Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act This bill establishes requirements for federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and for federal law enforcement agencies to install video cameras in patrol cars.
Lenders Offer Assistance Now Act or the LOAN Act This bill requires the discharge of a private education loan in the event of the student borrower's disability. Such a discharge is not considered income for tax or other purposes. Additionally, the bill prohibits the automatic default of a private education loan due to the disability of a loan cosigner. Furthermore, the bill generally permits the discharge of student loans in bankruptcy. Under current law, student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy unless repayment would be an undue hardship to the debtor and the debtor's dependents.
Preventing Tragedies Between Police and Communities Act of 2021 This bill requires a state or local government that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program to train law enforcement officers on de-escalation techniques and require law enforcement to use such techniques. The Department of Justice (DOJ) may reduce the JAG allocation of a state or local government that fails to comply with the training requirement. DOJ must reduce by 15% the JAG allocation of a state or local government that fails to require law enforcement officers to use de-escalation techniques.
Civil Rights Legacy Protection Act This bill makes it a crime to deface, damage, or destroy certain memorials that commemorate civil rights events or figures. An individual convicted under this act must pay restitution and is subject to additional penalties that vary based on the cost of the defacement, damage, or destruction.
Federal Jobs Act This bill requires federal agencies to develop plans to increase diversity in the workforce. Specifically, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must develop a plan to increase diversity in the executive branch of government that includes specified information, including strategies for agencies to remove barriers to equal employment opportunities. Each executive agency must develop an agency-specific plan to increase diversity, pursuant to OPM and OMB guidance, and periodically publish specified data. The legislative and judicial branches of government must also implement these requirements to the greatest extent possible. Additionally, each executive agency, and each prime contractor that is under contract with an executive agency, must periodically report information relating to economically and socially disadvantaged businesses.
Domestic Violence Public Health Emergency Guidance Act This bill requires the Department of Justice to issue guidance to law enforcement agencies on model practices for addressing domestic violence and protecting the safety of law enforcement officers during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.
White Supremacy in Law Enforcement Information Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ), in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to prepare and release an intelligence assessment describing the relationship between white supremacy and law enforcement. The assessment must include information on white supremacist links to and infiltration of law enforcement agencies. The bill also requires DOJ, in coordination with the FBI, to release (1) past intelligence assessments related to white supremacist links to and infiltration of law enforcement agencies, and (2) actions to address such links and infiltration.
Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act This bill establishes several programs and requirements relating to the prices of prescription drugs. In particular, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prices for certain drugs (current law prohibits HHS from doing so). Specifically, HHS must negotiate maximum prices for single-source, brand-name drugs that lack certain generics and that are among either the 125 drugs that account for the greatest national spending or the 125 drugs that account for the greatest Medicare spending. HHS must negotiate the prices of at least 25 such drugs for 2024 and of at least 50 such drugs thereafter and must also negotiate prices for certain newly approved drugs and for insulin products. The negotiated prices must be offered under Medicare and may also be offered under private health insurance unless the insurer opts out. The negotiated maximum price may not exceed (1) 120% of the average price in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom; or (2) if such information is not available, 85% of the U.S. average manufacturer price. Drug manufacturers that fail to comply with the bill's negotiation requirements are subject to civil and tax penalties. The bill also makes a series of additional changes to Medicare prescription drug coverage and pricing, including by (1) requiring drug manufacturers to issue rebates to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for covered drugs that cost $100 or more and for which the average manufacturer price increases faster than inflation, and (2) capping annual out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified information for certain high-cost drugs, and it provides funds for opioid epidemic initiatives and biomedical research.
The American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act This bill requires specified federal departments to purchase certain items, including medical supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE), and clothing, from the United States, with exceptions. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Veterans Affairs to purchase items such as specified medical supplies (including disinfecting wipes), PPE, and fabric products (including clothing, bags, and tents) from products that are 100% grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States. The bill requires regulations to (1) prohibit the use by any federal department or agency of reverse auctions or lowest price technically acceptable contracting methods for the procurement of PPE if the level of quality or failure of the item could result in infection, illness, or death; and (2) establish a preference for the use of best value contracting methods for the procurement of such equipment. The bill applies the Berry Amendment (which requires the Department of Defense to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or homegrown products) to specified supplies and equipment, such as surgical dressing materials, hospital and surgical clothing, and textile medical supplies and equipment.
Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2021 This bill directs the U.S. government to sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons or a similar international agreement that calls for the elimination of all nuclear weapons in every country. The government shall (1) redirect resources currently used in nuclear weapons programs toward building an ecologically beneficial peace economy and addressing human and infrastructure needs, and (2) actively promote policies to induce all other countries to take similar actions.
Affordable Housing Preservation Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement a demonstration program for the establishment or preservation of limited- or zero-equity resident-controlled housing. Limited- or zero-equity resident-controlled housing (e.g., a housing cooperative) restricts the initial and resale price of shares of stock or membership interests in a residence so that the shares or interests remain affordable to families of certain incomes. Specifically, HUD may assist nonprofit organizations to establish or preserve such housing through providing (1) mortgage insurance; and (2) grants for predevelopment costs, monitoring fees, technical assistance, gap funding, and intermediary financing. Housing receiving such assistance must be governed by a board of directors elected by members of a limited- or zero-equity resident-controlled housing corporation with voting structured equitably among all members. A limited- or zero-equity resident-controlled housing corporation may sell corporate shares in such housing to an eligible household for a purchase price that ensures dwelling units in the housing will remain affordable for at least 30 years to households earning less than a certain income.
This resolution urges (1) the President to issue a proclamation recognizing Earth Day; and (2) governments and people to continue building upon the Paris Agreement and other efforts to ensure that future generations inherit a livable, sustainable, and ecologically rich planet. The resolution reaffirms that immediate action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ameliorate environmental injustices in order to protect our planet, public health, and overall well-being of all people and wildlife. In addition, it encourages the American people to mark Earth Day by working to address environmental challenges, educate others about the need for year-round action, and honor the stewardship ethic for which Senator Gaylord Nelson stood.
