Cover Crop Flexibility Act of 2021 This bill modifies the federal crop insurance program to address the planting of cover crops following prevented planting. Specifically, the bill allows a producer that is prevented from planting its first crop to plant a second crop and receive an indemnity equal to the full guarantee for the first crop if the second crop (1) is an approved cover crop, and (2) cannot be harvested for grain or other uses unrelated to livestock forage or conservation. Under current law, if a producer plants a second crop it can only get an indemnity worth at most 35% of the prevented planting guarantee for the first crop. For a producer planting a cover crop following prevented planting, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) may provide separate prevented planting coverage factors that include preplanting costs and the cost of cover crop seed. Further, the FCIC must conduct research and development regarding a policy to insure crops on fields that regularly utilize cover crops, including research to examine the extent that cover crops reduce risks of prevented planting and other crop insurance losses.
Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2021 This bill expands coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Among other provisions, the bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain restrictions, such as restrictions on the types of technology that may be used; permanently removes geographic restrictions on originating sites (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) and allows the home of the beneficiary to serve as the originating site for all services; permanently allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); and allows the CMS to generally waive coverage restrictions during any public health emergency. Additionally, the CMS must report on the effects of expanded telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including with respect to the utilization, quality, and outcomes of services. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation may also test alternative payment models relating to expanded telehealth services.
Supplying Help to Infrastructure in Ports, Yards, and America's Repair Docks Act of 2021 or the SHIPYARD Act This bill provides supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for improving naval shipyard infrastructure. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits. DOD must make this funding directly available to the Department of the Navy. Funds must be used for specified purposes, including for public and private shipyard facilities, docks, dry docks, capital equipment improvements, and dredging efforts needed by shipyards.
This bill provides for the award of Congressional Gold Medals posthumously to Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith (four Americans who were killed in the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya) in recognition of their contributions to the nation.
Chronic Disease Management Act of 2021 This bill modifies requirements for health savings accounts (HSAs) to permit the high deductible health plans required for an HSA to provide care for chronic conditions with no deductible. The bill covers any preventive care service or item used to treat a chronic condition if (1) such service or item is low-cost, (2) there is medical evidence of the effectiveness of such service or item, and (3) there is a strong likelihood that the use of such service or item will prevent the exacerbation of the chronic condition or the development of a secondary condition that requires significantly higher cost treatment. The bill further provides that an individual who has been prescribed preventive care for any chronic condition may be presumed to have been diagnosed with such condition if such preventive care is customarily prescribed for such condition.
Guarding Readiness Resources Act of 2021 This bill modifies the treatment of funds received by the National Guard Bureau as a reimbursement from a state or other U.S. territory (e.g., Guam) for the use of military property. Specifically, the funds must be credited to (1) the appropriation, fund, or account used in incurring the obligation; or (2) an appropriation, fund, or account currently available for the purposes of which the expenditures were made.
Veterans Claim Transparency Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide the representative of a veteran with an opportunity to review a proposed determination regarding a claim for compensation or benefits before such determination becomes final. The VA must notify the representative in writing that a proposed determination is ready for review and may not make a final determination until the review period has ended. Under the bill, a representative has up to 48 hours to review the proposed determination.
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; 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, 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.
Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act of 2021 This bill establishes programs and requirements to expand access to renewable fuel. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture must establish a program to award grants for the deployment of renewable fuel infrastructure as specified by this bill. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must finalize a 2021 proposed rule titled E 15 Fuel Dispenser Labeling and Compatibility With Underground Storage Tanks . When finalizing the rule, the EPA must eliminate the labeling requirements for fuel pumps that dispense E 15 fuel (i.e., gasoline that contains 15% ethanol).
Informed Consent Act This bill establishes new federal criminal offenses related to the performance of abortions and sterilization procedures. First, the bill prohibits knowingly performing an abortion or sterilization procedure without obtaining informed consent. It provides exceptions, including for an abortion or sterilization procedure that is necessary to save a mother whose life is endangered by a physical (but not psychological or emotional) disorder, illness, or condition. An individual who performs a prohibited abortion or sterilization procedure is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. Second, the bill requires federal employees and contractors, as well as employees and contractors of certain federally funded entities, who know about a prohibited abortion or sterilization procedure to report it as soon as possible. An individual who knows about a prohibited abortion or sterilization procedure but fails to report it is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to three years, or both.
LEOSA Reform Act This bill broadens the authority for certain law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, the bill allows qualified active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms and ammunition (including magazines) in school zones; in national parks; on state, local, or private property that is open to the public; and in certain federal facilities that are open to the public. Further, the bill permits states to reduce the frequency with which retired law enforcement officers must meet certain qualification standards.
Return Excessive Migrants and Asylees to International Neighbors in Mexico Act of 2021 or the REMAIN in Mexico Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement the Migrant Protection Protocols as outlined in the January 25, 2019, memo titled Policy Guidance for Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols . (The protocols generally required aliens who are not clearly admissible, including those seeking asylum, arriving by land along the U.S.-Mexico border to be returned to Mexico while their immigration proceedings are pending, rather than remain in the United States. On January 21, 2021, DHS stopped applying the protocols to newly-arrived individuals.)
