United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2023
AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a rule that requires all new motor vehicles to have devices that can access AM broadcast stations installed as standard equipment. (AM broadcast stations are often used to deliver emergency alerts and news and entertainment programming; some newer vehicles do not include AM equipment.) Specifically, this bill applies to motor vehicles manufactured in the United States, imported into the United States, or shipped in interstate commerce after the rule's effective date. The DOT rule must require all such vehicles to have devices that can receive signals and play content transmitted by AM broadcast stations or digital audio AM broadcast stations installed as standard equipment. Prior to the effective date of the rule, manufacturers that do not include devices that can access AM broadcast stations as standard equipment must inform purchasers of this fact through clear and conspicuous labeling. DOT may assess civil penalties against any manufacturer that fails to comply with the mandate. The Department of Justice may also bring a civil action to enjoin a violation. Further, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on whether a reliable alternative communication system exists for delivering emergency alerts and consider the (1) cost to drivers and passengers of receiving communications through an alternative system, and (2) cost and time required to develop and implement an alternative.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2023
Stop TSP ESG Act This bill prohibits a qualified professional asset manager from exercising voting rights associated with the ownership of securities by the Thrift Savings Fund. Under current law, the term qualified professional asset manager includes certain banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies, and investment advisers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2023
Charitable Act This bill allows individual taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize their tax deductions a deduction in taxable years beginning in 2023 or 2024 for charitable contributions. The deduction is limited to one-third of the standard deduction allowed to such taxpayers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2023
No Surprise Bills for New Moms Act This bill requires health insurers to provide coverage for newborns of enrollees for the first 30-day period after the newborn's date of birth and to provide a special enrollment period for the newborn that extends at least 60 days after the initial coverage period. It also requires insurers to notify an enrollee if they receive a claim for the enrollee's newborn who is not enrolled in a health insurance plan.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2023
Mission not Emissions Act This bill prohibits any requirement for recipients of federal contracts to (1) disclose greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk, (2) report on greenhouse gas emissions, or (3) develop and submit greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for validation by nongovernmental organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2023
Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop and submit a strategy to use existing authorities to target, disrupt, or degrade threats to national security that are caused or exacerbated by fentanyl trafficking. The strategy must be submitted in an unclassified form, but it may include a classified index. Additionally, DOD must seek to enhance cooperation with defense officials of Mexico to target, disrupt, and degrade transnational criminal organizations within Mexico that traffic fentanyl.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2023
National Law Enforcement Officers Remembrance, Support and Community Outreach Act This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a National Law Enforcement Officers Remembrance, Support, and Community Outreach Program. The bill further directs DOJ to award a grant under the program to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for the expenses associated with community outreach, public education, and officer safety and wellness programs operated by the of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and National Law Enforcement Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2023
Sanctioning Tyrannical and Oppressive People within the Chinese Communist Party Act or the STOP CCP Act This bill imposes visa- and property-blocking sanctions on any person who is a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as any adult family member of such a person. The President may waive the sanctions for renewable periods of 30 days by certifying to Congress that China's government and the Chinese Communist Party have ceased (1) any acts of genocide against the Uyghur Muslim population; (2) all threats, military exercises, and aggression toward Taiwan; (3) undermining the autonomy of Hong Kong; and (4) any efforts to steal the intellectual property of U.S. persons. The certification must also be publicly available on a federal government website.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2023
Improving Mental Health and Wellness in Schools Act This bill incorporates mental health promotion and education into guidelines for school wellness policies that are used by local educational agencies participating in school meal programs. Specifically, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must issue further regulations for local educational agencies to (1) incorporate goals for mental health promotion and education, and (2) include reducing eating disorders as part of the nutrition guidelines for foods available on school campuses. The bill also requires that local educational agencies establish multidisciplinary teams of school personnel to lead the development, periodic review, and updating of local school wellness policies. Further, the bill requires the involvement of registered dietitians and school-based mental health services providers (in addition to those already required to be involved) in the periodic review and updating of the local policy. USDA must also provide technical assistance to promote mental health, encourage mental health assessments, and establish resilient school environments.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2023
Preventing Executive Climate Overreach Act This bill nullifies Executive Order 14096, which was issued on April 26, 2023, to advance environmental justice.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2023
