Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]

Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2023

CONNECT for Health Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2023

Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2023 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2023 This bill expands coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Among other provisions, the bill permanently removes geographic restrictions on originating sites (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) and allows the home of the beneficiary to serve as the originating site for all services; permanently allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); and allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to generally waive coverage restrictions during any public health emergency. Additionally, the CMS must post certain information about the effects of Medicare telehealth services on its website, including information about utilization, costs, and the outcome of services. The CMS must also (1) provide resources to health care professionals about the requirements for furnishing telehealth services under Medicare, including with respect to payment, patient privacy, and support for underserved populations; and (2) ensure certain quality measures are applied to telehealth services.

Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2023

Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2023

Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2023 This bill expands the earned income tax credit and makes the child tax credit fully refundable. The bill increases and makes permanent the earned income tax credit for taxpayers with no qualifying children and expands age limits for credit eligibility (currently, taxpayers must be at least 25 years of age and not older than 65). It lowers the age baseline of 25 years to 19 years and eliminates the 65 age limit). The bill increases the child tax credit amount and provides for monthly advance payments of such credit.

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to prohibit the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime.

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2023

This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude as a criminal punishment. 

Right to Contraception Act

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2023

Right to Contraception Act This bill sets out statutory protections for an individual's right to access and a health care provider's right to provide contraception and related information. Contraception refers to an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives (i.e., a device or medication used to prevent pregnancy), fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures. Generally, the bill prohibits measures that single out and impede access to contraception and related information. However, a party may defend against a claim that a measure violates the bill's prohibitions by demonstrating, through clear and convincing evidence, that the measure significantly advances the safety of contraception and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The bill also specifies that the prohibition preempts inconsistent state and local laws and applies in spite of other federal laws, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The Department of Justice, individuals, or health care providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations.

College for All Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2023

College for All Act of 2023 This bill establishes measures to expand access to higher education, including by eliminating tuition and required fees for eligible students, revising the Federal Pell Grant program, and reauthorizing certain programs to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Specifically, the bill provides funding to enable states and tribal colleges and universities, through a federal-state partnership, to eliminate tuition and required fees for (1) all students at community colleges and two-year tribal colleges and universities, and (2) working- and middle-class students at four-year public institutions of higher education and tribal colleges and universities. The bill provides funding to enable private, nonprofit historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to eliminate tuition and required fees for eligible students. The bill permanently reauthorizes and otherwise revises the Federal Pell Grant program by providing funding to increase the maximum award for each eligible student, increasing the duration limit for the use of Pell Grants, allowing students to use their awards to cover living and nontuition expenses, and expanding eligibility to Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status and who entered the United States before the age of 16) and students with other immigration statuses. Further, the bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to eligible states and tribal colleges and universities for improving student outcomes. The bill reauthorizes through FY2033 the Federal TRIO Programs and reauthorizes through FY2027 the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.

Improving Whole Health for Veterans with Chronic Conditions Act

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

TEST Act

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

Temporary Emergency Scheduling and Testing of Fentanyl Analogues Act of 2023 or the TEST Act  This bill provides for the rescheduling or removal from scheduling of certain fentanyl-related substances under the Controlled Substances Act. Specifically, the bill requires the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to schedule, reschedule, or remove from scheduling fentanyl-related substances it has identified but not yet permanently scheduled within one year of the bill's enactment. The DEA must schedule, reschedule, or remove from scheduling any new fentanyl-related substances that it identifies after the bill's enactment within three years of identification. The DEA may temporarily schedule newly identified fentanyl-related substances under schedule I for up to three years.  The bill provides for the rescheduling of fentanyl-related substances to lower schedules, or for their removal from scheduling altogether, based on appropriate scientific and medical evaluations from the Department of Health and Human Services.  The bill also provides for expedited registrations to research schedule I controlled substances, including by allowing for the continuation and consolidation of research under a single registration. 

Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act of 2023 This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any qualified catastrophe mitigation payment made under a state-based catastrophe loss mitigation program. A qualified catastrophe mitigation payment means any amount received for making improvements to an individual's property for the sole purpose of reducing the damage that would be done to such property by a windstorm, earthquake, or wildfire.

Methane Emissions Research Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

Methane Emissions Research Act of 2023 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a methane research pilot study to quantify methane emissions from infrastructure used for the production, gathering and boosting, processing, transmission, and storage of oil and natural gas in the United States.

