United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2021
Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act of 2021 This bill prohibits, with specified exceptions, the use or possession of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The bill imposes on persons who possess or use such traps in the system (1) for a first offense, a civil fine of up to $500 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used; and (2) for subsequent offenses, a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used, imprisonment for up to 180 days, or both such a civil fine and imprisonment. The bill makes any body-gripping traps that are possessed or used in violation of this bill, and any wildlife captured by the use of such traps, including the pelts and raw fur, subject to civil forfeiture. Persons found to be in violation of such prohibition shall pay all associated court costs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2021
Medicaid Saves Lives Act This bill requires and provides funds for the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program that provides health benefits to the Medicaid expansion population in states that have not expanded Medicaid. Specifically, the program must provide coverage for individuals who are newly eligible for Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e., the Medicaid expansion population) without premiums and in accordance with Medicaid cost-sharing and other requirements. The bill also extends and increases the temporarily enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for states that elect to participate in Medicaid expansion if they have not already done so.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2021
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022 This bill provides FY2022 appropriations to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies. The bill provides appropriations to DOT for the Office of the Secretary, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the Maritime Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the Office of Inspector General. The bill provides appropriations to HUD for Management and Administration, Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and Development, Housing Programs, the Federal Housing Administration, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Policy Development and Research, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, the Information Technology Fund, and the Office of Inspector General. The bill also provides appropriations to several related agencies, including the Access Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) Office of Inspector General, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, the Surface Transportation Board, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2021
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2021 This bill requires states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit bullying and harassment of elementary and secondary school students. In particular, these policies must prohibit bullying and harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion. Further, LEAs must provide (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level. The Department of Education must conduct and report on an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics must collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA disciplinary policies.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution of 2021 This resolution supports the designation of a Slavery Remembrance Day and condemns slavery and its progenies.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
Minks in Narrowly Kept Spaces are Superspreaders Act or the MINKS are Superspreaders Act This bill makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase American mink ( Neovison vison ) raised in captivity for fur production, whether dead or alive.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2021
Keeping Girls in School Act This bill authorizes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to enter into agreements to address social, cultural, health, and other barriers that adolescent girls face in accessing quality secondary education. The USAID shall seek to ensure that such activities meet various requirements related to monitoring and evaluating outcomes, collecting data, and using specified indicators and methodologies for international basic education. The Department of State shall periodically update and report to Congress a publicly available U.S. global strategy to empower adolescent girls, and the USAID shall periodically report to Congress on the activities initiated under this bill and efforts to monitor and evaluate such activities.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2021
Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 20 21 This bill prohibits commercial conversion therapy, which is a practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or otherwise change behaviors, thoughts, or expressions related to gender or sexual attraction. This prohibition does not apply to treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition or facilitates identity exploration and development.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2021
Cultivating Opportunity and Recovery from the Pandemic through Service Act or the CORPS Act This bill makes several changes to AmeriCorps programs during the COVID-19 health emergency. Specifically, the bill: increases living allowance payments to program participants; increases educational awards for program participants; relaxes program requirements, including reducing the age requirement for AmeriCorps Seniors to 45 and older; creates a pilot program to allow state commissions to directly place individuals in approved AmeriCorps programs; and allows for targeted AmeriCorps grants to fund recovery projects in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The bill also excludes AmeriCorps living allowance payments and educational awards from taxable income for program participants.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2021
Vanessa Guillén Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act This bill modifies the process and policy related to the disposition of charges and convening of courts-martial for certain sexual assault cases and other specified offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Among other elements, the bill provides that the determinations on the preferral, disposition, and referral of charges for specified offenses under the UCMJ must be made by a commissioned officer of the Armed Forces who is designated as a court-martial convening authority (in grade O-6 or higher) and who is available for detail as trial counsel, has significant trial experience, and is outside the chain of command of the member subject to the charges.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2021
