United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2021
Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2021 This bill phases in a new funding formula for determining benefit amounts under the windfall elimination provision (WEP). The WEP reduces Social Security retirement and disability benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. The new formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of those earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. It applies to individuals who (1) become eligible for Social Security benefits after 2061, and (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed in a year after 1977. Beneficiaries who become eligible for benefits between 2023 and 2061 receive the higher of their benefit calculated under the existing WEP or the new formula. In addition, certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the WEP receive an additional payment. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements and must study the feasibility of partnering with certain pension systems to address data sharing issues related to non-covered pensions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2021
Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act of 2021 This bill establishes and modifies certain requirements relating to Medicare payments for ambulatory surgical center (ASC) services. Specifically, the bill (1) requires the payment system for ASC services to feature certain positive annual adjustments equivalent to those made with respect to hospital outpatient department (OPD) services; (2) revises quality reporting requirements to permit publicly available, side-by-side comparisons of quality measures for ASCs and OPDs in the same geographic area; and (3) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), when excluding requested procedures from the list of those approved to be performed in ASCs, to cite specified reasons for doing so. With respect to excluding procedures from the approved list for ASCs, the CMS may not cite as a basis for exclusion that a procedure can only be reported using an unlisted surgical procedure code. (Physicians sometimes use unlisted codes when performing new procedures or services if no existing code is adequately descriptive.) The bill also limits the copayment amount for ASC services under Medicare to that of the inpatient hospital deductible.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2021
This concurrent resolution celebrates the first anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women's Health and Strengthening the Family.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2021
Supporting Every at-Risk Veteran In Critical Emergencies Act of 2021 or the SERVICE Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the Department of Justice to make grants to support the creation and operation of veterans' response teams in state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2021
Patient Advocate Tracker Act This bill requires the Office of Patient Advocacy within the Veterans Health Administration to establish an information technology system that allows veterans or their representatives to electronically file a complaint with a patient advocate and review the status of a filed complaint.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2021
State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act This bill allows states, tribes, territories, and localities to use certain COVID-19 relief funds for new categories of spending, including for natural disasters and infrastructure projects. It also makes changes to expenditure deadlines and other aspects of this funding. Specifically, recipients may use funds for emergency relief from natural disasters and associated negative economic impacts of natural disasters. In addition, recipients may use a portion of their COVID-19 relief funds for designated infrastructure projects, such as nationally significant freight and highway projects. Furthermore, the bill allows recipients to expend COVID-19 relief funds on these types of infrastructure projects until September 30, 2026. Under current law, recipients must expend the funds by December 31, 2024. Other changes in the bill include (1) modifying eligibility and allocation requirements for funding set aside for counties and Indian tribes that are near public lands, (2) allowing Indian tribes an additional year to expend their COVID-19 relief funds, and (3) establishing a process for government entities to decline COVID-19 relief funds and requiring any declined funds to be used to reduce the federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2021
Afghanistan Security Through Intelligence Act This bill requires reports concerning the situation in Afghanistan and other specified countries. The National Intelligence Council within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) must submit to Congress a National Intelligence Estimate (a type of intelligence community assessment about a specific issue) on topics including (1) the presence of certain countries, including China, Iran, and Russia in Afghanistan and other specified countries, such as India and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries; (2) any change to threats to the United States as a result of the withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Afghanistan on August 31, 2021; and (3) the political composition and stability of the governing body of Afghanistan. The ODNI must periodically report to Congress on issues such as (1) the intelligence community's collection posture with respect to issues involving Afghanistan, including the detection and prevention of any increased threat to the United States as a result of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan; (2) any plans or efforts to improve the intelligence collection posture in Afghanistan; and (3) the effect of publicly documenting the Taliban's abuses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2021
This resolution recognizes the ultimate sacrifice of the unknown soldiers interred at Arlington National Cemetery and expresses gratitude and appreciation of all the members of the Armed Forces who have served during wars and peacetime. Additionally, the resolution commends all members of the 3d Infantry Regiment, specifically those who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2021
Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from requiring a financial institution to report the transfers into and out of a financial account. This prohibition does not apply to laws or regulations in effect on October 1, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the "John R. Lewis Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2021
Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act This bill extends until December 31, 2023, the exemption for telehealth services from certain high deductible health plan rules. It also provides a high deductible health plan safe harbor for the absence of a deductible for certain primary care services provided in any plan year beginning on or before December 31, 2023 (COVID-19 emergency period). The Government Accountability Office must complete a study, and report on, the effects of the safe harbor for certain primary care services provided during the COVID-19 emergency period.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2021