Architect of the Capitol Appointment Act of 2023 This bill modifies the procedures for appointing and removing the Architect of the Capitol (who is responsible for the operation and care of the Capitol grounds, facilities, and art). Specifically, the bill establishes a bipartisan congressional commission to, by majority vote, appoint, reappoint, and remove the Architect. (Currently, the Architect is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.) The bill also provides for the Deputy Architect to serve as acting Architect in the event the Architect is absent, disabled, or otherwise unavailable. If the Architect fails to appoint a Deputy Architect within a set time frame, the commission must do so. Additionally, in the event of vacancies in both the Architect and Deputy Architect positions, the commission must appoint an acting Architect.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2023
CDFI Fund Transparency Act This bill requires annual congressional testimony from the Department of the Treasury regarding the operations of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2023
This resolution recognizes the significance of Jewish American Heritage Month as a time to celebrate the contributions of Jewish Americans to American society and culture, and calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil society leaders to condemn and combat antisemitism.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2023
Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act of 2023 or the ACRE Act of 2023 This bill excludes from the gross income of certain financial lending institutions, for income tax purposes, interest received on loans secured by rural or agricultural real estate.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2023
This resolution expresses support for recognizing National Police Week. The resolution further recognizes law enforcement officers across the United States in the pursuit of preserving safe and secure communities; the need to ensure that such officers have the equipment, training, and resources necessary to protect their health and safety while they are protecting the public; and the law enforcement community for acts of sacrifice and heroism. The resolution expresses condolences and appreciation to the loved ones of each law enforcement officer who has made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2023
Training and Nutrition Stability Act This bill excludes specific employment and training program allowances, earnings, and payments from income when determining eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). (Under SNAP, a household must have an income below a certain level to qualify for program benefits.) Examples of programs excluded from income include Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs, vocational rehabilitation programs, and refugee employment programs. This bill also removes the requirement that earnings from on-the-job training be considered earned income for purposes of determining SNAP eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2023
Medical Student Education Authorization Act of 2023 This bill provides statutory authority for the Medical Student Education Program, which provides matching grants for educating and training medical students and encouraging them to serve as primary care physicians in tribal, rural, or medically underserved communities. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) must award the grants to public institutions of higher education located in states that rank in the top quintile of states based on their projected shortage of primary care physicians. In awarding the grants, HRSA must give priority to recipients that (1) are located in states with two or more federally recognized Indian tribes, and (2) have established or plan to establish a public-private partnership to support the implementation of the grant.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2023
Due Process Continuity of Care Act This bill allows an otherwise eligible individual who is in custody pending disposition of charges (i.e., pretrial detainees) to receive Medicaid benefits at the option of the state. The bill also provides for state planning grants to support the provision of such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2023
Secure the Border Act of 2023 This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility. For example, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border; provides statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for certain border security operations; prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) arriving between ports of entry; limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry; authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual's country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal; expands the types of crimes that may make an individual ineligible for asylum, such as a conviction for driving while intoxicated causing another person's serious bodily injury or death; authorizes DHS to suspend the introduction of certain non-U.S. nationals at an international border if DHS determines that the suspension is necessary to achieve operational control of that border; prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors; authorizes immigration officers to permit an unaccompanied alien child to withdraw their application for admission into the United States even if the child is unable to make an independent decision to withdraw the application; imposes additional penalties for overstaying a visa; and requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2023
North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2023 This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 various activities to promote human rights in North Korea. These activities include (1) providing grants to nonprofit organizations to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, and the development of a market economy in North Korea; (2) increasing the availability of sources of information inside North Korea that are not controlled by North Korea's government; and (3) supporting organizations that provide humanitarian assistance to North Koreans who are outside of North Korea without the permission of North Korea's government.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2023
Drug Shortage Prevention Act of 2023 This bill requires drug manufacturers to notify the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if there is an increased demand for certain critical essential medicines that may result in a shortage. Currently, drug manufacturers are required to notify the FDA in the event of a discontinuation or interruption in the supply of prescription drugs that are life-supporting, life-sustaining, or used for a debilitating disease or condition, including those used in medical emergencies, surgeries, or public health emergencies. The bill requires drug manufacturers to also notify the FDA if there is an increased demand for such drugs that lasts for at least six weeks and that may result in a shortage. Manufacturers must initially notify the FDA of the increased demand within 48 hours after this six-week period and must submit an additional notice within 30 days of the initial notification. The notice must include the reasons for the increased demand, the expected duration, and any other information the FDA requires. The bill's requirements apply to both prescription and nonprescription drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2023
