Jeanette Acosta Invest in Women's Health Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a series of programs to increase access to cancer screenings for women. These programs include demonstration projects to train certain health care providers to screen for breast and cervical cancer, and increase co-testing of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer among populations that have disproportionate rates of cervical cancer.
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2021 This bill revises drinking water requirements concerning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geologic formation. The bill gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to protect groundwater sources (e.g., wells) from certain pollution risks posed by fracking operations. The bill also establishes requirements for disclosing the chemicals intended for use in fracking operations as well as the chemicals actually used in the operations. If the proprietary chemical formulas of chemicals used in fracking operations are necessary for treatment in medical emergencies, then the operations must disclose the formulas or the specific chemical identities of trade secret chemicals to the state, the EPA, or the treating physicians or nurses upon request, regardless of whether written statements of need or confidentiality agreements have been provided.
Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 This bill imposes certain safety requirements on infant and toddler food. The bill establishes maximum levels of certain toxic elements (cadmium, and lead, mercury, and inorganic arsenic) allowable in infant and toddler food, defined as food intended to be sold for children up to 36 months old. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall periodically review and, if necessary, further lower these levels. The FDA may also establish limits on other toxic elements upon review of relevant health and dietary data. Furthermore, facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold infant and toddler food must have certain controls and plans to ensure that their food complies with the limits on toxic elements established by this bill. Such facilities shall also make publicly available certain information, including results from tests for toxic elements in their infant and toddler foods. The bill also expands the FDA's authority to require a recall of adulterated or misbranded food to include infant and toddler food that exceeds limits on toxic elements. The Centers for Disease Control shall carry out a public awareness campaign about the risks of toxic elements in infant and toddler food. The FDA shall commission research on agricultural methods that minimize levels of toxic heavy metals in crops.
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 This bill increases the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for qualifying hospitals, including hospitals in rural areas and health professional shortage areas. Current law provides for an increase of up to 200 positions per fiscal year beginning in FY2023, with a total increase of 1,000 positions; each hospital may receive up to 25 additional positions. The bill provides for an additional increase of 2,000 positions per fiscal year from FY2023-FY2029; during this period, each hospital may receive up to 75 additional positions in total under the bill and current law. Additionally, one-third of the positions that are made available under the bill must be allocated to hospitals that are already operating above applicable resident limits. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on strategies to increase the diversity of the health professional workforce, including with respect to representation from rural, low-income, and minority communities.
Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act This bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements. For entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks). Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes. The bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.
This resolution celebrates the successes and contributions of Latinas in the United States and recognizes the changes still to be made to ensure that Latinas can realize their full potential as equal members of society.
Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree or, if unavailable, to a member of his family, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.
This bill requires the Joint Committee on the Library to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue of Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress. The committee shall place the statue in a permanent public location in the U.S. Capitol.
Our Homes, Our Votes Act This bill facilitates voter registration for residents of certain federally assisted housing for the purpose of federal elections. Specifically, the bill requires each lease and annual income recertification for such housing that is administered by a public housing agency (PHA) to include a voter registration application. A PHA must send any completed application to state election officials. The bill also treats owners of federally assisted housing as voter registration agencies.
Delivering Envelopes Judiciously On-time Year-round Act or the DEJOY Act This bill requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to maintain the service standards for first-class mail that were in effect on January 1, 2021. The Postmaster General proposed in March 2021 a 10-year restructuring plan for the USPS that would lengthen the permissible mail-delivery window.
Ending Punitive, Unfair, School-based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma Act of 2021 or the Ending PUSHOUT Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to local educational agencies and nonprofit organizations for the purpose of reducing suspension and expulsion of students (i.e., exclusionary disciplinary practices). The bill requires ED to collect data on exclusionary discipline in schools. It also establishes a joint task force to end school pushout.
Investing in Cures Before Missiles Act of 2021 or the ICBM Act This bill addresses the transfer and use of funds intended for defense programs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to transfer $1 billion of unobligated balances intended for its ground-based strategic deterrent program to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease for research on the development of a universal coronavirus vaccine. Next, the bill requires the Department of Energy to transfer unobligated balances for the W87-1 warhead modification program administered by the National Nuclear Security Administration to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research and combat emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases. The bill prohibits the use of funds authorized for FY2022 for the ground-based strategic deterrent program or the W87-1 warhead modification program. Finally, the bill requires DOD to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study extending to 2050 the life of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
