Rep. Doris O. Matsui

This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 applies to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and that the NCAA should work to prevent sex-based discrimination in its programs and activities.

Better Care Better Jobs Act This bill establishes programs and provides funds for state Medicaid programs to improve home- and community-based services (HCBS), such as home health care, personal care, case management, and rehabilitative services. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to award planning grants, develop quality measures, and provide technical assistance to states regarding specified HCBS improvements, particularly with respect to access, utilization, and the associated workforce. The bill also increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for HCBS in states that develop plans and meet specified benchmarks for improvements. The bill also makes permanent (1) the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program (a grant program to help states increase the use of HCBS for long-term care and decrease the use of institutional care), and (2) certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of HCBS.

Advancing FASD Research, Services, and Prevention Act or the FASD Respect Act This bill expands and establishes programs for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Specifically, it directs the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and the Health Resources and Services Administration to carry out and coordinate research, surveillance, and related activities to diagnose, prevent, and treat FASD. Furthermore, the bill establishes various grant programs to support FASD coalitions and develop systems of care; provide services for individuals affected by FASD and other conditions related to prenatal substance exposure; identify and implement best practices for educating children with FASD; and establish centers for excellence to build relevant capacity for preventing, treating, and responding to the needs of individuals with FASD. The bill also directs the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to develop and disseminate trainings and best practices related to FASD in schools and correctional facilities, respectively.

Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 20 21 This bill prohibits commercial conversion therapy, which is a practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or otherwise change behaviors, thoughts, or expressions related to gender or sexual attraction. This prohibition does not apply to treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition or facilitates identity exploration and development.

Minor League Baseball Relief Act This bill establishes a program for the relief of certain minor league baseball clubs and independent professional baseball clubs that experienced large business losses. The bill provides funding for the Small Business Administration to make grants to such clubs that experienced decreases in gross revenue in 2020 of at least 75%, as measured against revenues in 2019 (or, if revenues were negatively affected by a natural disaster or weather disruption in 2019, by the average of revenues over the prior three-year period). The source of funding for the grants shall be funds appropriated under enacted COVID-19 relief legislation that have not been obligated and are no longer being used to carry out activities authorized under those laws. Grant amounts provided to any club may not exceed $10 million.

Saving Hazardous And Declining Environments Act or the SHADE Act This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to award grants for government entities and nonprofit organizations to plant trees in low-income communities and in communities meeting designated minority or limited English-proficiency thresholds.

Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act of 2021 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of germline mutation testing for individuals with a personal or family history of a hereditary cancer gene mutation or suspected history of hereditary cancer, as well as for associated coverage of risk-reducing surgeries and screenings.

Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021 This bill revises the evidentiary standard for age discrimination by establishing an unlawful employment practice when the complaining party demonstrates that age or participation in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation related to an age discrimination claim was a motivating factor for an adverse practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice (thereby allowing what are commonly known as mixed motive claims). The bill (1) permits the complaining party to rely on any type or form of admissible evidence, which need only be sufficient for a reasonable trier of fact to find that an unlawful practice occurred; and (2) declares that the complaining party shall not be required to demonstrate that age or retaliation was the sole cause of the employment practice (thereby rejecting the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. , which requires the complainant to prove that age was the but-for cause for the employer's decision). The bill applies this evidentiary standard to other employment discrimination and retaliation claims, including claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In a claim in which age discrimination is shown, but where the employer demonstrates that it would have taken the same action absent the motivating factor of age, the bill authorizes courts to grant declaratory and injunctive relief, but prohibits the court from awarding damages or issuing an order requiring any admission, reinstatement, hiring, promotion, or payment. This limitation also applies to claims of discrimination based on disability. The bill also includes reporting requirements for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor.

This joint resolution appoints Barbara M. Barrett as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

Cultivating Opportunity and Recovery from the Pandemic through Service Act or the CORPS Act This bill makes several changes to AmeriCorps programs during the COVID-19 health emergency. Specifically, the bill: increases living allowance payments to program participants; increases educational awards for program participants; relaxes program requirements, including reducing the age requirement for AmeriCorps Seniors to 45 and older; creates a pilot program to allow state commissions to directly place individuals in approved AmeriCorps programs; and allows for targeted AmeriCorps grants to fund recovery projects in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The bill also excludes AmeriCorps living allowance payments and educational awards from taxable income for program participants.