American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the five-year amortization requirement for research and experimental expenditures scheduled to begin in 2022, thus allowing continued expensing of such expenditures in the taxable years in which they are incurred.
Prohibit Auto Insurance Discrimination Act or the PAID Act This bill prohibits an automobile insurer from considering specified factors when determining a consumer's insurance rates or eligibility. These prohibited factors include gender, employment status, zip code, census tract, marital status, and credit score. Automobile insurers must make underwriting rules and rate filings available to the public. The Federal Trade Commission may enforce a violation of these requirements as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.
Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act This bill expressly prohibits health care providers and other entities involved in matching donated organs with recipients from denying or restricting an individual's access to organ transplants solely on the basis of the individual's disability, except in limited circumstances. Specifically, these entities may consider an individual's disability when making decisions about transplants only if a physician finds, based on an individualized evaluation, that the individual's physical or mental disability is medically significant to the provision of the transplant. A disability shall not be considered medically significant if the individual has an adequate support system in place to comply with transplant-related medical requirements. These entities must also make reasonable changes to their policies to make transplants and related care more available to individuals with disabilities. Aggrieved individuals may bring claims of discrimination to the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services or before a federal court. The bill provides for expedited resolutions of these claims.
Living Donor Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits certain insurance carriers from discriminating against, and provides other protections for, living organ donors. Specifically, carriers may not deny, cancel, or otherwise impose conditions on policies for life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance based on an individual's status as a living organ donor. The bill also expressly specifies that recovery from organ-donation surgery constitutes a serious health condition that entitles eligible employees to job-protected medical leave. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must update educational materials on live organ donation to include information about the benefits of live organ donation and about access to insurance for living organ donors.
Revitalize and Expand SNAP Education and Training for America's Future Act or the RESET for America's Future Act This bill increases federal reimbursement for certain state employment and training programs under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program). The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must issue certain guidelines that permit a state to submit for full and expedited federal reimbursement of any costs incurred through SNAP employment and training programs that meet certain criteria (e.g., programs with proven positive outcomes), with no match requirement. USDA must temporarily reimburse each state 100% of costs incurred in connection with transportation costs and other expenses related to participation in such programs through the end of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency or two years, whichever is later. It must also reimburse each state 100% of costs incurred to build, modernize, or improve state and local data systems related to SNAP employment and training programs. Further, USDA must commission a thorough national assessment of its SNAP employment and training programs to develop a strategy for continuous improvement to the programs.
Assuring You Uniform Dietary Assistance (AYUDA) Act of 2021 This bill makes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands eligible to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program).
Living Donor Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits certain insurance carriers from discriminating against, and provides other protections for, living organ donors. Specifically, carriers may not deny, cancel, or otherwise impose conditions on policies for life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance based on an individual's status as a living organ donor. The bill also expressly specifies that recovery from organ-donation surgery constitutes a serious health condition that entitles eligible employees to job-protected medical leave. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must update educational materials on live organ donation to include information about the benefits of live organ donation and about access to insurance for living organ donors.
Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 2021 This bill temporarily imposes sanctions and other penalties on Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez and the government of Honduras for systemic corruption and human rights violations, with particular focus on the Honduran police and military. Specifically, the President must impose asset- and visa-blocking sanctions on Juan Orlando Hernandez due to his corrupt practices, including the use of the state apparatus to protect and facilitate drug trafficking. Additionally, the President must prohibit, within 30 days, the issuance of licenses to export defense articles and services and specified munitions to the Honduran police or military. The bill also (1) makes Honduras ineligible for security assistance to equip and train police and military, and (2) requires U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to oppose any loans for Honduran police or military. Furthermore, the Department of the Treasury must instruct U.S. leadership of international financial institutions and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to promote human rights due diligence and risk management in any loan, grant, policy, or strategy related to Honduras. The sanctions and other penalties put in place under this bill terminate in five years but may be lifted earlier if specified conditions are met.
Medicare-X Choice Act of 20 21 This bill establishes and funds the Medicare Exchange health plan, which allows individuals who are not otherwise eligible for Medicare to enroll in a government-administered health insurance plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must offer such plan in certain individual health insurance exchanges beginning plan year 2022 and offer it in all individual health insurance exchanges beginning plan year 2025. CMS must offer the plan in the small group market in all geographic areas for plan year 2025. The plan must cover primary care services without cost sharing and meet the same requirements, including essential health benefits, as existing health insurance exchange plans. Unless they opt out, health care providers enrolled under Medicare or under a state Medicaid plan must participate in the plan and are reimbursed at Medicare rates. The bill establishes a grants program for community organizations, educational institutions, and health agencies to create service partnerships and establish interactive data systems for health care providers. Additionally, the bill expands the premium tax credit available for plans purchased through an exchange and eliminates the restriction on the Department of Health and Human Services negotiating prescription drug prices for Medicare.
EAGLES Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) within the U.S. Secret Service. It reauthorizes the functions of NTAC through FY2025 and expands them to include the establishment of a national program on targeted school violence prevention.
Make It in America Act This bill addresses domestic content requirements and narrows instances in which waivers may be granted. Specifically, the bill directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), acting through the Office for Federal Procurement Policy, to promulgate regulations to standardize and simplify how federal agencies comply with, report on, and enforce the Buy American Act, including guidelines to ensure that a project is not disaggregated for purposes of avoiding the applicability of such requirements. The bill increases American-made content requirements from 50% to 75%. Before granting a waiver in the public interest with respect to a product sourced from a foreign country, a federal agency shall assess whether a significant portion of the cost advantage of the product is the result of the use of dumped steel, iron, or manufactured goods or the use of injuriously subsidized steel, iron, or manufactured goods. The OMB shall establish within it a Made in America Office to maximize and enforce compliance with domestic preference statutes, develop and implement procedures to review waiver requests, ensure that contracting personnel at each federal agency annually complete training on obligations under such statutes, and ensure the development of a domestic supply base to meet federal procurement requirements. The bill directs the Department of Transportation to enter into a technical assistance partnership with the Department of Commerce to ensure the development of a domestic supply base to support intermodal transportation in the United States and to ensure compliance with domestic preference statutes.
Equality Act This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system. Specifically, the bill defines and includes sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation. The bill expands the definition of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide (1) exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; (2) goods, services, or programs; and (3) transportation services. The bill allows the Department of Justice to intervene in equal protection actions in federal court on account of sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill prohibits an individual from being denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual's gender identity.
