United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act of 2021 This bill prohibits state or local governments that abolish or defund police departments from receiving certain Economic Development Administration grants or Community Development Block Grant funds. Specifically, the bill applies to state or local governments that abolish or disband the police or significantly reduce the police department's budget without reallocating a portion of those funds to any other community policing program. Further, a state or local government that abolishes or defunds a police department must return any Community Development Block Grant funds it has already received.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Equity in Neuroscience and Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Act of 2021 or the ENACT Act of 2021 This bill sets out activities and requirements to increase the participation of underrepresented populations in research and clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Specifically, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) must establish and provide technical assistance to Alzheimer's research centers located in areas with higher concentrations of minority groups. These centers must establish diagnostic and treatment clinics designed to serve minority, rural, and other underserved populations; operate clinical trials; and carry out public outreach to encourage members of minority populations to participate in clinical trials and research. Additionally, the NIA must disseminate information to members of minority populations about participating in clinical trials and take other actions to enhance diversity with respect to the Alzheimer's research that it conducts or supports. The bill also directs the NIA to increase diversity among Alzheimer's researchers by encouraging the participation of individuals who are from groups that are underrepresented in clinical, behavioral, and social sciences.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Get Americans Back To Work Act This bill makes an individual ineligible for federal pandemic unemployment compensation (FPUC) after June 30, 2021. It also reduces the amount of FPUC to $150.00 for weeks of unemployment ending after May 31, 2021, and ending on or before June 30, 2021. Under current law, an individual is eligible for FPUC for weeks of employment ending on or before September 6, 2021 in the amount of $300.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Repealing Illegal Freedom and Liberty Excises Act or the RIFLE Act This bill repeals the excise tax on the transfer of firearms. The bill shall not be construed as placing any regulated firearms under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2021
This concurrent resolution declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2021
Essential Medicines Strategic Stockpile Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a pilot program with private entities to test the effectiveness of acquiring, maintaining, managing, and distributing a stockpile of generic drugs at risk of shortage. Specifically, HHS must enter into contracts of up to three years for entities to create a six-month stockpile of up to 50 types of such drugs. The bill establishes various program requirements, including annual evaluations by the Government Accountability Office.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2021
This resolution recognizes and appreciates the dedication and devotion demonstrated by the men and women of law enforcement. It also condemns calls to defund, disband, dismantle, or abolish the police.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2021
Ensuring Access to Lower-Cost Medicines for Seniors Act of 2021 This bill establishes additional requirements for prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors that use formularies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires PDP formularies to include covered generic drugs and biosimilars for which the wholesale acquisition cost is less than that of the reference (i.e., brand-name) product. PDP sponsors must also establish specific cost-sharing tiers that apply lower cost-sharing requirements for such covered generic drugs and biosimilars as compared to those for brand-name products. The bill also prohibits PDP sponsors from instituting certain requirements relating to access to such covered generic drugs and biosimilars that are more restrictive than those for brand-name products (e.g., prior authorization requirements).
