urges the United States to allow the court in such an action to consider housing status and apply leniency in compiling records, receipts, and documentation from those plaintiffs. The resolution also expresses the intention of the House of Representatives to address the unhoused crisis in the United States by providing funding and imposing requirements on the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
Exercise and Fitness for All Act This bill requires the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) to develop guidelines for exercise or fitness service providers regarding the provision of accessible exercise or fitness equipment. The Access Board must subsequently promulgate regulations, consistent with the guidelines, requiring that exercise or fitness classes and instruction provided by fitness providers are accessible to people with disabilities. The regulations also must require that each provider make at least one employee available to assist people with disabilities with using the accessible exercise or fitness equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2021
This resolution (1) commits to advancing policies that will end roadway fatalities by 2050, and (2) calls on Congress and the Department of Transportation to commit to working together to achieve zero roadway fatalities by the year 2050.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
Smoke Planning and Research Act of 2021 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research and mitigate the impacts of smoke emissions from wildland fires. Specifically, the EPA must establish (1) four Centers of Excellence for Wildfire Smoke at institutions of higher education, and (2) a grant program to support community mitigation efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
Securing Universal Communications Connectivity to Ensure Students Succeed Act or the SUCCESS Act This bill provides additional funding for the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which supports remote learning during the COVID-19 emergency period by covering reasonable costs of laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connectivity purchases for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act This bill expands the tax exclusions for energy conservation subsidies to include subsidies provided (directly or indirectly) (1) by a public utility for the purchase or installation of any water conservation or efficiency measure; (2) by a storm water management provider for the purchase or installation of any storm water management measure; or (3) by a state or local government to a resident of such state or locality for the purchase or installation of any wastewater management measure, but only if such measure concerns the taxpayer's principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
Protecting Our Students by Terminating Graduate Rates that Add to Debt Act or the POST GRAD Act This bill authorizes graduate and professional students to receive subsidized Stafford Loans. These students have been ineligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans since July 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2021
Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act of 2021 or the PALS Act This bill makes a series of changes relating to health insurance coverage of screening mammography. Specifically, the bill requires that any provision of law referring to current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with respect to breast cancer screening mammography be administered as if (1) the provision referred to USPSTF recommendations last issued before 2009; and (2) those recommendations applied to any screening mammography modality, including any digital modality of such a procedure. This requirement shall also apply to the Veterans Health Administration's policy on mammography screening for veterans. In addition, the bill preserves Medicare coverage for screening mammography, without a requirement for coinsurance, and expands the definition of screening mammography to include any digital modality of such a procedure. Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not decrease the frequency with which screening mammography may be paid by Medicare for a woman over 39 years of age. In 2009, the USPSTF updated its guidelines to recommend against routine screening mammography for women between 40 to 49 years of age and to recommend biennial, instead of annual, screening mammography for most women between 50 to 74 years of age. In 2015, through the appropriations process, a three-year moratorium was placed on implementing the guidelines; the moratorium was subsequently renewed until January 1, 2023.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2021
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that government entities should consider using a portion of proceeds from litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors for drug take-back programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2021
United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2021 This bill establishes restrictions on businesses that relocate call centers or redirect customer service calls to locations outside the United States. Specifically, a business must notify the Department of Labor that it intends to move its customer service call center overseas and Labor must maintain a publicly available list of such businesses. Subject to narrow exceptions, a business appearing on such list is ineligible to receive federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years after the business is added to the list. Further, agencies must condition the awarding of government contracts on the requirement that any call center activity pursuant to the contract must be performed in the United States. Additionally, the bill requires call center employees to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each call initiated or received, unless all employees of the business participating in the communication are located in the United States, among other exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Ending Homelessness Act of 2021 This bill expands the housing choice voucher program and provides assistance to homeless individuals and families. Specifically, the bill provides FY2022-2025 funding for the expansion of the housing choice voucher program for certain extremely low income families. Furthermore, beginning in FY2026, the bill creates and funds an entitlement to housing choice vouchers for certain extremely low income families. Eligibility for the entitlement expands annually, extending to low-income families by FY2030. The bill also reduces the geographic area used to calculate an area's fair market rent for purposes of voucher payment standards and prohibits the use of criminal history in determining eligibility for certain housing assistance. Additionally, the bill prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of a renter's source of income or a renter's