This bill requires online marketplaces (e.g., Amazon) to collect and verify certain contact and financial information from third-party sellers whose transactions and related revenues exceed specified thresholds. Subject to certain exceptions, online marketplaces must clearly and conspicuously disclose the contact information of certain high-volume third-party sellers to consumers and must also provide consumers with methods to report suspicious activity on the marketplace. The bill provides the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general with the authority to enforce these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2021
This resolution urges the Biden Administration to expeditiously restore the Migrant Protection Protocols, a policy requiring many asylum seekers arriving at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their cases are being adjudicated. It also urges the Administration to use certain public health powers, commonly referred to as Title 42 authority, to promptly expel migrants.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
Intergenerational Financial Obligations Reform Act This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Government Accountability Office to provide various reports that include a fiscal gap analysis and a generational accounting analysis. Under the bill, the fiscal gap generally refers to the sum of (1) the total amount of Treasury liabilities outstanding on the last day of the budget year, and (2) the discounted present value of the projected difference between federal spending and revenues during the period of the budget year and at least the next 75 fiscal years (excluding spending for net interest and principal payments on Treasury liabilities). A generational accounting analysis addresses the fiscal impact that projected federal spending and tax burdens will have on various generations of individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
Patient Access to ESRD New Innovative Devices Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide a certain payment adjustment under the Medicare end-stage renal disease (ESRD) prospective payment system. Specifically, the CMS must provide for a three-year temporary add-on payment adjustment for new medical devices used to diagnose, treat, or manage ESRD. (CMS regulations currently provide a two-year temporary add-on payment adjustment.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
Chinese Military and Surveillance Company Sanctions Act of 2021 This bill requires the President to impose property-blocking sanctions on Communist Chinese military companies upon certain findings. Specifically, if the President determines that imposing sanctions on a foreign person would address certain threats related to the financing of Chinese Communist military companies, the President must impose sanctions on that person provided that the person is identified (1) as a Communist Chinese military company in a specified report to Congress or in a November 17, 2020, executive order, or (2) by the Department of the Treasury as having engaged in transactions in the publicly traded securities (or derivatives) of a Communist Chinese military company.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2021
This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report to Congress on projections of the estimated tax gap (i.e., the difference between tax liabilities owed to the IRS and those liabilities that the IRS actually collects). The IRS may use artificial intelligence and related data analysis tools to calculate a tax gap projection. The bill also requires the Joint Committee on Taxation to issue periodic reports to the congressional tax committees on the tax gap projection. The bill restricts IRS funding to FY2021 levels for audits and enforcement until it publishes an updated tax gap projection. Funding is also restricted for certain purposes, including (1) targeting U.S. citizens who exercise their First Amendment rights, (2) targeting a group for regulatory scrutiny based on its ideological beliefs, and (3) auditing individual taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $400,000. The bill directs the IRS to establish a fellowship program to recruit private sector tax experts to join the IRS to create and participate in the audit task force. The purposes of the tax force include performing audit case selection, educating IRS employees on emerging issues, auditing selected taxpayers, addressing offshore tax evasion, and identifying, mentoring, and training IRS junior employees with respect to audits.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2021
This resolution commemorates the 70th anniversary of the security treaty between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States and reaffirms the U.S. commitments under the treaty. It also supports new opportunities to deepen and broaden security relations and economic ties between the three countries.
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 · 31 August 2021
Afghanistan Withdrawal Oversight and Liability Act or the AWOL Act This bill prohibits using federal funds appropriated for FY2021 to provide support to the Taliban. The bill also requires reports and certifications related to Afghanistan. Specifically, no FY2021 funds may be used to (1) make payments or contributions of material support to the Taliban, or (2) provide relief from sanctions against the Taliban or its leaders. The bill requires the President to report to Congress on efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents from Afghanistan. The President must also certify to Congress when all such individuals seeking evacuation from Afghanistan have been evacuated. The Department of State must periodically report to Congress on any agreements between the United States and the Taliban. Within seven days of the United States reaching an agreement with the Taliban, the State Department must provide to Congress all materials relevant to that agreement. The bill also requires the Office of the Inspector General of the State Department to report to Congress about the State Department's compliance with legal requirements in connection to agreements with the Taliban. Specifically, the office must assess compliance with a law that requires the State Department to provide certain information to Congress when the United States enters certain international agreements. The Department of Defense must report to Congress concerning U.S. equipment, property, and classified material that was destroyed, surrendered, or abandoned in Afghanistan during a period starting from February 29, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 31 August 2021
Havana Syndrome Servicemember Support Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a cross-functional team to address national security challenges posed by anomalous health incidents and to ensure that individuals affected by such incidents receive timely and comprehensive health care. DOD must brief Congress on the progress of establishing the team and the progress the team has made in carrying out its duties. Additionally, DOD must regularly brief Congress regarding DOD's efforts related to anomalous health incidents.