National Mesonet Authorization Act This bill provides statutory authority for the National Mesonet Program of the National Weather Service (NWS). The program shall obtain observations from observing platforms in all geographic environments to improve understanding of and forecast capabilities for atmospheric events, with a prioritization on leveraging available commercial, academic, and other nonfederal weather data to enhance coordination across the private, public, and academic sectors of the U.S. weather enterprise. The program must carry out specified activities, including improving environmental observations used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the NWS to support baseline forecasts and warnings that protect the nation's citizens, businesses, military, and government agencies and enable such individuals and entities to operate in safe, efficient, and orderly manners. NOAA shall ensure the program has an active advisory committee of subject matter experts to identify, implement, procure, and track data needed to supplement the program, and recommend improvements, expansions, and acquisitions of available data. The advisory committee shall establish partnerships with one or more institutions of higher education to identify, evaluate, and recommend potential partnerships, regional or subregional consortia, and collaborative methods that would expand the number of participants and volume of data in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2023
Fairness in Borrowing Act of 2023 This bill prohibits the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) from implementing their January 2023-announced changes to the single-family pricing framework for fees on purchase, rate-term refinance, and cash-out refinance loans. The changes revise the fee charts that provide percentage adjustments based on a borrower's credit score and other factors.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2023
Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act This bill establishes an interagency Federal Work Group on Youth Residential Programs to support and implement best practices regarding the health and safety, care, treatment, and appropriate placement of youth in youth residential programs. The work group must develop recommendations about a national database to aggregate information about processes and outcomes for youth in such programs. The work group also must support the education and training of professional and paraprofessional personnel in fields that service such youth. Further, the Department of Health and Human Services must contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study and make recommendations about various aspects of federal and state oversight of youth residential programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2023
This bill prohibits the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) from implementing their January 2023-announced changes to the single-family pricing framework for fees on purchase, rate-term refinance, and cash-out refinance loans. The changes revise the fee charts that provide percentage adjustments based on a borrower's credit score and other factors.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2023
Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 This bill increases the federal debt limit and decreases spending. It also repeals several energy tax credits, modifies the permitting process and other requirements for energy projects, expands work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other programs, and nullifies regulations for the cancellation of federal student loan debt. Specifically, the bill suspends the debt limit through March 31, 2024, or until the debt increases by $1.5 trillion, whichever occurs first; establishes discretionary spending limits for FY2024-FY2033 that include decreases in discretionary spending; rescinds certain unobligated funds that were provided to address COVID-19 and to the Internal Revenue Service; nullifies certain executive actions and regulations for cancelling federal student loan debt and implementing an income-driven repayment plan for student loans; repeals or modifies tax credits for renewable and clean energy, energy efficient property, alternative fuels, and electric vehicles; establishes new work requirements for Medicaid and expands the work requirements for SNAP and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; and requires major federal rules (e.g., rules likely to result in an annual economic effect of at least $100 million) to be approved by Congress before they take effect. The bill also includes various provisions related to the development of energy resources such as oil, natural gas, and minerals. For example, the bill requires additional federal oil and gas leasing, reduces or eliminates certain royalties and fees, and expedites the permitting process for various energy projects.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2023
Save Local Business Act This bill provides that a person may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee under federal labor law only if such person directly, actually, and immediately (and not in a limited and routine manner) exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment. Such control may by demonstrated by hiring and discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Stop Penalizing Working Seniors Act This bill allows Medicare-eligible individuals who are age 65 or older to contribute to health savings accounts if their entitlement to Medicare benefits is limited to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare Part A.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Uyghur Policy Act of 2023 This bill addresses human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and other minority groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The bill authorizes the establishment of a Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues position within the Department of State. The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may, subject to appropriations, make certain funds available to human rights advocates working on behalf of Uyghurs and members of other persecuted minority groups in China. The funds, if made available, shall be used to facilitate the presence of such human rights advocates at public diplomacy forums to speak on issues related to the human rights and religious freedoms of persecuted minority groups in China. The State Department must ensure that Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers. It must also ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service is assigned to U.S. diplomatic and consular missions in China.