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a voluntary Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Certification Program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners. A voluntary environmental credit market is a market through which agriculture and forestry credits may be bought or sold. Entities eligible to participate in the program are (1) providers of technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, or private forest landowners in carrying out sustainable land use management practices that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, or sequester carbon; or (2) third-party verifiers that conduct the verification of the processes described in the protocols for voluntary environmental credit markets. Among other requirements, USDA must publish (1) a list of protocols and qualifications for eligible entities; (2) information describing how entities may self-certify under the program; (3) information describing how entities may obtain the expertise to meet the protocols and qualifications; and (4) instructions and suggestions to assist farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners in facilitating the development of agriculture or forestry credits and accessing voluntary environmental credit markets. USDA must also establish an advisory council to make recommendations regarding the list of protocols and qualifications, best practices, and voluntary environmental credit markets. The bill also rescinds certain funds provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and makes the funds available for the certification program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2021 This bill provides funding for (1) the conservation or restoration of wildlife and plant species of greatest conservation need; (2) the wildlife conservation strategies of states, territories, or the District of Columbia; and (3) wildlife conservation education and recreation projects. The Department of the Interior must use a portion of the funding for a grant program. The grants must be used for innovative recovery efforts for species of greatest conservation need, species listed as endangered or threatened species, or the habitats of such species.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 20 21 This bill addresses the sale of shark fins and the inclusion of rays and skates in the Seafood Traceability Program. The Seafood Traceability Program has data reporting and recordkeeping requirements at the time of entry for imported fish or fish products entered into U.S. commerce. The bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, or sell shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins. A person may possess a shark fin that was lawfully taken consistent with a license or permit under certain circumstances. Penalties are imposed for violations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Department of Commerce must revise its regulations to include rays and skates as species that are subject to the Seafood Traceability Program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act This bill provides for Medicare coverage and payment with respect to certain pharmacist services that (1) are furnished by a pharmacist in a health-professional shortage area, and (2) would otherwise be covered under Medicare if furnished by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2021
Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021 This bill establishes and modifies several programs and requirements to address prescription drug prices. The bill modifies provisions under Medicare and Medicaid relating to prescription drug coverage and price transparency. Among other changes, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to publish certain information, as reported by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), relating to generic dispensing rates, drug discounts and rebates, and payments between PBMs, health plans, and pharmacies; caps annual out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare prescription drug benefit; allows prescription drug plan sponsors under the Medicare prescription drug benefit to offer additional plans in a region; requires pass-through pricing models, and prohibits spread-pricing, for payment arrangements with PBMs under Medicaid; and allows states to include in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program covered outpatient drugs that are provided as part of physician or outpatient hospital services. The bill also generally modifies other provisions relating to the regulation and costs of generic and brand-name drugs. Among other changes, the bill prohibits the manufacturer of a brand-name, generic, or biosimilar drug from entering into certain agreements to resolve or settle a patent infringement claim in connection with the sale of a drug or biological product; permanently allows high deductible health plans to waive deductibles for insulin and associated products; and establishes the position of Chief Pharmaceutical Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2021
Maximum Pressure Act This bill expands sanctions and economic penalties on Iran. It also restricts the President from unilaterally lifting or waiving the sanctions or penalties and increases congressional oversight of them. Specifically, the bill requires the President to impose visa- and asset-blocking sanctions. Additionally, it modifies existing sanctions, including by (1) providing statutory authority for executive orders imposing sanctions; (2) applying sanctions to additional sectors of Iran's economy; and (3) broadening sanctionable conduct to cover, for example, assisting Iran with the acquisition of ballistic missiles and the complicity of Iranian officials in human rights violations in specified countries. The bill also requires reporting on licenses that authorize activities subject to sanctions. The bill prohibits U.S. representatives at the International Monetary Fund from voting to allow Iran's access to special drawing rights (a currency support tool) and places restrictions on financial transactions with Iran. The restrictions include requiring domestic financial institutions to implement special measures with respect to foreign financial institutions that conduct significant transactions connected to the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (a European mechanism that bypasses U.S. sanctions when carrying out trade with Iran). The Department of State must maintain the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' designation as a terrorist organization and must designate Ansharallah (or Houthis), which operates in Syria, as a foreign terrorist organization. The bill also requires reports on U.S. sanctions concerning Iran, the status of Iran's nuclear weapons program, and other matters.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2021
