Financing Our Energy Future Act The bill extends the tax treatment of certain publicly traded partnerships as corporations to renewable and alternative energy sources and transportation fuels. Under current law the tax treatment of such partnerships is only available to investors in energy portfolios for oil, natural gas, coal extraction, and pipeline projects.
Metropolitan Planning Enhancement Act This bill requires that transportation projects included in an adopted metropolitan area transportation plan be selected through a publicly available transparent process using criteria that directly support specified factors, national transportation goals, and applicable state transportation goals.
Cyber Shield Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Commerce to establish the Cyber Shield Program, a voluntary program to identify and certify covered products. These products are consumer-facing physical objects that meet industry-leading cybersecurity and data security benchmarks and that can (1) connect to the internet; and (2) collect, send, or receive data or control the actions of a physical object or system. Commerce must also establish a Cyber Shield Advisory Committee to recommend (1) the format and content of Cyber Shield labels for covered products; and (2) the process to identify, establish, report on, adopt, maintain, and promote compliance with industry-leading cybersecurity and data security benchmarks to enhance cybersecurity and protect data. On its website, Commerce must make publicly available (1) program information, (2) a database of covered products certified under the program, and (3) contact information for each manufacturer of a covered product certified under the program.
Transportation Megaprojects Accountability and Oversight Act of 20 21 This bill sets forth additional requirements for a recipient of assistance under National Highway System provisions for a megaproject. (A megaproject is a project that has an estimated total cost of $2.5 billion or more.) Specifically, the bill requires a recipient to submit to the Department of Transportation (DOT) a comprehensive risk management plan that contains, among other things, a description of the process for identifying, quantifying, and monitoring the risks that might result in cost overruns, delays, reduced construction quality, or reduced benefits; establish a peer review group for such megaproject that consists of at least five individuals to give expert advice on the scientific, technical, and project management aspects of the megaproject; and publish specific information online, including the name, license number, and license type of each engineer supervising an aspect of the megaproject. DOT must make arrangements with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies under which the board must convene a transportation megaprojects committee.
Equitable Transit Oriented Development Support Act This bill revises the transportation finance infrastructure and innovation (TIFIA) program to make community development financial institutions (CDFIs) eligible for federal transportation infrastructure loans. The loans must be used for CDFI transit-oriented development projects located within one-half mile in an urban area or three-fourths of a mile in a rural area of a fixed guideway transit facility, passenger rail station, intercity bus station or intermodal facility that supports (1) commercial facilities or businesses that are located in low-income communities, (2) community facilities that are located in low-income communities or principally serve low-income persons, or (3) housing that is principally affordable to low-income persons. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must require any CDFI participating in the TIFIA program to establish a CDFI transit-oriented development account into which the proceeds of a secured loan made to the CDFI and any loan repayments from public or private entities receiving loans made to fund CDFI transit-oriented development projects will be deposited. DOT must set-aside not more than 10% of funding available to carry out the TIFIA program for CDFI transit-oriented development accounts.
Incentivizing Value Capture for Greener Transportation Act This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide technical assistance grants to states and local governments to (1) develop more state and local value capture mechanisms for long-term funding that promote mobility, public transportation, and affordable transit-oriented development; (2) improve public transportation and mobility; and (3) develop strategic partnerships that create greater self-help capacity that leads to greater long term and robust investments in public transportation, mobility, inclusive economic development, and affordable transit-oriented development. DOT must establish voluntary and consensus-based value capture standards, policies, and best practices for state and local value capture mechanisms that promote greater investments in public transportation and affordable transit-oriented development; make available to the public a report cataloging examples of state and local laws and policies that provide for value capture and value sharing that promote such investments; and identify and disseminate examples of best practices where states and local governments have adopted value capture and value sharing mechanisms that have successfully provided for such investments.
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.
Quit Because of COVID-19 Act This bill provides for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage of certain tobacco cessation services. Specifically, the bill provides for coverage, without cost-sharing, of diagnostic, therapy, and counseling services and pharmacotherapy, including prescription and nonprescription tobacco cessation agents, that are provided under medical supervision and in accordance with specified guidelines. It also applies a 100% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for such items and services during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 and for two years after the emergency period ends.
Rural Behavioral Health Access Act of 2021 This bill allows for Medicare payment of outpatient critical access hospital (CAH) services consisting of telehealth behavioral therapy, including (1) audio-only services, if an individual does not have access to technology with both audio and visual capabilities; and (2) services provided to an individual who has not received in-person care at the CAH, if there is a plan of care that includes an in-person visit not later than one year after telehealth services are provided.
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.