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Fair Access to Banking Act This bill places restrictions on certain banks, credit unions, and payment card networks if they refuse to do business with a person who complies with the law. Restrictions include prohibiting the use of electronic funds transfer systems and lending programs, termination of an institution's depository insurance, and specified civil penalties. Banks and other specified financial institutions are allowed to deny financial services to a person only if the denial is justified by a documented failure of that person to meet quantitative, impartial, risk-based standards established in advance by the institution. This justification may not be based upon reputational risks to the institution. Banks may also deny services to a person who engaged in rude or harassing conduct toward an employee of the bank. The bill establishes the right for a person to bring a civil action for a violation of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Homeland and Cyber Threat Act or the HACT Act This bill allows claims in federal or state court against foreign states that conduct or participate in cyberattacks against U.S. nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2023
Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act This bill expressly prohibits health care providers and other entities involved in matching donated organs with recipients from denying or restricting an individual's access to organ transplants solely on the basis of the individual's disability, except in limited circumstances. Specifically, these entities may consider an individual's disability when making decisions about transplants only if a physician finds, based on an individualized evaluation, that the individual's physical or mental disability is medically significant to the provision of the transplant. A disability shall not be considered medically significant if the individual has an adequate support system in place to comply with transplant-related medical requirements. These entities must also make reasonable changes to their policies to make transplants and related care more available to individuals with disabilities. Aggrieved individuals may bring claims of discrimination to the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services or before a federal court. The bill provides for expedited resolutions of these claims. In addition, entities that receive federal contracts to manage all or part of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network may not issue policies that prohibit or hinder access to an organ transplant based solely on the individual's disability. This network is a public-private partnership linking professionals involved in the U.S. organ donation and transplantation system.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2023
Hershel "Woody" Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act This bill requires the authorized commemorative work honoring Medal of Honor recipients to be attached to, or not more than 1,000 feet from, the Lincoln Memorial. President Lincoln established the Medal of Honor award.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2023
Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2023 or the EARN IT Act of 2023 This bill revises the federal framework governing the prevention of online sexual exploitation of children. The bill limits the liability protections of interactive computer service providers (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) with respect to claims alleging violations of child sexual exploitation laws. Additionally, the bill replaces various statutory references to child pornography and material that contains child pornography with child sexual abuse material . Finally, the bill makes changes to the reporting requirements for electronic communication service providers and remote computing service providers (providers) who report apparent instances of crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Among the changes, the bill requires providers to report facts and circumstances sufficient to identify and locate each minor and each involved individual. The bill also increases the amount of time that providers must preserve the contents of a report.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2023
Employee Rights Act This bill generally addresses employer obligations related to unionized workplaces. This bill provides that an employer may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee under federal labor law only if such employer directly, actually, and immediately (and not in a limited and routine manner) exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment. Such control may by demonstrated by hiring and discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline. The bill also requires a workplace election to approve or reject a union to be conducted by secret ballot. Further, the bill requires an employer to provide limited employee information to union representatives to facilitate a workplace election. An employer that mishandles or fails to provide such information according to the bill's requirements may be liable for an unfair labor practice (i.e., labor law violation). Additionally, the bill requires an employee to authorize in writing any use of the employee's labor organization dues or other contribution for a purpose other than collective bargaining or contract administration. Such authorization must be made upon 35 days' notice and expires after one year. Finally, the bill exempts Indian Tribes, including Indian Tribe enterprises and institutions, from the collective bargaining rights and related provisions of federal labor law.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2023
American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act of 2023 This bill eliminates the five-year amortization requirement for research and experimental expenditures, thus allowing continued expensing of such expenditures in the taxable years in which they are incurred.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2023
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2023 This bill allows tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) that apply such grants to their collegiate housing property. A collegiate housing and infrastructure grant is a grant to provide, improve, operate, or maintain collegiate housing property that may involve more than incidental social, recreational, or private purposes. The grant must be for purposes that would be permissible for a dormitory or other residential facility of the college or university with which the collegiate housing property is associated. The grant may not be used to provide physical fitness facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2023
