HR 6020, the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2021, extends temporary Medicare payment increases for physicians through 2022 instead of ending them on January 1, 2022. It updates specific dates in Medicare law (Section 1848(t) of the Social Security Act) to maintain current payment rates for doctors treating Medicare patients. This directly affects physicians and clinics participating in Medicare who rely on these temporary payment adjustments. The bill makes no new policy changes but ensures existing payment levels continue for providers during 2022.
This resolution urges all U.S. government officials to decline invitations to the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and XIII Paralympic Winter Games as part of an official diplomatic delegation unless the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee move the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and XIII Paralympic Winter Games to a city under the jurisdiction of a government that is not committing mass atrocities, or the Department of State has certified that the Chinese Communist Party has stopped committing acts of genocide and that the perpetrators have accounted for their crimes. The resolution also encourages the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee to develop a framework for reprimanding or disqualifying host cities and the countries in which they are located if their governments are actively committing mass atrocities.
This resolution modifies requirements for written statements required of nongovernmental witnesses who appear before standing committees of the House of Representatives. Specifically, the resolution eliminates a requirement that a witness disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an organization or entity that has an interest in the subject matter of the hearing, in favor of a requirement that they disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an entity that has received payments from a specified foreign entity. The resolution also requires nongovernmental witnesses to disclose in their written statement certain contracts with specified foreign persons or entities. If the committee determines that a witness knowingly and willfully failed to truthfully comply with such disclosure requirements, the witness is prohibited from testifying before the committee for three years.
Helping with Equal Access to Leave and Investing in Needs for Grieving Mothers and Fathers Act or the HEALING Mothers and Fathers Act This bill revises the family and medical leave entitlement and limits funding to certain family planning programs. Specifically, the bill provides family and medical leave due to the spontaneous loss of an unborn child of an employee or spouse of the employee. It also establishes a tax credit for an individual who experiences, during the taxable year, the stillbirth of a child who would have been a qualifying child of the individual for the taxable year if the child had been born live. The bill further prohibits the Office of Population Affairs within the Department of Health and Human Services from providing federal assistance to voluntary family planning programs that (1) perform abortions, (2) provide funding to another entity that performs abortions, or (3) refer patients to abortion providers.
Housing Promotes Livelihood and Ultimate Success Act of 2021 or the Housing PLUS Act of 2021 This bill modifies the requirements under which the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must award grants under the Continuum of Care Program, which provides funding for nonprofit providers and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families. Specifically, the bill bars HUD from prohibiting, limiting, or restricting Continuum of Care grants to recipients that (1) require program participants to receive supportive services, (2) require program participants to be sober or drug-free, or (3) are faith-based organizations. The bill also requires that 30% of Continuum of Care grant funds be set aside for eligible grant recipients that provide or offer access to wraparound services.
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2021 or the CFPB-IG Act of 2021 This bill establishes a separate Office of Inspector General for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Currently, such oversight of the CFPB is combined with the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2021 This bill prohibits executive agencies from requiring contractors to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the degree to which Executive Order 14042 (Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors) caused disruptions to federal contracts, supply chains, and transportation systems.
Pregnancy Loss Mental Health Research Act of 2021 This bill expands research and related activities that address mental health complications following a pregnancy loss (i.e., miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion). Specifically, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) must expand and intensify research on mental health complications following pregnancy loss. In particular, NIMH must conduct a longitudinal study to determine the prevalence and other information about such mental health complications. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants to health providers, state or local governments, or other appropriate nonprofits to deliver services to individuals with mental health conditions following a pregnancy loss. Funding made available under this bill may not be provided to an entity (or an entity's affiliate, subsidiary, successor, or clinic) that performs abortions other than in the case of a pregnancy (1) that is the result of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness.
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor emergency temporary standard for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in employment settings. Under the standard issued on November 5, 2021, employers with 100 or more employees must require their onsite employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
This resolution supports the designation of November 21, 2021, as National Warrior Call Day to encourage individuals to talk with members of the Armed Forces and veterans to connect them with support.
Keep Innovation in America Act This bill modifies provisions enacted by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act relating to the definitions of broker and digital assets and their reporting requirements. The bill redefines broker , for tax reporting purposes, to mean any person who (for consideration) stands ready in the ordinary course of business to effect sales of digital assets at the direction of their customers. The bill redefines digital asset to mean any digital representation of value which is recorded on a cryptographically secured distribution ledger (this revised definition eliminates the discretion of the Department of the Treasury to include similar technology in the definition of digital asset). The bill eliminates the cash reporting requirement for digital assets (i.e., receipt of more than $10,000) but requires Treasury to conduct a study of, and report on, the effect of expanding the definition of cash to include any digital asset.
VA Overpayment Accountability Act This bill prescribes procedures by which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and debt collectors shall correct errors submitted to consumer reporting agencies about the indebtedness of certain veterans. Specifically, the bill requires these corrections for veterans who are indebted due to participation in a VA benefits program. The bill also requires the VA to update its information technology for the processing of VA benefits. Lastly, the bill requires the VA to self-audit to determine the frequency by which overpayments are made to individuals participating in VA benefits programs.