Empowering States' Rights To Protect Consumers Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

Empowering States' Rights To Protect Consumers Act of 2023 This bill limits the annual percentage rate applicable to any consumer credit transaction (other than a residential mortgage transaction), including any associated fees, to the maximum rate permitted by the laws of the state in which the consumer resides.

Cleaner Air Spaces Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

Canyon’s Law

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

Canyon's Law This bill prohibits the preparing, placing, installing, setting, deploying, or otherwise using an M-44 device on public land. An M-44 device is defined as a device designed to propel sodium cyanide when triggered by an animal, including any device that may be commonly known as an M-44 ejector device or an M-44 predator control device. No later than 30 days after the enactment of this bill, any federal, state, or county agency that has prepared, placed, installed, set, or deployed an M-44 device on public land must remove each such device from such land.

Global Respect Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023

GLOBE Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2023

Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2023

Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act This bill authorizes a grazing management program, designates wilderness areas, and holds land in trust for the Burns Paiute Tribe in Malheur County, Oregon. Specifically, the Department of the Interior may carry out a grazing management program on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Malheur County to provide increased operational flexibility to grazing permittees and lessees to improve the long-term ecological health of the land. Interior must adopt cooperative rangeland monitoring plans and rangeland health objectives and monitor and evaluate the ecological health of the land. The bill requires the Malheur C.E.O. Group to assist in carrying out this bill and establishes requirements for membership of the group. The group is directed to propose and support implementation of projects on BLM land, including ecological restoration, rangeland improvement, invasive species management, conservation of cultural sites, economic development, or recreation management. The bill designates various wilderness areas, including the Mary Gautreaux Owyhee River Canyon Wilderness and the Upper West Little Owyhee Wilderness. The Department of Transportation (DOT), in coordination with Interior and the county, must work with the Oregon Tourism Commission (Travel Oregon) to establish certain loop roads. DOT must seek to arrange with the county to fund safety upgrades to the Owyhee Dam Road. Further, the bill requires Interior to take land into trust on behalf of the Burns Paiute Tribe and establish a Castle Rock Co-Stewardship Area.

Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2023

Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act This bill exempts Special Immigrant Juveniles visas from certain annual numerical limitations on such visas. (Generally, Special Immigrant Juvenile status is available to qualifying non-U.S. nationals under 21 years of age who are in the United States and have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent.)

BUMP Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2023

Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2023

Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act of 2023 This bill makes various changes to the federal framework governing judicial ethics. Among the changes, the bill prohibits federal judges and Supreme Court Justices from owning individual stocks and securities; requires the Judicial Conference of the United States to issue regulations restricting the solicitation or acceptance of gifts in connection with a private judicial seminar; expresses the sense of Congress that the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges shall apply to Supreme Court Justices; requires federal judges and Supreme Court Justices to report on each association or interest that would require recusal, including any financial interest of a spouse or minor child who resides in the household; and establishes a committee to review complaints against the Supreme Court.

Debt-Free College Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2023

Debt-Free College Act of 2023 This bill establishes measures to cover the unmet financial need of students who are enrolled at certain institutions of higher education (IHEs). Unmet financial need refers to the difference between a student's cost of attendance and the student's student aid index, plus any federal, state, and local sources of grant aid. In addition, the bill makes certain Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status) eligible for federal financial aid. First, the bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to award grants for state-federal partnerships with a goal of providing debt-free college for all eligible students at in-state public IHEs. Eligible student refers to an individual who (1) is enrolled or is eligible to enroll in an in-state public IHE, and (2) completes a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or demonstrates eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant through institutional financial-aid eligibility forms. Next, the bill requires ED to award grants to historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to cover the unmet financial need of enrolled students. ED must establish an office to administer grants and provide oversight. In addition, the bill makes Dreamer students who entered the United States before the age of 16 and who meet certain educational criteria eligible for federal student aid.

LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2023

LGBTQ I+ Data Inclusion Act This bill addresses federal data collection of voluntary, self-disclosed information on sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics. Specifically, the bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey for statistical purposes that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to review existing data sets to determine which data sets do not include information about sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics. Such agencies must assess needed changes in survey methods related to asking questions on such matters. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics. Agencies may waive this publication requirement on a case-by-case basis if the confidentiality of the information cannot be maintained or if adding such information to the survey would impair the agency's ability to preserve the utility, accuracy, or objectivity of the survey while also generating relevant evidence about the LGBTQI+ community. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the implementation of this bill's requirements by agencies.