United States · United States Congress · 27 August 2021
Strengthening Innovation in Medicare and Medicaid Act This bill makes a series of changes to requirements for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, including additional testing parameters, procedural steps, and reporting requirements for models.
United States · United States Congress · 24 August 2021
This resolution states that the House of Representatives opposes diplomatic recognition of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. It also states that the House recognizes and supports Amrullah Saleh's leadership as the acting president of the former Afghan government and in the resistance against the Taliban.
United States · United States Congress · 24 August 2021
This resolution condemns the President's failure to heed military and intelligence advisors about the speed and nature of the Taliban offense in Afghanistan and urges the President to commit to maintaining the evacuation operation as long as necessary to evacuate any U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or Afghan partner who requests evacuation assistance .
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
Rural Medical Residency Expansion Act of 2021 This bill establishes a grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services for hospitals and other health care facilities in rural areas to establish or expand medical residency training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2021
Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone Calls Act of 2021 or the DO NOT Call Act of 2021 This bill increases and establishes criminal penalties, which include imprisonment for up to one year, for an intentional violation of the prohibition on automated telephone marketing and messaging. In addition, a person may be imprisoned for up to three years for an aggravated violation of such prohibition if the person (1) previously has been convicted of such an offense, (2) initiates a certain high volume of such calls during specified periods of time, (3) commits the offense in the furtherance of a felony, or (4) causes losses of at least $5,000 during any one year period to one or more persons. The bill also increases from $10,000 to $20,000 the fine for intentionally transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller identification information.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
Office of Attending Physician Independence Act This bill addresses the appointment and oversight of the Attending Physician (a medical officer who is currently assigned by the the Navy to provide emergency medical assistance to Members of Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, congressional staff, and visitors to the Capitol). The bill establishes a commission to recommend individuals to the President for appointment to the position of Attending Physician. The commission shall recommend at least three individuals who are medical officers of the Navy for appointment. The President shall appoint the Attending Physician from the individuals recommended by the commission with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of 10 years. The Office of Attending Physician shall be subject to oversight by the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
Don't Weaponize the IRS Act This bill codifies regulations promulgated by the Trump Administration exempting certain tax-exempt organizations from specified reporting requirements. Specifically the bill increases from $5,000 to $50,000 the gross receipts threshold used to determine the eligibility of tax-exempt organizations for the exemption from certain disclosure and reporting requirements; expands the definition of organization to include tax-exempt charitable organizations and organizations with no significant activities relating to lobbying, political activity, and the operation of a trade or business; exempts from disclosure the names and addresses of contributors to an organization in its annual informational return; and extends exemptions from reporting requirements to political action committees (i.e., 527 organizations).
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Border Security for America Act of 2021 This bill addresses border security and related issues. For example, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume all activities to construct a border barrier system along the U.S.-Mexico border that were underway or planned prior to January 20, 2021; requires DHS to deploy, in addition to physical barriers, tactical infrastructure and technology to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the southwest border; authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out a program to acquire innovative commercial items through a competitive selection of proposals; imposes certain requirements for DHS border security technology acquisition programs that have a total expenditure of at least $300 million; requires CBP to implement certain technologies, including a program to establish a biometric exit data system at ports of entry; requires CBP to increase or maintain certain staffing levels for agents, officers, processing coordinators, and other positions; requires CBP to implement a workload staffing model for the U.S. Border Patrol and for CBP's Air and Marine Operations; and provides statutory authority through FY2026 for Operation Stonegarden, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that provides grants to states and territories involved in certain active CBP border security operations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Alternatives to Opioids in the Emergency Department Reauthorization Act of 2021 or the ALTO Reauthorization Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 a grant program for developing and implementing alternatives to opioids for pain management in hospitals and emergency departments.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Charitable Equity for Veterans Act of 2021 This bill expands the deductibility of charitable contributions to all federally-chartered tax-exempt organizations serving current and former members of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
COVID-19 American History Project Act This bill directs the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish a history project to be known as the COVID-19 American History Project to collect and make publicly available individual stories and records of experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The bill includes a requirement to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of those who were affected by the pandemic.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
This resolution expresses solidarity with the Lebanese people following the explosions at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and supports their right to peacefully demonstrate to achieve political goals and anti-corruption reforms.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 226 North Main Street in Roseville, Ohio, as the "Ronald E. Rosser Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
ABLE Employment Flexibility Act This bill permits employers to make tax-exempts contributions to ABLE (Achieving Better Life Experience) accounts in lieu of making contributions to existing tax-exempt defined contribution retirement plans. An ABLE account is established to pay the expenses (e.g., food, education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, and health care expenses) of a designated beneficiary who is disabled.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 102 West Main Street in New Albany, Ohio, as the "Congressman Samuel L. Devine Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2021
