Lethal Means Safety Training Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to update its Lethal Means Safety and Suicide Prevention training course at least once a year to ensure it is culturally appropriate and uses best practices identified by subject matter experts (e.g., veterans service organizations). The bill requires certain VA employees and care providers to take the most recently updated version of the training course within 90 days after the person is hired, agrees to furnish care, or receives support and at least annually thereafter. Specifically, the bill requires the following categories of VA employees or care providers to take the training course: employees of the Veterans Health Administration or Veterans Benefits Administration who regularly interact with veterans, compensation and pension examiners, employees of Veterans Centers or vocational rehabilitation facilities, employees of Veterans Community Care Providers who provide care to veterans, and family caregivers receiving support under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. The VA must publish the training course on a publicly available VA website. Additionally, the VA must publish a report on its website that includes the percentage of individuals in each category who have completed such training.
PFAS Registry Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a registry for current or past members of the Armed Forces who may have been exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances due to the environmental release of aqueous film-forming foam at a military installation or other Department of Defense (DOD) location. Additionally, the VA must consult with DOD and the Environmental Protection Agency to make recommendations for additional chemicals that should be included in the registry.
Fairly Assessing Service-related Toxic Exposure Residuals Presumptions Act or the FASTER Presumptions Act This bill revises policies and procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) related to establishing or modifying presumptions of service-connection based on toxic exposure. The bill sets up a procedure by which the VA must determine whether to establish, remove, or modify via regulations presumptions of service-connection based on toxic exposure. Specifically, the bill establishes within the VA the Formal Advisory Committee on Toxic Exposure, the Science Review Board, and the Working Group to assist with the various procedures in establishing or removing presumptions of service-connection. Such procedures include assessing the exposure of veterans to toxic substances during active service, evaluating research on the health effects of exposure, and making recommendations based on the evidence and research. The bill also establishes the Expert Advisory Panel on Constrictive Bronchiolitis within the VA to develop guidelines for VA research on symptomatic veterans who served on active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of operations and have bronchiolitis. The Department of Defense must develop and implement a plan to strengthen data collection with respect to members of the Armed Forces (including the reserve components) who are exposed to toxic substances while serving. The VA must initiate or sponsor various studies related to veterans who served on active duty in certain locations. Finally, the VA must provide annual training to relevant employees to improve the handling of claims for compensation and benefits that relate to toxic exposure.
Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to concede, for the purposes of health care benefits and wartime disability compensation, that a veteran was exposed to certain toxic substances, chemicals, and hazards from burn pits if such veteran served on active duty in a covered location during a specified time frame (unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that the veteran was not exposed during such service). A burn pit is an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment. Specifically, the bill covers the following locations and corresponding time periods: Iraq between August 2, 1990, and February 28, 1991, as well as from March 19, 2003, until burn pits are no longer used in this location; Somalia and Southwest Asia (including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar) from August 2, 1990, until burn pits are no longer used in these locations; and Afghanistan, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, and Djibouti from September 11, 2001, until burn pits are no longer used in these locations. Under the bill, if an exposed veteran submits insufficient evidence to establish a service-connection for purposes of disability compensation, the VA shall provide a medical examination and request a medical opinion regarding a causal link between the disability and a toxin, chemical, or hazard.
Semiquincentennial Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue $25.00 gold coins, $2.50 silver coins, 25 cent clad coins, and proof silver $2.50 coins in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the United States. The designs of the coins shall be emblematic of the semiquincentennial anniversary of the establishment of the United States of America and celebrate 250 years of our nation. On each coin there shall be a designation of the value of the coin; an inscription of the years 1776-2026; and inscriptions of the words Liberty , In God We Trust , United States of America , and E Pluribus Unum . Treasury may issue coins under this bill only during the period beginning on January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2026. All sales of coins issued shall include a surcharge as prescribed by this bill. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins shall be paid to the America 250 Foundation to fund the restoration, rehabilitation, and interpretation of units of the U.S. National Park System and its related areas, as a legacy of the semiquincentennial commemoration.