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel. In addition, the State Department must report on options for U.S. international efforts to promote the strengthening of ties between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. The State Department must also report on the status of the normalization of relations with Israel, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) evidence of steps taken by Arab governments toward permitting or encouraging normalized relations between their citizens or residents and Israeli citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2021
Finish the Wall Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities related to the construction of a barrier system along the U.S.-Mexico border and addresses other border-related issues. DHS must resume all such construction activities that were planned or underway prior to January 20, 2021. DHS must also expend all funds appropriated or explicitly obligated since October 1, 2016, for construction of this barrier system. DHS may not cancel contracts for activities related to such construction entered into on or before January 20, 2021. Furthermore, within 14 days of this bill's enactment, DHS must certify to Congress that U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities that process adults taken into custody at the border are fully compliant with certain laws related to the collection of DNA. (Among other things, these laws allow for the collection of DNA samples from non-U.S. persons detained under U.S. authority.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2021
Maximizing America's Prosperity Act of 2021 This bill establishes annual spending limits that are equal to specified percentages of potential gross domestic product (GDP). Potential GDP generally refers to the GDP that would occur if the economy were at full employment without inflation. The spending limits apply to all budget authority and outlays of the federal government excluding net interest. The bill establishes procedures for enforcing the spending limits, including requirements for sequestration (i.e., automatic spending cuts) and for the President's budget and congressional budget resolutions to comply with the limits. The bill also requires at least 1% of total discretionary spending for each year to be reserved for emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2021
Trillion Trees Act This bills establishes a variety of requirements and incentives to plant trees and conduct other land management practices for the purposes of capturing and storing carbon in domestic and international trees and forests. Additionally, the bill provides incentives to research or develop other carbon sequestration tools. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set targets to increase forest carbon stock through January 1, 2100, for the purposes of sequestering and storing carbon in U.S. forests. It also establishes and provides funding for the Trillion Trees Challenge Fund to provide grants to nonfederal entities for activities related to reforestation efforts on public or private lands. In addition, it raises the cap on the Reforestation Trust Fund to enhance forest health in the National Forest System and requires the USDA to establish a Tree City USA Grant Program. The bill also allows the U.S. Agency for International Development to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit organization to establish an International Forest Foundation to promote reforestation and prevent deforestation. Additionally, it establishes requirements and incentives to address seedling shortages and support nurseries. Finally, the bill provides market incentives to research or develop other carbon sequestration tools relating to biochar, sustainable building practices, biochemical and bioplastic products, and biomass energy.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2021
Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act of 2021 This bill requires federally funded entities to certify that they will not, subject to certain exceptions, perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. The bill provides exceptions for abortions (1) in cases of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2021 This bill establishes several requirements for prescription drug plans under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires prescription drug plans to allow any pharmacy located in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area to be included as an in-network pharmacy if the plan already has other in-network pharmacies in the same area. The bill also establishes certain standards for prescription drug plans regarding pharmacy reimbursements and related disclosures. Among other things, the bill prohibits prescription drug plans from reimbursing a pharmacy in an amount that is less than the amount the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) reimburses an affiliated pharmacy (i.e., a pharmacy that has a shared ownership interest with the PBM) for the same services.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
FDA Modernization Act of 2021 This bill allows an applicant for market approval for a new drug to use methods other than animal testing to establish the drug's safety and effectiveness. Under this bill, these alternative methods may include cell-based assays, organ chips and microphysiological systems, sophisticated computer modeling, and other human biology-based test methods.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and renames it as the affordable housing credit . The bill increases the per capita dollar amount of the credit and its minimum ceiling amount beginning in 2021 and extends the inflation adjustment for such amounts. The bill modifies tenant income eligibility requirements and the average income formula for determining such income. It also revises rules for student occupancy of rental units and tenant voucher payments, and prohibits any refusal to rent to victims of domestic abuse. The bill further modifies the credit to increase state allocations of the credit; repeal the qualified census tract population cap; prohibit local approval and contribution requirements; increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households; increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies; eliminate the basis reduction for properties that receive certain energy-related tax benefits; and increase the population cap for difficult development areas (i.e., areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income). The bill also includes Indian and rural areas as difficult development areas and modifies other requirements