Protecting Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Act of 2021 This bill nullifies specified guidance and final rule provisions pertaining to Section 1332 waivers (also known as State Innovation Waivers or State Relief and Empowerment Waivers) issued by the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services. The provisions allow states to forego certain requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in order to implement experimental plans for health care coverage, as long as the resulting coverage meets certain statutory criteria. The provisions, which supersede earlier guidance from 2015, alter agency interpretation of how states may satisfy the statutory criteria for waiver approval. For example, the provisions (1) redefine acceptable coverage under such waivers to include short-term, limited-duration insurance and association health plans; (2) allow the comprehensiveness and affordability of coverage under such waivers to be assessed based on projected availability, rather than enrollment; and (3) allow the level of coverage to be assessed based on the effects over the entire course of the waiver, rather than per year.
Help Independent Tracks Succeed Act or the HITS Act This bill permits taxpayers to treat as currently deductible expenses the cost of qualified sound recording productions not exceeding $150,000 in a taxable year. The bill defines qualified sound recording production as certain sound recordings produced and recorded in the United States.
Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculation Act This bill provides for the refinancing or deferral of certain federal student loans. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education to establish a program to refinance the outstanding principal, interest, and late charges on federal student loans in order to give borrowers fixed interest rates equal to the 10-year Treasury note rate plus one percentage point. Further, the bill eliminates origination fees on the loans. In addition, the bill allows borrowers in medical, veterinary, or dental internship or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.
State Health Care Premium Reduction Act of 2021 This bill establishes and provides funding for the Improve Health Insurance Affordability Fund. States must use allocated funds to (1) issue reinsurance payments to health insurers (i.e., reimbursements to protect insurers against exceedingly high claims) for individual health insurance coverage, or (2) provide other assistance to reduce out-of-pocket costs (e.g., copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles) for qualified health plans offered in the individual market through an exchange. Reinsurance payments using such funds may not be applied to (1) grandfathered health plans in place on March 23, 2010, (2) non-grandfathered transitional plans meeting specified requirements identified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), or (3) student health insurance plans provided by institutions of higher education. The bill appropriates $10 billion per year for the fund, which the CMS must distribute to states in accordance with a specified methodology based on the estimated amount of reinsurance payments for individuals in a state during the given year, subject to specified deductions. Additionally, states must submit applications explaining how they will use such funds. In the event that a state does not submit an application, the bill directs the CMS to allocate the calculated funding amount to reinsurance programs in that state.
Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an interagency review of the status of women and lung cancer. The review must report on the status of existing research and current knowledge gaps; identify new opportunities for collaborative research to determine the causes of lung cancer and advance prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment; and provide recommendations for a national cancer screening strategy and public education campaign.
Energizing American Shipbuilding Act of 2021 This bill directs (1) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to require specified percentages of liquefied natural gas exports to be transported on vessels built or retrofitted in the United States and documented under its laws, and (2) the President to require specified percentages of crude oil exports to be transported on vessels built or retrofitted in the United States and documented under its laws. FERC and the President may waive these requirements under specified circumstances. The Energy Information Administration must collect and publish information on exports of natural gas and crude oil by vessels, including forecasts and data on those exports.
Funding for Aviation Screeners and Threat Elimination Restoration Act or the FASTER Act This bill repeals the requirement that a portion of aviation security service fees collected from passengers be credited as offsetting receipts and deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. It requires such fees to be deposited into a separate account in the Treasury for expenditure to pay only the costs of activities and services for which the fee is imposed (i.e., aviation security screening).
Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the award of matching grants to enhance services in secondary schools for students with mental and behavioral health issues that can lead to failure in school, such as depression and substance abuse. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration may award these grants on a competitive basis to state or local educational agencies that serve at least one secondary school.
Foster Youth Dental Act of 2021 This bill expands Medicaid coverage of current and former foster youth, particularly with respect to dental services. Specifically, the bill requires state Medicaid programs to cover early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services, including dental services, for current and former foster youth under the age of 26. States must set a special payment rate, based on rates in the private sector, for dental services provided to such individuals; the bill provides an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for excess expenses that result from such payments. The bill's requirements take effect 80 days after the date of enactment of the bill. The bill also accelerates the application of certain provisions that require a state Medicaid program to cover former foster youth from other states until the age of 26; such provisions currently apply to former foster youth who reach the age of 18 on or after January 1, 2023. The bill instead applies these provisions to former foster youth who reach the age of 18 on or after the date of enactment of the bill.
This resolution condemns the February 1, 2021, military coup in Burma (Myanmar) and calls on Burmese authorities to allow journalists, human rights organizations, United Nations monitors, and humanitarian actors full and safe access to every part of the country. The resolution also asks neighboring countries to provide immediate and direct cross-border assistance to address the humanitarian needs of refugees.
Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 This bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. The bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to award grants to states that (1) require law enforcement officers to be trained on fair and impartial policing (e.g., diversity and anti-bias training), and (2) require an independent prosecutor to be appointed to investigate and prosecute an alleged offense involving the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer that results in a death or injury.
