Health Equity and Access under the Law for Immigrant Women and Families Act of 2021 or the HEAL Immigrant Women and Families Act of 20 21 This bill extends Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program coverage to individuals lawfully present in the United States who otherwise meet eligibility requirements. Individuals granted federally authorized presence also are required to maintain minimum essential health insurance coverage and are eligible for health insurance exchanges, reduced cost sharing, premium subsidies, and premium tax credits.
Clean Ocean And Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act or the COAST Anti-Drilling Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from authorizing the exploration, development, or production (i.e., offshore drilling) of oil or natural gas in specified planning areas of the Outer Continental Shelf along the Atlantic Coast, including the Straits of Florida.
North Pacific Ocean Protection Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in specified areas of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.
Census Federal Advisory Committee on Transparency and Standards Act or the Census FACTS Act This bill establishes the 2020 Census Federal Advisory Committee on Transparency and Standards to review 2020 Census operations and decision-making in order to make policy and legislative recommendations, assess how decisions concerning the census affected the quality and accuracy of the enumeration of the people of the United States, and consider factors related to the census that may have dampened participation in self-response. For purposes of adopting congressional district boundaries, the legislature of a state or any entity charged by a state with recommending or adopting such boundaries shall make its recommendations or determinations using total population data counting the whole number of persons in the state.
Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2021 This bill requires the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to study access by underserved populations to general surgeons. Specifically, HRSA must study (1) whether the health professional shortage area designation under the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) program accurately assesses adequacy of access to general surgeons, (2) whether another measure would be more accurate, and (3) potential methodologies for designating general surgery shortage areas. (The NHSC provides scholarships and student loan repayment awards to primary care, dental care, and mental health care providers who agree to work in areas that HRSA designates as having a shortage of those particular types of providers.) HRSA must also publish data comparing the availability and need of general surgery services in urban, suburban, and rural areas. On the basis of its study, HRSA may establish a methodology for designating general surgery shortage areas and make such designations. If any designations are made, HRSA must publish a list of general surgery shortage areas.
Captive Primate Safety Act This bill limits the trade and possession of nonhuman primates. For example, the bill prohibits most individuals from owning a nonhuman primate as a pet.
Future of Local News Act of 2021 This bill establishes the Future of Local News Committee to examine, report on, and make recommendations related to the state of local news and the ability of local news to meet the information needs of the people of the United States. The duties of the committee include (1) examining the implications of the loss of local newspapers, digital news outlets, and broadcasting outlets; (2) assessing the impact of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic and whether the Paycheck Protection Program has had beneficial effects on local news organizations; and (3) assessing and examining existing and potential means of supporting local news production. The committee must recommend mechanisms that the federal government can create and implement to support the production of local news, such as the possible creation of a new national endowment for local journalism or the reform and expansion of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax treatment of carried interest, which is compensation that is typically received by a partner of a private equity or hedge fund and is based on a share of the fund's profits. (Under current law, carried interest is taxed as investment income rather than at ordinary income tax rates.) This bill includes provisions that set forth a special rule for the inclusion in gross income of partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services, treat as ordinary income the net capital gain with respect to an investment services partnership interest except to the extent such gain is attributable to a partner's qualified capital interest, exempt income from investment services partnership interests from treatment as qualifying income of a publicly traded partnership, exempt certain family partnerships from the application of this bill, increase the penalty for underpayments of tax resulting from failure to treat income from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income, and include income and loss from an investment services partnership interest for purposes of determining net earnings from self-employment and applicable self-employment taxes. The bill defines investment services partnership interest as any interest in a partnership held by a person who provides services to a partnership by (1) advising the partnership about investing in, purchasing, or selling specified assets; (2) managing, acquiring, or disposing of specified assets; or (3) arranging financing with respect to acquiring specified assets.
Citizenship for Essential Workers Act This bill establishes a mechanism for eligible aliens who worked as essential workers during the declared COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency to apply for and obtain permanent resident status. The bill also narrows certain grounds for deportability and inadmissibility. To be eligible for permanent resident status under this bill, an alien must have earned income at any point during the COVID-19 emergency period doing work deemed essential by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or a state or local government. An alien may also be eligible if that alien is a parent, spouse, or child of (1) an eligible alien who died from COVID-19, or (2) a member of the Armed Forces. Certain aliens shall be ineligible, such as an alien who was a refugee on January 1, 2021. To obtain permanent resident status under this bill, an applying alien must satisfy additional requirements, including by passing a background check. Furthermore, the bill repeals provisions providing for three-year bars and permanent bars to admission into the United States. (Generally, these bars apply to aliens who were previously removed or unlawfully present in the United States.) The bill also narrows the scope of certain crime-based grounds for inadmissibility or deportability, such as by redefining the term conviction to exclude expunged convictions. The Department of Justice or DHS may waive certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability (1) for humanitarian purposes, (2) to ensure family unity, or (3) for the public interest.
Wartime Contracting Commission Reauthorization Act of 2021 This bill reestablishes the Commission on Wartime Contracting. The commission was established in 2008 to study U.S. wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill replaces the commission's general duties to direct it to study (1) contracting funded by overseas contingency operations funds, and (2) contracting for the logistical support of coalition forces operating under the authority of the 2001 or 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force or for the performance of security functions in countries where coalition forces operate under that authority.
Accelerating Kids' Access to Care Act This bill requires state Medicaid programs to establish a process through which qualifying out-of-state providers may enroll as participating providers without undergoing additional screening requirements. Among other things, a qualifying provider must (1) serve minors, or adults whose condition began as a minor; and (2) have previously been screened for Medicare participation or for participation in the Medicaid program of the state in which the provider is located.
Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2021 This bill expands Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services. Currently, Medicare covers such services for individuals with diabetes or kidney disease under certain circumstances; such services must also be provided by a registered dietitian or nutrition professional pursuant to a physician referral. The bill extends coverage to individuals with other diseases and conditions, including obesity, eating disorders, cancer, and HIV/AIDS; such services may also be referred by a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or (for eating disorders) a clinical psychologist.