relating to casualty losses, acquisition credits, and foreclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Accelerate Long-term Investment Growth Now Act or the ALIGN Act This bill makes permanent the expensing of certain new business equipment. Expensing allows the deduction of the full amount of an expense item in the same taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Paris Transparency and Accountability Act This bill restricts the President's authority to unilaterally establish or revise actions the United States plans to take to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement (a climate change treaty adopted in 2015) and increases congressional oversight of those actions. The bill also prohibits any legal cause of action in U.S. courts pursuant to the Paris Agreement. Specifically, the President must report to Congress before proposing new or revised actions under the agreement. The report must describe the proposed actions, including their impact on global emissions, and outline a detailed plan to address economic effects and related considerations of the actions. If a proposed action results in increased energy or manufacturing costs, the report must include specific policy measures (and timelines for implementing the measures) to prevent (1) job displacement, (2) reduced global competitiveness of U.S. goods, and (3) leaked emissions that may occur as a result of the proposed action. After the President submits a report, the bill provides Congress with a 60-day period to review it. During the review period, Congress may block the actions proposed in the report by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval. The bill also outlines procedures for the introduction and consideration of this type of joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2021
Community Protection in Sports Act of 2021 This bill provides localities injured by the cancellation or relocation of certain sporting events a remedy for such action. Specifically, the bill makes it unlawful for Major League Baseball to cancel or relocate a competition that is not a part of the regular season unless it is a reasonable response to a pandemic, natural disaster, inclement weather, or emergency declared by the federal government or by the state in which the game is scheduled to occur. A locality that is injured by a violation may commence a civil action for damages from the league for canceling or relocating the game.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2021
Competition in Professional Baseball Act This bill removes the limited exemption from the antitrust laws for professional baseball clubs. For purposes of this bill, the term antitrust laws means laws to protect against unlawful restraints and monopolies (Clayton Act) and to protect against unfair methods of competition (Federal Trade Commission Act).
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2021
Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer's Act This bill allows the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a Dementia Care Management Model that provides comprehensive care to Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Under the model, participating health care providers receive payment under Medicare for comprehensive care management services that are provided to individuals with diagnosed dementia, excluding Medicare Advantage enrollees, hospice care recipients, and nursing home residents. Required services include medication management, care coordination, and health, financial, and environmental monitoring, as well as trainings and other support services for unpaid caregivers. Providers must furnish services through interdisciplinary teams and must ensure access to a team member or primary care provider 24-7. The CMMI must set payments and determine quality measures for the model in accordance with specified requirements. The bill also allows the CMMI to design a similar model under Medicaid.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2021
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) clean water is a national priority, and (2) the 2020 final rule titled The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States" should not be withdrawn or vacated.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2021
BUILDER Act of 2021 or the Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews Act of 2021 This bill places limits on the environmental review of proposed major federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and establishes deadlines and other requirements to expedite the environmental review of such actions. Specifically, the bill limits the scope of the environmental review of major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment as specified by the bill. The bill also specifies the thresholds that trigger when agencies must issue environmental assessments and environmental impact statements for proposed agency actions, outlines when agencies are not required to prepare environmental documents for such actions, and establishes deadlines to complete such documents. The bill also establishes a process for designating a lead federal agency as well as a joint lead agency, such as a state government, to supervise the environmental review under NEPA. A lead agency may allow a project sponsor to prepare environmental documents under specified circumstances. Additionally, the bill revises requirements concerning the judicial review of NEPA cases, including by establishing deadlines to file lawsuits under NEPA.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2021
Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2021 This bill modifies Medicare payment of ground ambulance services in rural areas. Specifically, the bill extends the specialized rate increase for such services for an additional five years (until January 1, 2028). The bill also requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to (1) allow an area that has 1,000 or fewer individuals per square mile to retain its status as a rural area even if it would otherwise no longer qualify, and (2) establish an appeals process for providers to seek reconsideration of a change in an area's status.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2021
Temporary Reauthorization of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act This bill extends until May 6, 2022, the temporary scheduling order issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration to place fentanyl-related substances in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The temporary order expires on May 6, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2021
