Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez

Native American Child Protection Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and otherwise revises certain programs related to the prevention, investigation, treatment, and prosecution of family violence, child abuse, and child neglect involving Indian children and families. Specifically, the bill revises the Indian Child Abuse Treatment Grant Program to encourage the use of grants for culturally appropriate treatment services and programs. The bill renames the Indian Child Resource and Family Services Centers as the National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center. It also requires the center to (1) provide advice, technical assistance, and training to urban Indian organizations; (2) develop certain technical assistance materials for Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations; and (3) develop model intergovernmental agreements between tribes and states to prevent, investigate, treat, and prosecute incidents of family violence, child abuse, and child neglect involving Indian children and families. Additionally, the bill revises the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Program to allow Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and intertribal consortia to use program funds for additional activities, such as operational costs for child protective services.

Restore Veterans' Compensation Act of 2022 This bill eliminates the recoupment of separation pay, special separation benefits, and voluntary separation incentive payments from members of the Armed Forces who subsequently receive disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, the bill limits recoupment of such pay from service members who subsequently receive military retired or retainer pay.

Tribal Medical Supplies Stockpile Access Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to deploy drugs, vaccines, biological products, medical devices, and other supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile directly to health programs or facilities operated by the Indian Health Service (IHS), tribes, or tribal organizations. Such supplies from the stockpile are used to respond to public health emergencies. Specifically, if HHS distributes pandemic or epidemic products (e.g., drugs or medical devices) to states or other entities, HHS must also deploy such products directly to health programs or facilities operated by IHS or other tribal entities. HHS must coordinate with states, programs, and facilities to ensure supplies and products are distributed to such tribal entities.

PrEP Access and Coverage Act This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover prescription drugs that prevent HIV, including related screenings, diagnostic procedures, administrative fees, and clinical follow-ups, without any cost-sharing obligation for the plan holder. Further, insurance plans must not impose any preauthorization requirement for this coverage. These coverage requirements also apply to public health insurance programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Additionally, the bill prohibits denying, limiting, or qualifying coverage or increasing premiums for disability insurance, long-term care insurance, or life insurance policies based on an individual taking medication for HIV prevention. The bill further requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to states, or directly to eligible local organizations, to provide uninsured individuals and underinsured individuals access to prescription drugs and related services that prevent HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also must develop a public awareness campaign that focuses efforts in communities with a high need for HIV prevention treatment.

Cures 2.0 Act This bill addresses pandemic preparedness and public health issues, caregiver and patient engagement, drug development, insurance coverage, and biomedical research. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must undertake research and other activities concerning COVID-19 and develop a strategy for future pandemics and declared emergencies. Additionally, the bill specifies actions to combat antimicrobial resistance. HHS may award grants for caregiver training. The bill also addresses diversity in clinical trials, collecting patient experience data during clinical trials, and coverage for care related to participation in specified clinical trials. The bill modifies the timeframe and requires additional guidance relating to expedited approval of certain breakthrough drugs, devices, or products. It also establishes two intercenter institutes within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) focused on particular diseases that meet specified criteria. The bill also addresses (1) coverage in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program for telehealth, genetic and genomic testing, and other services; (2) electronic prescribing standards for Medicare drug benefits; and (3) access to Medicare and Medicaid claims data by certain registries. Furthermore, the bill prohibits the use of geographic tracking or biometrics in Medicaid electronic visit verification systems. The bill establishes the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) within the National Institutes of Health to accelerate biomedical research and innovation through grants, contracts, cash prizes, and other means. The FDA may work with ARPA-H to expedite the development of medical products through specified activities.

Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act This bill establishes grant programs to address neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and contains other related provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall award grants to eligible entities for scientific research utilizing data from expanded access to investigational ALS treatments for individuals who are not otherwise eligible for clinical trials.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall award grants to public and private entities to cover the costs of research and development of drugs that diagnose or treat ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. HHS shall also establish the Public-Private Partnership for Neurodegenerative Diseases between the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and at least one eligible entity (generally, an institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization). The partnership shall support the development and regulatory review of drugs that address ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. The FDA shall publish on its website a five-year action plan for fostering the development of drugs that improve or extend the lives of people living with rare neurodegenerative diseases. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress about the grants provided under this bill, including an analysis of the impact of such grants on research and development of treatments for ALS.

Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for a Department of Agriculture pilot program that provides direct loans to Native community development financial institutions to increase homeownership opportunities for tribal communities in rural areas.

This bill gives the consent of Congress for the amendment to the Constitution of New Mexico proposed by House Resolution 1 of the 55th Legislature of the State of New Mexico, First Session, 2021, titled A Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to Article 12, Section 7 of the Constitution of New Mexico to Provide for Additional Annual Distributions of the Permanent School Fund for Enhanced Instruction for Students at Risk of Failure, Extending the School Year, Teacher Compensation and Early Childhood Education; Requiring Congressional Approval for Distributions for Early Childhood Education .

Protecting Our Democracy Act This bill addresses issues involving (1) abuses of presidential power; (2) checks and balances, accountability, and transparency; and (3) election integrity and security. Specifically, regarding abuses of presidential power, the bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the President to submit to Congress specified materials relating to certain pardons, prohibits presidential self-pardons, suspends the statute of limitations for federal offenses committed by a sitting President or Vice President, prohibits the acceptance of foreign or domestic emoluments, and sets forth provisions regarding Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel jurisdiction and enforcement authority. To address checks and balances, accountability, and transparency, the bill authorizes specified actions to enforce congressional subpoenas, imposes limits on presidential declarations of emergencies, requires DOJ to maintain a log of specified communications between it and the White House, requires cause for removal of inspectors general, increases whistleblower protections, and requires a candidate for President or Vice President to provide copies of tax returns for the 10 most recent taxable years to the Federal Election Commission. To address election integrity and security, the bill requires federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts, makes various changes to requirements concerning foreign donations to political campaigns and candidates and foreign contributions to online electioneering communications, prohibits distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to an election (i.e., deepfakes), and establishes a program to support states and localities transition to ranked choice voting systems.

Humane Cosmetics Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits animal testing in the evaluation of cosmetic products, and it prohibits the sale or transport of cosmetics developed using animal testing, subject to civil penalties. These prohibitions begin one year after enactment. The bill specifies exceptions to these prohibitions, including if such animal testing (1) is conducted outside the United States to comply with a foreign regulatory authority; (2) is pursuant to a specified finding that there are no nonanimal alternatives to test the safety of a potentially dangerous cosmetic product or ingredient; (3) is of a product or ingredient for a drug or device subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (4) is required for a noncosmetic purpose pursuant to a state, federal, or foreign regulatory authority. Further, no animal-testing evidence may be used to establish the safety of a cosmetic product or ingredient that is regulated by the FDA after the effective date of this bill, subject to limited exceptions.