Emergency Reporting Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (the system through which communications providers report their operational status during times of crisis) and to adopt specified rules related to network outage reporting. If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary a report that includes (1) the number and duration of any service outages, (2) the approximate number of users or the amount of infrastructure potentially affected by a service outage, and (3) the number and duration of any outages at public safety answering points (PSAPs) that prevent the PSAPs from receiving and routing emergency calls to emergency service personnel. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts. The FCC must also determine the circumstances under which it shall require certain service providers to notify a PSAP of a communications service disruption that prevents the origination of 9–1–1 calls or the delivery of information that allows the PSAP to identify the number of or locate a 9–1–1 caller. Further, the FCC must require this notification to be made and specify the appropriate timing of the notification.
Sponsored bills
Safe Home Act of 2021 This bill makes unregulated custody transfers a form of child abuse and neglect under federal child-welfare law. Specifically, an unregulated custody transfer occurs when a child is placed with a non-relative or otherwise unfamiliar adult, with the intention of severing the parental or guardian relationship with the child, without reasonably ensuring the child's safety, and without legally transferring parental or guardian rights. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to (1) report on the causes, effects, and prevalence of unregulated custody transfers; (2) develop policy recommendations for preventing such transfers; and (3) issue guidance to the states.
Better Empowerment Now to Enhance Framework and Improve Treatments Act of 2021 or the BENEFIT Act of 2021 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider relevant patient-focused drug development data, such as data from patient preference studies and patient-reported outcome data, in the risk-benefit assessment framework used in the process for approving new drugs. After a new drug application has been approved, the FDA's public statement about how it used patient experience data shall include a description of how such data was considered in the risk-benefit assessment framework.
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.
Data Analytics Robocall Technology Act of 2021 or the DART Act of 2021 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to consider establishing a process for maintaining a list of numbers that are ineligible to be blocked by a voice service provider. These may include numbers used (1) for outgoing calls by a facility that is designated to originate or route emergency calls, (2) to originate calls from a government entity, or (3) by a school to provide school-related notifications. The FCC must submit a report containing an analysis of the effectiveness of various categories of call-blocking tools and any legislative recommendations relating to this report.
Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2025 and expands the Full-Service Community Schools program. The program provides support for full-service community schools that serve children and their families, particularly for children who attend high-poverty elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to eligible entities to plan, implement, expand, and support full-service community schools. An eligible entity is a consortium of (1) one or more local educational agencies or the Bureau of Indian Education; and (2) one or more community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or other entities. A community school refers to a public elementary or secondary school that incorporates the four pillars of community schools. These four pillars are defined by the bill as (1) integrated student supports that address out-of-school barriers to learning (e.g., medical care and assistance with housing, transportation, or nutrition); (2) expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities (e.g., before- and after-school programs); (3) family and community engagement (e.g., adult education); and (4) collaborative leadership and practices, which must include a school-based leadership team, a community school coordinator, and a community-wide leadership team. Further, the bill directs ED to award grants to states to plan, implement, and expand community schools. A state educational agency that receives a grant must meet certain requirements, such as providing subgrants to local educational agencies, establishing a state-level steering committee, and establishing goals for the implementation and expansion of community schools throughout the state.
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and revises several programs and activities relating to newborn screening for certain conditions and genetic, endocrine, and metabolic diseases. Among its changes, the bill reauthorizes and makes mandatory the Hunter Kelly Research Program at the National Institutes of Health, and national surveillance activities conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bill also aligns statutory requirements for research on non-identified newborn blood spots with federal regulations governing research on human subjects. These blood spots are collected as part of newborn screening programs, and some states make them available for biomedical and public health research. Under current regulations, research on non-identified bio-specimens such as blood spots is not considered to be research on human subjects, to which additional protections apply.
COVID-19 Nursing Home Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides funds and establishes requirements for Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and Medicaid nursing facilities (NFs) to address COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill provides FY2021 funding for COVID-19 strike teams that can be deployed to these facilities to help with vaccinations, clinical care, infection control, or staffing. The amounts provided by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule. (This excludes the budget effects from being counted for the purposes of enforcing the PAYGO rules.) In addition, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that, during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19, at least one of its contracts with Medicare quality improvement organizations requires that the organization assist SNFs with COVID-19 infection control (e.g., training materials). Finally, the bill provides statutory authority for the requirement that SNFs and NFs report data regarding COVID-19 preparedness, testing, infections, and deaths. Additionally, the CMS must publish on the Nursing Home Compare website certain demographic information, aggregated by state, with respect to COVID-19 infections and deaths in such facilities.
Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2021 This bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to award grants to states and tribal organizations to install carbon monoxide alarms in the homes of low-income families and older adults and facilities that commonly serve children or older adults. Such carbon monoxide alarms must comply with specified standards.
ABLE Age Adjustment Act This bill increases from 26 to 46 the age threshold for tax-favored ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts. (ABLE accounts are designed to enable individuals with disabilities to save for and pay for disability-related expenses. To establish an account, an individual must have a qualifying impairment that began before the individual attained the age threshold.)