Protecting Gold Star Spouses Act of 20 21 This bill provides interim appropriations for the Coast Guard Retired Serviceman's Family Protection and Survivor Benefits Plans if a bill providing appropriations for the plans has not been enacted before the fiscal year begins. The bill provides the appropriations at the rate of operations and under the terms and conditions provided by the most recent law making full-year appropriations for the plans. The appropriations provided by this bill are not available after a bill is enacted that (1) provides appropriations for the plans, or (2) provides appropriations for the Coast Guard without funding the plans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2021
Voluntary Protection Program Act This bill provides statutory authority for the voluntary protection program within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Under the program, workplaces that implement comprehensive safety and health management systems are exempt from certain paperwork and inspection requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2021
Fire Fauci Act This bill reduces the annual rate of pay of the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to $0. This reduction applies until there is a new director who is not Anthony Fauci, MD. In addition, the Government Accountability Office must audit digital correspondence, policy memoranda, and financial transactions of the Office of the Director of NIAID from October 1, 2019, through December 31, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2021
Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act of 2021 This bill increases the rehabilitation tax credit and modifies certain requirements for the credit. The bill increases the rate of the credit for qualified rehabilitation expenditures in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, and before January 1, 2027, after which the rate reverts to 20%. The bill increases the rate of the credit to 30% for certain small projects whose qualified rehabilitation expenditures do not exceed $2.5 million. The bill also expands the types of buildings eligible for rehabilitation by decreasing the rehabilitation threshold from 100% to 50% of project expenses. It also eliminates the basis adjustment requirement for the credit and modifies rules relating to tax-exempt use property eligible for the credit.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Flexible Financing for Rural America Act This bill allows rural utility service providers to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a request to adjust the interest rate or modify the terms of certain loans. The request shall include a report summarizing how the adjustment or modification will assist the borrower in providing critical utility services to a rural community. Specifically, on receipt of a request, USDA or the Department of the Treasury (in the case of a loan owned by the Federal Financing Bank) must adjust the interest rate on the loan to match certain interest rates for obligations of comparable maturity to the term remaining on the loan (or a higher rate requested by the borrower), and make modifications to the loan terms as necessary to address changes in the financial position of the borrower due to the COVID-19 public health emergency and to promote the financial sustainability of the borrower. In carrying out the adjustments or modifications, USDA or Treasury shall not impose or collect any fee from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower. The bill also provides funding to implement the adjustments and modifications and for the liquidation of residual intragovernmental amounts owed by the Federal Financing Bank in connection with certain loans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree or, if unavailable, to a member of his family, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 This bill provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. After the award the medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2021
Ensuring Parity in MA and PACE for Audio-Only Telehealth Act of 2021 This bill allows audio-only diagnoses that are made via telehealth to be used for purposes of determining risk adjustments to payments under Medicare Advantage. Additionally, the bill requires payments for Medicare telehealth services that are furnished during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) to be made in the same amounts as those for in-person services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2021
Neighborhood Homes Investment Act This bill establishes a new business-related tax credit to finance home building and rehabilitation in neighborhoods that meet certain eligibility criteria relating to poverty rates, income, and home values. The credit is limited to 35% of the lesser of the qualified development cost (i.e., the cost of construction, substantial rehabilitation, demolition, and environmental remediation of residential properties) or 80% of the national median sale price for new homes. The credit applies to single family homes containing four or fewer residential units, condominiums, or houses or apartments owned by cooperative housing corporations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2021
Safe Step Act This bill requires a group health plan to establish an exception to medication step-therapy protocol in specified cases. A medication step-therapy protocol establishes a specific sequence in which prescription drugs are covered by a group health plan or a health insurance issuer. A request for such an exception to the protocol must be granted if (1) an otherwise required treatment has been ineffective, (2) such treatment is expected to be ineffective and delaying effective treatment would lead to irreversible consequences, (3) such treatment will cause or is likely to cause an adverse reaction to the individual, (4) such treatment is expected to prevent the individual from performing daily activities or occupational responsibilities, (5) the individual is stable based on the prescription drugs already selected, or (6) there are other circumstances as determined by the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The bill requires a group health plan to implement and make readily available a clear process for an individual to request an exception to the protocol, including required information and criteria for granting an exception. The bill further specifies timelines under which plans must respond to such requests.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2021