Value in Health Care Act of 2021 This bill makes a series of changes to certain methodologies and components used in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The program enables accountable care organizations (ACOs) to receive payments for savings stemming from care coordination and management. Among other changes, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to increase the shared savings rate for participating ACOs, as specified, and to establish a program that assists ACOs with start-up and operational costs of participation. The bill also extends certain incentive payments for health professionals who participate in eligible alternative payment models. The Government Accountability Office must report on health outcomes and racial disparities among beneficiaries who receive care from providers under alternative payment models compared to beneficiaries who receive care from providers under the traditional fee-for-service system.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2021
Entrepreneurs Need Timely Replenishment (for) Eating Establishments Act or the ENTRÉE Act This bill provides FY2021 supplemental appropriations for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and modifies requirements related to administration of the fund. The fund was established in response to COVID-19 to make grants to eligible food and beverage purveyors for covering specified costs such as payroll, operational expenses, and paid sick leave. The bill correspondingly rescinds unobligated amounts previously made available for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery funds. Further, the bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to (1) review and process grant applications in the order in which they are received; (2) impose requirements on applicants that reduce waste, fraud, and abuse; and (3) submit and report monthly on an oversight and audit plan outlining the SBA's policies, procedures, and activities with respect to these grants.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2021
Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services for Success Act This bill renames the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as the Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services (JOBS) program, reauthorizes the program through FY2027, and makes changes relating to work requirements for beneficiaries. States providing aid under the program shall create an individual opportunity plan for each beneficiary. States shall impose work requirements on all work-eligible beneficiaries and shall reduce benefits for noncompliance. (Currently, individual plans are optional under TANF, and states have discretion as to whether to reduce benefits for noncompliant individuals.) States providing aid shall meet annual performance targets related to the number of beneficiaries who exit the program and find unsubsidized employment. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall reduce grants to states that fail to meet such targets. States shall provide data related to beneficiary employment and wages to HHS, which shall be publicly available. The bill modifies certain limitations that restrict the use of funds for case management and other purposes and requires states to spend at least 25% of funds from various grants on core activities. Certain existing laws relating to monitoring and recovering improper benefits payments shall apply to the JOBS program. The bill eliminates programs providing (1) supplemental grants for population increases, (2) bonuses for high performance states, (3) welfare-to-work grants, and (4) contingency funds for state welfare programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2021
Workforce Opportunity Realignment Kickstart Act or the WORK Act This bill modifies requirements for states with respect to the administration of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. Specifically, the bill (1) establishes new performance indicators related to employment and educational outcomes for states receiving TANF funds; (2) increases the percentage of TANF funds, from 30% to 50%, that may be used to support other state programs; and (3) allows states to use TANF funds to carry out certain workforce development programs. Under current law, states may use TANF funds to support other state programs only if they are related to Child Care and Development Block Grants or Social Services Block Grants. States must negotiate with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a level of performance for each indicator, taking into account certain economic, demographic, and other factors. HHS must periodically revise levels of performance for states to reflect economic and other conditions.
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 bill provides supplemental FY2021 appropriations to the National Guard for its response to the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2021
Technical Reset to Advance the Instruction of Nurses Act or the TRAIN Act This bill modifies the methodology and application of Medicare Advantage nursing and allied health education payments for hospitals. Specifically, for 2010-2019, the bill eliminates the annual cap on total payments and excludes any resulting increase from factoring into calculations for graduate medical education payments for such hospitals. (The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued guidance providing for the recalculation and correction of certain payments to account for the annual payment cap.)
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2021
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides essential protection for our country from foreign and domestic threats and that defunding DHS would be detrimental to our national security.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2021
Burn Pit Registry Expansion Act This bill expands the scope of the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry of the Department of Veterans Affairs by including burn pits located in Egypt and Syria under the definition of open burn pits . The registry allows certain veterans and service members to document their exposures and report health concerns related to exposure to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits (areas used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment) while serving in certain locations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 2021
Child Care Flexibility for Working Families Act This bill modifies the tax credit for employer-provided child care to (1) allow the credit for the reimbursement of costs necessary for an employee's employment, and (2) allow an increased credit for certain small businesses (i.e., businesses with gross receipts not exceeding $25 million and with not more than 50 employees in a taxable year). The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to complete a study that examines certain aspects of the tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act This bill makes the America the Beautiful-National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available, without charge, to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and Gold Star Families. The pass covers the entrance fee and standard amenity recreation fee for all federal recreational lands and waters.