Midwives for MOMS Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2023

Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services Act of 2023 or the Midwives for MOMS Act of 2023 This bill establishes grants within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for establishing or expanding midwifery programs at institutions of higher education and nursing schools. In awarding grants, HRSA must give special consideration to institutions that focus on increasing the number of midwife professionals from underrepresented groups and promote practicing in areas with limited access to professional health care.

A resolution designating May 2023 as "ALS Awareness Month".

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2023

This resolution designates May 2023 as 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.

Ocean Regional Opportunity and Innovation Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2023

Ocean Regional Opportunity and Innovation Act of 2023 This bill directs the Department of Commerce to designate at least seven entities as Ocean Innovation Clusters. Ocean Innovation Clusters are hubs for private, public, and academic stakeholders to collaborate on opportunities to promote and enhance the maritime industry and the Blue Economy. In designating entities, Commerce shall prioritize entities with a history of supporting cross-sector growth and development of the Blue Economy. (Under the bill, the term Blue Economy generally refers to the value and impact of sustainable industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts on the economy of the United States.) Additionally, Commerce must designate at least one Ocean Innovation Cluster in (1) each of the regions covered by the five regional offices of the National Marine Fisheries Service, (2) the Great Lakes region, and (3) the Gulf of Mexico region. Commerce may award competitive grants for the establishment, operation, and administration of Ocean Innovation Clusters.

3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2023

3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2023 This bill makes it unlawful to intentionally publish digital instructions that can automatically program a three-dimensional printer or similar device to produce or complete a firearm from an unfinished frame or receiver.

Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2023

Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2023 This bill bars the Department of Agriculture from allowing the construction of roads, the reconstruction of roads, or logging in an inventoried roadless area where those activities are prohibited by the Roadless Rule (i.e., certain federal regulations relating to roadless area management).

A resolution expressing support for the designation of June 2, 2023, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and June 2023 as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month".

United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2023

This resolution supports the designation of National Gun Violence Awareness Month and the designation of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Stop Fentanyl Overdoses Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2023

Stop Fentanyl Overdoses Act of 2023 This bill establishes several programs and requirements to address the use of fentanyl and related substances, including public health programs and programs to support law enforcement activities. For example, the bill requires federal agencies to prioritize data collection and reporting about fentanyl in existing drug surveillance programs, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Overdose Data to Action program. It also establishes training and grant programs to support state and local agencies with fentanyl detection and tracking. The bill also requires the Department of State to report on countries that are the principal sources of synthetic drugs trafficked in the United States, and it requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the impact of the Drug Enforcement Administration's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program on illicit fentanyl that is imported via mail and cargo. The bill also establishes programs to support education and treatment relating to opioid use, including a grant program for state and local agencies to provide educational resources and a program to provide treatment in federal prisons. It also provides immunity from civil and criminal liability for those who administer opioid overdose reversal drugs (e.g., naloxone).     

Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2023

Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2023 This bill establishes certain requirements related to China's treatment of Uyghurs and certain other minority ethnic groups. The bill  requires the President to report to Congress on individuals involved in systematic rape, forced sterilization, or human trafficking against such ethnic groups;  requires the Department of State and the Department of Justice to deny entry into the United States by foreign nationals involved in the establishment or enforcement of forced abortion or sterilization policies;  authorizes provision of medical care, physical therapy, and psychological support to members of such ethnic groups who experienced rape, torture, forced sterilization, or forced labor; authorizes the Smithsonian Institution to establish a repressed cultures preservation initiative; requires the Department of the Treasury to impose sanctions on specified entities in China that meet requirements for imposition of sanctions or that are involved in serious human rights abuses of such ethnic groups;  requires the State Department to submit to Congress a strategy to counter Chinese propaganda regarding treatment of such ethnic groups;  authorizes the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to support investigation and documentation of atrocities against such ethnic groups;  prohibits U.S. government contracts with Chinese entities involved with forced labor involving such ethnic groups; and requires issuers of securities traded on national exchanges to disclose significant transactions with entities involved in abuses of such ethnic groups and subjects issuers conducting such transactions to sanctions.

A resolution recognizing the 102nd anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2023

This resolution recognizes the 102nd anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. (The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred in the neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The neighborhood was referred to as America's Black Wall Street. In 1921, racial violence resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Black residents and the displacement of thousands, in what came to be known as one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history.)

Smarter Approaches to Nuclear Expenditures Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2023

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Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act of 2024

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act This bill establishes the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States and sets forth its powers, duties, and membership. Among other duties, the commission must investigate the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policies (federal policies under which American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children were forcibly removed from their family homes and placed in boarding schools). Further, the commission must develop recommendations on ways to (1) protect unmarked graves and accompanying land protections; (2) support repatriation and identify the tribal nations from which children were taken; and (3) discontinue the removal of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.

Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

FORK Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Feeding Our Rural Kids Act of 2023 or the FORK Act of 2023 This bill amends the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) to establish a vehicle summer meal delivery pilot program. (The SFSP is a federally funded, state-administered program that reimburses providers that serve no-cost, healthy meals and snacks to children and teens at summer sites in low-income communities.) The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must award one-year grants of up to $100,000 for service institutions (e.g., school food authorities) to purchase or retrofit vehicles to facilitate the distribution of noncongregate meals as part of the SFSP. USDA must give priority to service institutions with high rates of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches and that serve a high proportion of students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. USDA must also ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that service institutions receiving grants are located in diverse geographic areas.

Democracy Restoration Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Democracy Restoration Act of 2023 This bill addresses the voting rights of individuals convicted of a criminal offense and the restoration of their voting rights. First, the bill declares that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any election for federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless, at the time of the election, such individual is serving a felony sentence. Further, the bill provides for enforcement of, and remedies for violations of, the bill. In addition, it sets forth requirements for state and federal notification of individuals of the restoration of their voting rights. Finally, the bill prohibits federal funding of construction or improvement of a place of incarceration unless U.S. citizens incarcerated in that jurisdiction are notified, upon release, of their voting rights.

FAMILY Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Safe Interactions Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Safe Interactions Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to nonprofit disability organizations to develop training programs for law enforcement officers who may encounter individuals with disabilities.

Extinction Prevention Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Extinction Prevention Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for the conservation of butterflies and moths in North America; plant species in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands; freshwater mussels in the United States; and bony fish found in desert ecosystems in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. Among other things, the bill establishes the North America Butterfly Conservation Fund, the Pacific Islands Plant Conservation Fund, the Freshwater Mussel Conservation Fund, and the Southwest Desert Fish Conservation Fund. In selecting projects for assistance, Interior must prioritize projects that conserve threatened and endangered species.

Perinatal Workforce Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Perinatal Workforce Act This bill establishes programs and requires research to diversify the perinatal workforce and advance respectful maternal care delivery models. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants to education and training programs to grow and diversify the professions that make up the perinatal workforce. HHS must also disseminate guidance on respectful maternal care delivery. This guidance must cover, among other topics, recruiting and retaining maternity care providers from diverse backgrounds and incorporating trained midwives and other perinatal health workers into maternity care teams. In addition, the National Institutes of Health must study best practices for culturally and linguistically congruent maternity care. This is care that is in agreement with the preferred cultural values, beliefs, languages, worldview, and practices of health care consumers and other stakeholders. The Government Accountability Office must also report on certain aspects of perinatal health care professions. The report must focus on barriers to entering those professions for low-income and minority women.

Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

A resolution designating May 2023 as "ALS Awareness Month".

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

This resolution designates May 2023 as 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.

Build Housing with Care Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Build Housing with Care Act of 2023 This bill establishes a competitive grant program to support co-located childcare and housing facilities. It also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the availability and affordability of childcare for residents of public housing. Specifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development must award the grants to eligible entities, which include community development financial institutions, public housing authorities, licensed childcare providers, government entities, housing developers, and consortia of such entities. Entities must use the grants for designing, planning, constructing, acquiring, renovating, or otherwise supporting new or existing housing facilities with childcare providers on the same premises or nearby. 

HELP Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

BAN Fossil Fuel Exports Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Block All New Fossil Fuel Exports Act or the BAN Fossil Fuel Exports Act This bill requires the President to ban the exportation of crude oil and natural gas produced in the United States. The President may provide an exemption to the ban in specified circumstances. 

Affordability is Access Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act of 2023 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; 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 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 for providing sexual health services to marginalized youth. 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.

Keeping All Students Safe Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

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.

Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2023

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2023 This bill extends a specialized rate increase for Medicare payment of ground ambulance services in rural areas for an additional three years (until January 1, 2028) and provides for a higher rate increase for services furnished between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2028.

AIR PUMP Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023

AIR PUMP Act This bill gives an air carrier crewmember the right to break time and a private space to express breast milk at work. Exceptions to this right apply during a critical phase of flight, if it impacts the safety of an aircraft, or if it would impose a significant expense. An employer may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee who testifies in a proceeding or files a complaint related to this bill. The bill provides for enforcement by the Department of Labor or in a private lawsuit. The Federal Aviation Administration must issue regulations.