Agricultural Guest Worker Reform Initiative Act of 2021 or the AGRI Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions related to H-2A (temporary agricultural worker) visas, including to eliminate certain requirements to hire U.S. workers, expand the program to include dairy and ranch workers, and shift administrative responsibilities from the Department of Labor to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bill establishes a trust fund to be used to (1) administer and enforce the program, (2) collect a portion of guest worker wages to be paid upon a worker's return to the worker's country of origin, and (3) provide emergency medical services for guest workers. The bill eliminates a requirement that, during the first half of the time period of a guest worker contract, certain employers must hire any qualified U.S. employee who applies to perform the job the guest worker was hired to perform. Furthermore, an employer shall not be required to pay a guest worker a wage higher than the highest of federal, state, or local minimum wage rates. The bill places limitations on when guest workers may receive civil legal assistance for low-income individuals. Employer-provided housing shall be governed generally by USDA regulations, where currently such housing must meet applicable federal, state, or local standards. Employers shall not have to provide housing to workers who can reasonably return to their permanent residence within the same day. An employer may file a civil action to recover transportation costs from a guest worker who absconds from a contract.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2021
COVID-19 Border Protection (CBP) Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to devise and implement a strategy to ensure that no alien with COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) in DHS or Department of Health and Human Services custody may be released into the community during a public health emergency related to COVID-19. Funds previously provided to the Department of State for supporting international efforts to help migrants and refugees respond to COVID-19 shall be transferred to DHS to implement this strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2021
Senior Access to Vaccines Ensured Act of 2021 or the SAVE Act of 2021 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a program that provides nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) for Medicare beneficiaries to COVID-19 vaccination sites during the public health emergency. The CMS must contract with qualified transportation managers to implement the program, with preference given to those with prior experience under a state Medicaid NEMT program. The CMS must also establish criteria for beneficiary participation that is similar to the criteria used by states for Medicaid NEMT services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2021
Restored, Equitable, Coronavirus Adjusted Lodging Act of 2021 or the RECAL Act This bill prohibits the General Services Administration (GSA), when determining the FY2022 and FY2023 per diem reimbursement rates for locations within the Continental United States (CONUS), from setting lodging allowances below the FY2020 levels. CONUS per diem reimbursement rates are the maximum allowances that federal employees are reimbursed for official travel expenses. The rates consist of lodging, meals, and incidental expense allowances; the GSA sets rates annually based on data from the prior 12-month period.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2021
Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2021 This bill establishes requirements related to U.S. international energy strategy. Applications to export natural gas to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, Japan, and certain other countries shall be granted on an expedited basis without modification or delay. The President shall impose sanctions on a person that provides certain equipment, investment, or services to the Russian government or related entities for constructing or servicing Russian energy export pipelines. The Department of State shall report to Congress on a strategy to enhance the energy security of NATO member countries and increase exports of U.S. energy (and related technologies and services) to such countries.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2021
Medication Access and Training Expansion Act of 2021 or the MATE Act of 2021 This bill requires health care providers, as a condition of receiving or renewing a registration to prescribe potentially addictive drugs, to complete a one-time training on managing patients with substance use disorders. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants to health professional associations and education programs for integrating substance use disorder training into relevant curricula.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2021
This bill expands eligibility for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to members of the National Guard who perform certain full-time service at the request of the President or the Secretary of Defense (i.e., full-time National Guard duty). Specifically, the bill eliminates the existing requirement that eligible full-time service must be in response to a declared national emergency. The bill also specifies that training is not included as full-time service for purposes of eligibility for these members.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2021
State Stockpile Readiness Act of 2021 This bill temporarily authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award matching grants to states for expanding or maintaining stockpiles of commercially available medical equipment and supplies for use during public health emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2021
Protect Seniors and Cut Waste Act This bill prohibits the budgetary effects of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 from being counted for the purposes of determining whether a specified sequester occurs under the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010. (The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided funding to address the impact of COVID-19. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.) The bill also modifies several other provisions related to COVID-19 spending. Among other modifications, the bill provides supplemental appropriations for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to reimburse certain health care providers for health care related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to the coronavirus; rescinds certain funds that were provided for payments to states, territories, and tribal governments to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from the COVID-19 public health emergency; prohibits individuals who are incarcerated or unlawfully present in the United States from receiving 2021 recovery rebates; and rescinds funds that were provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund.
![Official portrait of Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001103_200.jpg)