Cover Outstanding Vulnerable Expansion-eligible Residents Now Act or the COVER Now Act This bill establishes a demonstration program to allow local governments to provide health benefits to the Medicaid expansion population in states that have not expanded Medicaid. Under the program, local governments may provide coverage for individuals who are newly eligible for Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e., the Medicaid expansion population) for a maximum of 10 years, or until their respective states expand Medicaid. The bill provides a 100% federal matching rate for the first three years of program participation. The bill prohibits states from taking certain actions against participating localities, such as withholding funding, increasing taxes, or restricting provider participation. States that violate these requirements are subject to certain funding penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2021
Disarm Hate Act The bill expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm. Specifically, it prohibits firearm sale or transfer to and receipt, possession, shipment, or transport by a person (1) who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) who has received an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2021
Support UNFPA Funding Act This bill authorizes annual contributions to support the core functions and programs of the United Nations Population Fund for the five fiscal years following the bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2021
Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021 This bill provides an additional $60 billion in FY2021 for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was established to support restaurants and other food and beverage purveyors in response to COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2021
Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services. Specifically, governments may not limit a provider's ability to prescribe certain drugs, offer abortion services via telemedicine, or immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health. Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to perform unnecessary medical procedures, provide medically inaccurate information, comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or carry out all services connected to an abortion. In addition, governments may not (1) require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining such services, or (2) prohibit abortion services before fetal viability or after fetal viability when a provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health. The bill also prohibits other governmental measures that are similar to the bill's specified restrictions or that otherwise single out and impede access to abortion services, unless a government demonstrates that the measure significantly advances the safety of abortion services or health of patients and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The Department of Justice, individuals, or providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations. The bill applies to restrictions imposed both prior and subsequent to the bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2021
Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2021 This bill makes physical therapists eligible for the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. This program assists primary care, mental health, and dental providers in repaying eligible student loans in exchange for working in areas with shortages of such providers.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2021
Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act of 2021 or the EAGLE Act of 2021 This bill modifies requirements related to employment-based visas and addresses related issues. The bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15% and eliminates the per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas. The bill establishes transition rules for employment-based visas such as (1) reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB-3 (skilled and other workers) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas, and (2) allotting a number of visas for professional nurses and physical therapists. The bill imposes additional requirements on an employer seeking an H-1B visa, such as prohibiting (1) an employer from advertising that a position is only open to H-1B applicants or that H-1B applicants are preferred, and (2) certain employers from having more than half of their employees as nonimmigrant visa workers. The Department of Labor shall create a publicly available website where an employer seeking an H-1B visa must post certain information about the open position. The bill also expands Labor's authority to review and investigate H-1B applications for fraud or misrepresentations. The bill also allows certain aliens to obtain lawful permanent resident status if the alien (1) is in the United States as a nonimmigrant, (2) has an approved immigrant visa petition, and (3) has waited at least two years for a visa.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2021
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2021 This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Lymphedema Treatment Act This bill provides for Medicare coverage of lymphedema compression treatment items. Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of (1) standard and custom fitted gradient compression garments that are prescribed by a physician or other specified health care professional to treat lymphedema, and (2) other devices determined to be effective in the prevention or treatment of lymphedema.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 or the MORE Act of 2021 This bill decriminalizes marijuana. Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana. The bill also makes other changes, including the following: replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis , requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees, establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs, imposes an excise tax on cannabis products produced in or imported into the United States and an occupational tax on cannabis production facilities and export warehouses, makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers, prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions, prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction), establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses, and directs the Government Accountability Office to study the societal impact of cannabis legalization.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