Legacy Roads and Trails Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program. Specifically, under the program, the Forest Service, taking into account predicted changes in weather and hydrology related to global climate change, shall carry out storm damage risk reduction, including deferred maintenance, repairs, road and trail relocation, and associated activities on roads, trails, tunnels, and bridges under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service; restore waterways and natural migration of fish and other aquatic species by removing or replacing culverts or other infrastructure from such waterways; and decommission unneeded roads. In implementing the program, the Forest Service shall give priority to projects that protect or restore water quality and watershed function; a watershed that supplies a public drinking water system; the habitat of a threatened, endangered, or sensitive fish or wildlife species, or a species of conservation concern; or a watershed for which the Forest Service has completed a watershed protection and restoration action plan. The Forest Service shall identify the minimum road system needed for each unit of the National Forest System. USDA shall review, and may revise, an identification of the minimum road system in accordance with federal regulations relating to the administration of the forest transportation system.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of Journeyman Lineworkers Recognition Day. (A journeyman lineworker is a person who builds and maintains electrical power systems.)
Preserving Rules Ordered for The Entities Covered Through 340B Act of 2021 or the PROTECT 340B Act of 2021 This bill prohibits pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health insurance plans from discriminating against health providers participating in the 340B drug pricing program, including pharmacies contracted with such providers to dispense 340B drugs. The 340B program allows certain providers to receive covered outpatient drugs at reduced prices from manufacturers. Specifically, PBMs and insurance plans may not reimburse 340B participants at a lower rate than other entities not participating in the program; impose differing terms (such as fees, charge-backs, or audits) on 340B participants; interfere with an individual's choice to receive drugs from a 340B participant; require 340B participants to identify which drugs fall within the program; or refuse to contract with a 340B participant on the basis that they utilize the program. Violations of this bill are subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 per violation per day. These prohibitions also apply to prescription drug (Part D) sponsors under Medicare. The bill also provides for a process to prevent duplicate 340B drug discounts to states under Medicaid.
Cancer Drug Parity Act of 20 21 This bill requires group health plans that cover anticancer medications administered by a health care provider to provide no less favorable cost sharing for patient-administered anticancer medications. This requirement applies to medications that are (1) approved by the Food and Drug Administration; (2) medically necessary for the cancer treatment; and (3) clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent site, and duration. To comply with this requirement, plans may not, with respect to anticancer medications (1) change or replace benefits to increase out-of-pocket costs, (2) reclassify benefits to increase costs, or (3) apply more restrictive limitations to orally administered medications than to intravenously administered or injected medications.
New Collar Jobs Act of 2021 This bill provides incentives for cybersecurity education. Specifically, the bill establishes an employee cybersecurity education tax credit for an employer who incurs costs for an employee who earns a certain cybersecurity certificate or degree. If a business claims such a credit, then federal agencies must award a score increase to each competitive proposal submitted by the business for a federal contract valued at more than $5 million. In addition, the Department of Education must cancel eligible student loans for borrowers who have (1) made 36 consecutive monthly payments, and (2) held a cybersecurity job in an economically distressed area during at least 12 months of payments. Finally, the bill makes cybersecurity course instructors eligible for awards under the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program.
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2021 This bill requires states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit bullying and harassment of elementary and secondary school students. In particular, these policies must prohibit bullying and harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion. Further, LEAs must provide (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level. The Department of Education must conduct and report on an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics must collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA disciplinary policies.
Relief for America's Small Farmers Act This bill provides loan forgiveness of up to $250,000 for certain borrowers who are actively engaged in farming, have an average annual adjusted gross income of $300,000 or less over the previous five years, and have certain Department of Agriculture farm loans. The loan forgiveness is subject to the condition that the applicable borrower must continue to be actively engaged in farming for at least two years after receiving such forgiveness.