Safe Step Act This bill requires a group health plan to establish an exception to medication step-therapy protocol in specified cases. A medication step-therapy protocol establishes a specific sequence in which prescription drugs are covered by a group health plan or a health insurance issuer. A request for such an exception to the protocol must be granted if (1) an otherwise required treatment has been ineffective, (2) such treatment is expected to be ineffective and delaying effective treatment would lead to irreversible consequences, (3) such treatment will cause or is likely to cause an adverse reaction to the individual, (4) such treatment is expected to prevent the individual from performing daily activities or occupational responsibilities, (5) the individual is stable based on the prescription drugs already selected, or (6) there are other circumstances as determined by the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The bill requires a group health plan to implement and make readily available a clear process for an individual to request an exception to the protocol, including required information and criteria for granting an exception. The bill further specifies timelines under which plans must respond to such requests.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2023
Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2023 This bill modifies criminal penalties for an offense involving the theft of a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, or from their business premises. Specifically, the bill does the following: increases from 10 to 20 years the maximum prison term, and creates a 3- or 5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an offense that occurs during the commission of a burglary or robbery. An attempt to commit an offense is subject to the same penalties as a substantive offense.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2023
Special Diabetes Program for Indians Reauthorization Act of 2023 This bill extends funding through FY2028 for the Special Diabetes Program for Indians. The program is administered by the Indian Health Service and provides funds to Indian health programs for diabetes prevention and treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2023
Preserving Rules Ordered for The Entities Covered Through 340B Act of 2023 or the PROTECT 340B Act of 2023 This bill prohibits pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health insurance plans from discriminating against health providers participating in the 340B drug pricing program, including pharmacies contracted with such providers to dispense 340B drugs. The 340B program allows certain providers to receive covered outpatient drugs at reduced prices from manufacturers. Specifically, PBMs and insurance plans may not reimburse 340B participants at a lower rate than other entities not participating in the program; impose differing terms (such as fees, charge-backs, or audits) on 340B participants; interfere with an individual's choice to receive drugs from a 340B participant; require 340B participants to identify which drugs fall within the program; or refuse to contract with a 340B participant on the basis that they utilize the program. Further, insurance plans may not deny coverage of drug because it is a 340B drug. Violations of this bill are subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 per violation per day. These prohibitions also apply to prescription drug (Part D) sponsors under Medicare. The bill also provides for a process to prevent duplicate 340B drug discounts to states under Medicaid.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2023
Women in NCAA Sports Act This bill establishes a Commission on Men's and Women's Fairness in College Sports. The commission must (1) compare how the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) operates men's and women's championship tournaments with respect to the treatment of the participating men's and women's college sports teams, and (2) prepare and submit to Congress a report on its findings with recommendations on how the NCAA can improve the fair treatment of participating men's and women's teams in such tournaments and student-athlete programs. The commission may not review or make recommendations on the eligibility of any athlete to participate in men's or women's college sports teams or in NCAA programming. In appointing a member of the commission, special consideration shall be given to former college athletes, coaches, or athletic administrators.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2023
Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act This bill modifies certain adjustments to payment amounts under the Medicare physician fee schedule. Payment amounts under the Medicare physician fee schedule are based on a service's relative value, a conversion factor, and a geographic adjustment factor. Current law provides for separate conversion factors for physicians that are qualifying participants in advanced alternative payment models (also known as qualifying APM participants) and for other physicians beginning in 2026, with an annual update of 0.75% and 0.25%, respectively. The bill replaces the separate conversion factors for qualifying APM participants and other physicians with a single conversion factor and provides for an update that is equal to the annual percentage increase in the Medicare Economic Index, beginning in 2024. (The Medicare Economic Index is a specialized index that is generally used to determine allowed charges for physician services based on annual price changes.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act This bill allows for Medicare coverage and payment for multi-cancer early detection screening tests that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and that are used to screen for cancer across many cancer types, if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determines such coverage is appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2023 This bill addresses freedom of association protections for college students in single-sex social organizations. Specifically, the bill gives students (or groups of students) enrolled at institutions of higher education (IHEs) the right to form or join social organizations, including single-sex social organizations. Additionally, the bill prohibits IHEs that participate in federal student-aid programs from taking adverse actions against single-sex social organizations or students who are members or prospective members of such organizations based solely on the practice of limiting membership to only individuals of one sex; taking actions that require or coerce members or prospective members of such organizations to waive protections provided under the bill, including as a condition of enrolling in the IHE; or imposing a recruitment restriction on a single-sex social organization that is not imposed upon other student organizations, unless the organization and IHE have entered into a written agreement allowing the restriction.