Safe School Meals for Kids Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to ban from the school meal programs all food that has been treated with chlorpyrifos or has a chlorpyrifos residue greater than 0.001 micrograms per kilogram of food. Chlorpyrifos is a pesticide that some studies have linked to developmental disabilities in children.
Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide assistance to people in Vietnam in relation to Agent Orange exposure. Specifically, the State Department must provide assistance (1) to address the health care needs of certain residents of Vietnam affected by Agent Orange exposure, (2) to institutions in Vietnam that provide health care to such individuals, (3) to improve housing and reduce poverty for specified individuals and their families, and (4) to remediate areas of Vietnam that contain high levels of Agent Orange. HHS must (1) make grants to public health organizations and Vietnamese American organizations to conduct a broad health assessment of Vietnamese Americans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange and their descendants; and (2) establish centers in U.S. locations where large populations of Vietnamese Americans reside to provide assessment, counseling, and treatment for conditions related to Agent Orange exposure. Under the bill, certain benefits will be made available to the children of male Vietnam veterans who are affected by certain birth defects. Currently, these benefits are only available to the children of women Vietnam veterans. The VA shall require any health care provider with whom the VA enters into a contract for the provision of health care to such children to provide the VA access to their medical records for research into the intergenerational effects of Agent Orange exposure.
John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports. Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers. Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.
Increasing Access to Osteoporosis Testing for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2021 This bill specifies that certain Medicare payment rules applicable to imaging services shall apply to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry services used in bone mass scans beginning in 2022. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish national minimum payment amounts for such services.
Pharmacy DIR Reform To Reduce Senior Drug Costs Act This bill establishes certain requirements for prescription drug plans and the prices of covered drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires price concessions, payments, and fees that are negotiated with a pharmacy to be included in a drug's negotiated price, excluding incentive payments, and for this price to be provided at the point of sale. Additionally, prescription drug plans must report price concessions or incentive payments that are made after payment for covered drugs at the point of sale, including by contracted intermediaries, to the pharmacy at least annually. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish standardized pharmacy performance measures with respect to incentive payments and price concessions; such measures must account for all pharmacy types, including specialty pharmacies, and focus on patient health outcomes and other targeted areas.
End Polluter Welfare Act of 2021 This bill limits or eliminates certain fossil fuel oil and gas subsidies for oil companies, including by (1) eliminating the limit on liability for offshore facilities and pipeline operators; (2) eliminating the authority of the Department of Energy to carry out the Fossil Energy Research and Development Program and prohibiting funds made available to the Advanced Research Project Agency from being used to carry out any project that supports fossil fuels; (3) terminating certain provisions relating to enhanced oil recovery, producing oil and natural gas from marginal wells, and limitations on percentage depletion for oil and natural gas wells; (4) terminating other deductions and accounting methods supporting oil, natural gas, and coal companies; (5) increasing the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate; (6) denying a tax deduction for removal costs and damages relating to oil spills; (7) imposing an excise tax on the removal price of any taxable crude oil or natural gas; (8) increasing amortization periods for tertiary injectant expenses, development expenditures of a mine or other natural deposit, mining exploration expenditures, and intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells and geothermal wells; (9) repealing the tax credits for the production of electricity from refined coal and for carbon oxide sequestration; and (10) requiring a study and elimination of certain other fossil fuel subsidies.
Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act This bill establishes grant programs to address neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and contains other related provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall award grants to eligible entities to facilitate patients' access to investigational drugs that diagnose or treat ALS. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall award grants to public and private entities to cover the costs of research and development of drugs that diagnose or treat ALS and other severely debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. HHS shall also establish the Public-Private Partnership for Neurodegenerative Diseases between the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and at least one eligible entity (generally, an institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization). The partnership shall support the development and regulatory review of drugs that address ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. The FDA shall publish on its website a five-year action plan for fostering the development of drugs that improve or extend the lives of people living with rare neurodegenerative diseases.
Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act of 2021 This bill requires the National Tracing Center within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to establish and maintain an electronic, searchable database of records related to certain firearms transactions.
Allowing Steady Savings by Eliminating Tests Act or the ASSET Act This bill prohibits the use of asset tests or resource limits in certain means-tested public assistance programs and increases the resource limits to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a federal income supplement program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited income and resources meet basic needs. Under the bill, states may not use asset or resource limits to determine eligibility for (1) programs funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants, (2) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or (3) the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. In addition, an individual may have up to $10,000 in certain resources (or up to $20,000 for a couple) and qualify for SSI. Under current law, the limit is $2,000 for an individual (or $3,000 for a couple).
Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2021 This bill establishes grants to support the implementation of extreme risk protection order laws at the state and local levels, extends federal firearms restrictions to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders, and expands related data collection. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. Among its provisions, the bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program to help states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities implement extreme risk protection order laws; extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders; and requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compile records from federal, tribal, and state courts and other agencies that identify individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders.
Keeping All Students Safe Act This bill prohibits the use of seclusion and limits the use of physical restraint in schools and Head Start programs that receive federal funding. Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of seclusion, which is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. The term does not include a time out, which may involve separating the student from others in a non-locked setting. The bill prohibits the use of mechanical or chemical restraints or physical restraints that restrict breathing or are life threatening. The bill outlines the requirements for the use of physical restraint, including that the student's behavior must pose an imminent danger of serious physical injury to the student or other individual. Each state must ensure that a sufficient number of program personnel are trained and certified by a state-approved crisis intervention training program. Additionally, each program must establish procedures to follow after an incident involving physical restraint. Further, the bill establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to unlawful seclusion or restraint. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services must withhold payments from a program for unlawful seclusion or restraint. Finally, the bill requires each state educational agency (SEA) to establish, implement, and enforce policies and procedures required by the bill. It also creates a grant program to assist SEAs with these activities.
Stop Child Hunger Act of 2021 This bill establishes a permanent program and provides funds for electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to cover meals for children during extended school closures. Specifically, the Department of Agriculture must establish a program to provide EBT cards to cover meals for children who are enrolled in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program when a school is closed, operating remotely, or a combination of both for a period of five days or more. Cards may be used to purchase food from approved retailers under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
