Medicare Access to Radiology Care Act of 2021 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of services that are furnished by a certified radiologist assistant under the supervision of a radiologist. Payment must be made to the supervising radiologist.
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2021 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.
Making Education Affordable and Accessible Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and revises the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) program. The bill also authorizes new grants under the FIPSE program. Specifically, the Department of Education may award grants to institutions of higher education for dual or concurrent enrollment programs or early college high school programs that allow high school students to earn postsecondary credits.
This resolution recognizes the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Program, which promotes international goodwill through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture, and science.
This resolution condemns the Chinese Communist Party and its violation of the human rights of the people of China.
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2021 This bill allows a physical therapist to receive payment under Medicare for services provided to the physical therapist's patients by another physical therapist through a qualifying temporary arrangement, regardless of the geographic area or population served. Currently, physical therapists may only receive payment with respect to such arrangements for services provided in medically underserved, rural, or health professional shortage areas.
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors at certain multilateral development banks, such as the Asian Development Bank, to oppose providing a loan, financial assistance, or technical assistance to China. The executive directors must also advocate and vote to end lending and assistance to a country that has exceeded certain income thresholds.
Blocking Lawlessness from Undermining Enforcement Act or the BLUE Act This bill generally prohibits the use of Highway Safety Program or National Priority Safety Program funds for traffic control or enforcement by a state or locality that defunds the police (i.e., reduces its police budget and reallocates the funds to other government agencies). However, states and localities may use such funds for traffic control and enforcement if (1) reducing the police budget is part of an overall budget reduction, or (2) the police chief decides to reallocate a portion of the police budget for mental health programs. Additionally, a state or locality may request an exemption from the prohibition.
The Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions To End Up surging Resistance Act of 2021 or the PASTEUR Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enter into subscription contracts for critical-need antimicrobial drugs, provides $11 billion in appropriations for activities under the bill, and contains other related provisions. A manufacturer of a Food and Drug Administration-approved antimicrobial drug may apply to HHS to have the drug designated as a critical-need antimicrobial, and HHS may enter into a subscription contract for such a critical-need antimicrobial. The bill imposes certain requirements related to such contracts, including a mechanism to lower payments under the contract in certain instances to limit the manufacturer's revenue from the drug. Furthermore, HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shall award grants to support efforts to encourage the appropriate use of antimicrobial drugs and efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance. The CDC shall also track and assess data relating to antibacterial resistance and human antibiotic use and make such data publicly available. HHS shall also establish a Committee on Critical Need Antimicrobials. The committee shall develop a list of prioritized infections for which new antimicrobial drug development is needed, among other duties. Within six years of the bill's enactment, the Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress a study on the bill's effectiveness in developing priority antimicrobial drugs.
Social Security Disability Insurance Return to Work Act This bill makes various changes to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), with a particular focus on returning individuals who receive SSDI to employment. Among other changes, the bill limits the amount of time an individual with a disability for which medical improvement is likely or expected may receive SSDI benefits, and it requires the Social Security Administration to establish a process to allow such individuals who return to employment before their benefits expire and whose earnings exceed a specified limit to receive an adjusted SSDI benefit.
American Energy First Act This bill addresses the onshore and offshore production of traditional (e.g., oil and gas) and alternative (e.g., solar and wind) energy resources and establishes requirements for distributing revenues generated from energy production, including revenues to states and territories for conservation efforts. For example, the bill limits the President's authority to (1) withdraw areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from oil and gas leasing, and (2) declare new marine national monuments. In addition, the Department of the Interior must obtain congressional approval before declaring a moratorium on issuing leases on federal lands or waters for oil, gas, or coal. Further, the bill requires Interior to defer to state regulations, guidance, and permit requirements for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing (i.e., fracking) relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land. Interior may delegate decisions about issuing oil and gas drill permits on federal land to states. Interior must also establish certain federal land as geothermal, solar, and wind energy leasing priority areas. The bill also allows Interior to conduct certain lease sales, such as offshore wind lease sales on the OCS in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to U.S. territories, and establishes requirements for distributing revenues from such leases to the Treasury, the Coral Reef Conservation Fund established by this bill, and U.S. territories.
Navigable Waters Protection Act of 2021 This bill enacts definitions that determine which bodies of water fall under the scope of the Clean Water Act and are thereby under federal jurisdiction. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for the definitions related to the waters of the United States, commonly known as WOTUS, in regulations when the bill is enacted.
