Rep. Terri A. Sewell

Health Care Affordability Act of 2021 This bill revises the tax credit for health care premium assistance to expand the eligibility of low-income taxpayers for such credit and  reduce the cost of health care premiums.

USPS Fairness Act This bill repeals the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service annually prepay future retirement health benefits.

Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2021 This bill establishes within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a National Center on Antiracism and Health and a law enforcement violence prevention program. Among other activities, the new center must declare racism a public health crisis, collect and analyze data, and administer research and grant programs to address racism and its impact on health and well-being. Additionally, the bill specifically directs the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in coordination with the Department of Justice and other relevant stakeholders, to carry out the law enforcement violence prevention program by conducting research and supporting other activities pertaining to law enforcement violence and public health.

Energy Debt Relief for American Families Act This bill authorizes supplemental funding to states through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to assist eligible households pay 100% of any utility bills they are unable to pay because of economic distress caused by the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Stopping the Mental Health Pandemic Act This bill requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to award grants to states, tribal nations, local governments, behavioral health and primary care providers, and community organizations to support behavioral health treatment and services during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Environmental Justice Mapping and Data Collection Act of 2021 This bill establishes an interagency Environmental Justice Mapping Committee that must create a tool to identify environmental justice communities. Environmental justice communities are communities with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities that experience, or are at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects, as compared to other communities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must establish an environmental justice data repository to maintain the data collected by the committee. The EPA must make the repository available to regional, state, local, and tribal governments.

Ally's Act This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover certain hearing devices and systems (e.g., bone-anchored auditory implants) and related items and services. The bill also imposes limits on cost sharing.

Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2021 This bill provides for coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare. It also excludes such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system, and authorizes marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.

Insular Area Medicaid Parity Act This bill eliminates Medicaid funding limitations for U.S. territories beginning in FY2021.

This concurrent resolution recognizes the difficult challenges Black veterans faced when returning home after serving in the Armed Forces, their heroic military sacrifices, and their patriotism in fighting for equal rights and for the dignity of a people and a nation. The concurrent resolution also recognizes the need for the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue to work to eliminate any health and benefit disparities for minority veterans.