veteran status. The bill also provides additional FY2022-FY2026 funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist the homeless, including to award emergency relief grants in jurisdictions with the highest need and award grants to provide outreach and coordinate services. Furthermore, the bill provides additional FY2022-FY2026 funding for the Housing Trust Fund, which provides affordable housing for extremely low-income and very low-income families. While this additional funding is available, HUD must ensure that priority for occupancy in assisted units is given to individuals and families who are homeless. Finally, the bill permanently reauthorizes certain homeless assistance grants and makes permanent the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2021 This bill generally addresses housing affordability and infrastructure. The bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide grants, programs, and other support related to public housing, affordable housing preservation and construction, and mortgage access. The bill also establishes and funds the National Investment Authority (NIA) which must design, finance, and implement a strategy of long-term national economic growth and development. The NIA must select projects that coordinate investment of public and private capital in equitable, inclusive, and sustainable growth of the economy. Furthermore, the bill establishes the National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) to implement the strategy by engaging in credit market activities that support public and private investment in critical public infrastructure projects. The bill gives the NIA bond issuing authority and authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to purchase these bonds. The Federal Reserve must lend funds on a short-term basis upon the request of the NIB and other subsidiaries. Additionally, the Department of the Treasury must provide for a line of credit not to exceed 100% of the NIA's total assets. Finally, the bill (1) authorizes HUD to provide support for fair housing organizations, and (2) requires consultation with a fair housing enforcement organization as part of an application for certain housing grants or funds.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Act of 2021 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a rebate program that encourages the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment for medium-duty electric vehicles and heavy-duty electric vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Better Empowerment Now to Enhance Framework and Improve Treatments Act of 2021 or the BENEFIT Act of 2021 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider relevant patient-focused drug development data, such as data from patient preference studies and patient-reported outcome data, in the risk-benefit assessment framework used in the process for approving new drugs. After a new drug application has been approved, the FDA's public statement about how it used patient experience data shall include a description of how such data was considered in the risk-benefit assessment framework.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
This concurrent resolution recognizes the service and sacrifice of those who served and perished in California at Port Chicago Naval Magazine during World War II. The concurrent resolution also exonerates the 50 Port Chicago sailors convicted of the charge of mutiny against the United States and all other charges brought against them after the July 17, 1944, explosion that killed 320. It upgrades the general and summary discharges of the Port Chicago sailors to honorable discharges.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Green New Deal for Public Schools Act of 2021 This bill provides environmental and educational resources to public elementary and secondary schools and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to provide climate capital facilities grants to eligible entities (e.g., public schools and BIE schools). Grant recipients must use these funds to construct new, or convert existing facilities into, healthy zero-carbon schools. Healthy zero-carbon school refers to a school with highly energy-efficient facilities that produce or procure sufficient carbon-free and pollution-free renewable energy to meet the school's needs. Next, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award resource block grants to qualified local educational agencies (LEAs) to hire and retain educators and support staff in high-need schools. ED must award grants to eligible consortia of LEAs for educational equity planning and implementation. In addition, ED must establish the Climate Change Resiliency Program to increase the resiliency of public and BIE schools during climate change-related events, natural disasters, and public health crises. Further, ED must establish a related grant program for state educational agencies. Grant recipients must use these funds for certain activities (e.g., green infrastructure projects). The bill establishes the Office of Sustainable Schools within ED to (1) administer the resource block grant and educational equity grant programs, and (2) coordinate with DOE and the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy on climate capital facilities grants and the Climate Change Resiliency Program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Pathways to Health Careers Act This bill provides funding for, reauthorizes through FY2026, and makes a variety of changes to certain grants administered by the Department of Health and Human Services that provide education and training to low-income individuals for health care occupations, including by establishing a new competitive grant for projects designed to train low-income individuals in allied health professions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2021
Gun Theft Prevention Act This bill makes various changes to federal firearms laws related to detecting and deterring the theft of firearms from federally licensed gun dealers. Among the changes, the bill establishes security requirements for gun dealers; background check requirements for employees of gun dealers; inspection requirements for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and reporting requirements for individual gun owners.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2021
Supporting Medicaid in the U.S. Territories Act of 2021 This bill extends, increases, and otherwise modifies Medicaid funding for U.S. territories. Specifically, the bill extends (1) the temporarily increased Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate), and (2) a higher cap on Medicaid funding. Such provisions apply to Puerto Rico through FY2026 and to other territories through FY2029. The bill also requires Puerto Rico to implement an asset verification program and to report on its ability to comply with certain reporting requirements, procurement standards, and other Medicaid program integrity measures.