This resolution strongly disapproves of the escalation of political tensions between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front into armed conflict, and it calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities in the Tigray region as well as an end to violence throughout Ethiopia. Further, the resolution urges all parties to work to protect human rights, and it calls on relevant U.S. agencies to take specified actions that encourage an end to the conflict and that provide humanitarian support.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Harlem Hellfighters, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Veteran Education Empowerment Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and otherwise revises a Department of Education (ED) grant program for student veteran centers. Specifically, ED must make grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs to establish, maintain, improve, or operate a student veteran center. A student veteran center is a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, their children, and veterans in the community; and (2) a centralized office for student veteran services that serves as a single point of contact to coordinate comprehensive support services for student veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of State to include in its annual reports on human rights in countries receiving U.S. development and security assistance a discussion of the status of reproductive rights in each country. This must include whether a country has adopted and enforced policies to (1) promote access to contraception and accurate, nondiscriminatory family planning and sexual health information; (2) provide services to ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth; (3) expand or restrict access to safe abortion services; and (4) prevent and treat sexually transmitted diseases. For each country, the reports shall also contain (1) data concerning pregnancy-related injuries and deaths; and (2) a description of the nature and extent of discrimination and violence against women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals in health care settings and the relevant government's response to such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
Keeping Our Promise Act This bill authorizes issuing visas to certain individuals who were previously refused a diversity immigrant visa or admission into the United States because of certain executive orders or the COVID-19 public health emergency. (Diversity immigrant visas are available to eligible immigrants from countries with relatively low rates of immigration to the United States.) Specifically, this bill applies to individuals who were refused such a visa solely due to certain executive orders from 2017 to 2020, including orders which suspended the entry of individuals from certain countries. The bill also applies to diversity visa applicants who, because of the COVID-19 emergency, were (1) unable to receive a visa interview despite requesting one, or (2) unable to be admitted into the United States despite being approved for a visa. The Department of State must notify each individual covered under this bill of the individual's visa eligibility. To retain eligibility, an individual must respond to the State Department's notice within one year of the notice. An individual may also lose eligibility if the State Department determines that the applicant fails to meet certain requirements. The bill also relaxes certain annual numerical limits for individuals obtaining a visa under this bill. An individual who was a child when initially selected for a visa shall be treated as a child for the purposes of a visa application under this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
Global Respect Act This bill imposes visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for or complicit in violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The President shall report and periodically update a list of foreign persons responsible for such human rights violations and apply sanctions accordingly. The Department of State shall designate at least one senior officer who shall be responsible for tracking violence and discrimination against individuals based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics in foreign countries.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
This resolution supports the designation of ALS Awareness Month. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports. Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers. Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
Keeping All Students Safe Act This bill prohibits the use of seclusion and limits the use of physical restraint in schools and Head Start programs that receive federal funding. Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of seclusion, which is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. The term does not include a time out, which may involve separating the student from others in a non-locked setting. The bill prohibits the use of mechanical or chemical restraints or physical restraints that restrict breathing or are life threatening. The bill outlines the requirements for the use of physical restraint, including that the student's behavior must pose an imminent danger of serious physical injury to the student or other individual. Each state must ensure that a sufficient number of program personnel are trained and certified by a state-approved crisis intervention training program. Additionally, each program must establish procedures to follow after an incident involving physical restraint. Further, the bill establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to unlawful seclusion or restraint. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services must withhold payments from a program for unlawful seclusion or restraint. Finally, the bill requires each state educational agency (SEA) to establish, implement, and enforce policies and procedures required by the bill. It also creates a grant program to assist SEAs with these activities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2021
Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness Act or the MOMMA's Act This bill establishes various programs and requirements to reduce maternal mortality. It also increases federal tobacco taxes and equalizes the tax treatment of different tobacco products. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must provide technical assistance and best practices for collecting data, standardizing reporting, and preventing maternal mortality. The CDC must consult with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on this assistance. The bill also provides statutory authority for CDC grants for state-based collaboratives to improve care immediately before and after birth and to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, and a HRSA program to improve the quality and safety of maternity care. Furthermore, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish regional centers through health professional schools and training programs to educate health care providers about implicit bias and culturally competent care. In addition, the bill expands eligibility for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other benefits for pregnant and postpartum individuals. Specifically, it extends postpartum eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP for one year; provides coverage for oral health services for pregnant and postpartum individuals under Medicaid and CHIP; and extends postpartum eligibility for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children for two years. HHS must also take steps to publicize the benefits available to pregnant and postpartum individuals under Medicaid and CHIP, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must provide guidance on Medicaid coverage for doula services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2021
Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act of 2021 or the SAFE Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the transporting, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation by a person of an equine (e.g., horse) that the person has reason to believe will be slaughtered for human consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2021
Manufactured Housing Community Preservation Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to award grants to nonprofit organizations, public housing agencies, and other entities for the preservation of manufactured housing communities. Such funds may be used to (1) acquire and preserve manufactured housing communities; (2) make improvements to common areas and community property in such communities; and (3) demolish, remove, and replace dilapidated homes in such communities. A grantee that uses funds to acquire a manufactured housing community must agree to maintain the community for at least 20 years.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2021
SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act This bill allows for payment under the Medicare prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department services of certain items and services that are furnished at off-campus outpatient departments. Specifically, the bill allows for payment of items and services for which payments to physician specialists (under the Medicare physician fee schedule) did not exceed $2 million during the previous year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2021
Manufactured Housing Tenant's Bill of Rights Act of 2021 This bill requires manufactured housing communities and home parks to meet minimum consumer protections to be eligible for certain federally-backed loans for the construction, substantial rehabilitation, or purchase of these communities. Specifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is prohibited from insuring such a loan, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are prohibited from purchasing such a loan, unless a borrower provides specified tenant protections, including one-year renewable lease terms, unless there is good cause for nonrenewal; at least a 60-day advance notice of any increase in rent, or of a sale or closure of the community; a five-day grace period for rent payments; and a right for a tenant to sell a manufactured home within a reasonable time period after eviction. The bill sets forth penalties for violations of these protections. The bill also establishes the Manufactured Home Company Lending Standards Commission to propose additional consumer protection standards.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2021
Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish grants to support sex education and sexual health services for young people (ages 10 through 29) and repeals requirements that apply to certain federally funded sex education programs. HHS must award grants, in coordination with the Department of Education, to (1) provide sex education to young people through elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education, and youth-serving organizations; and (2) train education professionals to effectively teach, and otherwise support, sex education. Sex education refers to high quality teaching and learning that follows, to the maximum extent practicable, specified educational standards; covers a variety of topics concerning sex and sexuality; explores values and beliefs about those topics; and helps young people gain skills to navigate relationships and manage sexual health. Additionally, HHS must award grants for the provision of sexual health services to marginalized youth to youth-serving organizations and health care entities that are eligible to receive covered outpatient drugs at reduced prices through the 340B drug discount program. Recipients of any of these grants must comply with certain nondiscrimination requirements. In addition, they may not use funds for sex education programs or sexual health services that provide incomplete or inaccurate medical information or fail to address specified issues. The bill also eliminates prohibitions regarding the content of specified federally funded sexual health education and information programs and repeals the Abstinence Only Until Marriage program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2021
Institutional Grants for New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education for HBCU Excellence Act or the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act This bill establishes a grant program to support long-term improvements of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and graduate programs at HBCUs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to HBCUs to improve campus facilities. A recipient must use grant funds for certain activities, such as constructing or renovating facilities, carrying out major repairs, and strengthening the safety and security of a campus. Any new construction, modernization, or renovation projects must meet building code and energy and water conservation requirements. Further, HBCUs must seek to procure contracts from certain small businesses, including those owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans. The bill prohibits the use of grant funds for specified activities, including for the payment of routine and predictable maintenance costs, minor repairs, and utility bills. The Government Accountability Office must study the implementation of the grant program. The bill also requires ED to repay the outstanding balance of principal, interest, fees, and costs and any related reimbursements for certain capital financing loans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2021
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States can achieve a more perfect union by condemning the violence and destruction perpetrated against the African American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The resolution states that a more perfect union may be achieved through other means as well, including by promoting tolerance and unity, and it recognizes Congress's commitment to acknowledge and learn from the history of racism and racial violence in the United States in order to reverse the legacy of white supremacy and fight for racial justice.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2021
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021 This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2021
Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act This bill expedites payment of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and eligibility for Medicare coverage for those with metastatic breast cancer (i.e., breast cancer that has spread to other sites in the body). Specifically, the bill eliminates the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits and the subsequent 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with metastatic breast cancer. Under current law, individuals generally must wait five months after the onset of disability to begin receiving SSDI benefits and an additional 24 months to become eligible for Medicare.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2021
I am Vanessa Guillén Act of 2021 This bill addresses the policies and procedures of the Department of Defense (DOD) for cases or allegations of sex-related offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2021
Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2021 This bill requires hospitals to implement and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a staffing plan that complies with specified minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit. Hospitals must post a notice regarding nurse-to-patient ratios in each unit and maintain records of actual ratios for each shift in each unit. The bill also requires hospitals to follow certain procedures regarding how ratios are determined and other staff are prohibited from performing nurse functions unless specifically authorized within a state's scope of practice rules, among other requirements. HHS must adjust Medicare payments to hospitals to cover additional costs attributable to compliance with these ratios. Nurses may object to, or refuse to participate in, an assignment if it would violate minimum ratios or if they are not prepared by education or experience to fulfill the assignment without compromising the safety of a patient or jeopardizing their nurse's license. Hospitals may not (1) take adverse actions against a nurse based on the nurse's reasonable refusal to accept an assignment; or (2) discriminate against individuals for good faith complaints relating to the care, services, or conditions of the hospital or related facilities. HHS may impose civil monetary penalties on hospitals violating the ratio requirements and must publish the names of such hospitals. The bill provides stipends to the nurse workforce loan repayment and scholarship program and expands the nurse retention grant program to include nurse preceptorship and mentorship projects.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Green Transportation Act This bill incorporates greenhouse gas emission reduction in various transportation-related planning activities and programs. Specifically, states and metropolitan planning organizations must address greenhouse gas emission reductions and certain other issues (e.g., public health and climate change) in long-range and other planning related to highways and public transportation. The bill also makes reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation system a national goal of the Federal-aid Highway Program. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must establish applicable performance measures and standards related to that goal. Additionally, states and metropolitan planning organizations may use certain funding available through the National Highway Trust Fund to develop standardized models and methodologies to measure and monitor transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. DOT must collect and organize such models and methodologies in a publicly available clearinghouse and report about them to Congress. Further, DOT must establish a program to fund projects that support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the surface transportation system. As part of this program, DOT must annually evaluate carbon dioxide emissions on public roads and evaluate states' progress in reducing emissions.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2021
Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 This bill makes various changes with respect to employer-sponsored retirement plans, including providing for the automatic enrollment of employees in certain plans and increasing the age at which participants are required to begin receiving mandatory distributions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2021
American Families United Act This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) to exercise discretion in certain immigration cases. The bill also removes certain requirements related to birthright citizenship. Under this bill, DOJ or DHS may, on a case-by-case basis, exercise discretion by declining to remove an alien or bar an alien from entering the United States to prevent hardship for the alien's U.S. citizen spouse, parent, or child. However, DOJ or DHS may not exercise this discretion if the alien is removable or inadmissible due to certain grounds, including specified crime- and security-related grounds. The bill also removes certain requirements related to birthright citizenship for a child born outside of the United States to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent. Specifically, the bill removes a provision that requires the U.S. citizen parent to be physically present in the United States for at least five years before the child's birth in order for the child to acquire U.S. citizenship at birth.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2021
Advancing International and Foreign Language Education Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and otherwise revises international education programs. These programs provide grants to institutions of higher education and related entities to (1) enhance instruction in international and foreign language studies, and (2) promote international business skills and education. First, the bill reauthorizes programs related to international and foreign language studies. Specifically, it extends (1) the Graduate and Undergraduate Language and Area Centers and Programs, which include the National Resource Centers program; (2) the Language Resource Centers; (3) the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs; and (4) the American Overseas Research Centers. Next, the bill revises the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships program to permit graduate students to receive a stipend for the beginning, intermediate, or advanced study of a foreign language related to the student's area of specialization. Further, the bill replaces the existing Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access program with an international research and innovation program. Additionally, the bill reauthorizes programs related to international business skills and education. Specifically, it reauthorizes the Centers for International Business Education program. It also reauthorizes the Education and Training program and otherwise makes changes to the program, including by (1) renaming the program; and (2) mandating certain program activities, such as the incorporation of specified programs and studies into professional education and technical training curricula. Finally, the bill permits the Department of Education to prioritize grant applications from minority-serving institutions.
![Official portrait of Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000523_200.jpg)