Rep. Lance Gooden

Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021 This bill establishes and modifies several programs and requirements to address prescription drug prices. The bill modifies provisions under Medicare and Medicaid relating to prescription drug coverage and price transparency. Among other changes, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to publish certain information, as reported by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), relating to generic dispensing rates, drug discounts and rebates, and payments between PBMs, health plans, and pharmacies; caps annual out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare prescription drug benefit; allows prescription drug plan sponsors under the Medicare prescription drug benefit to offer additional plans in a region; requires pass-through pricing models, and prohibits spread-pricing, for payment arrangements with PBMs under Medicaid; and allows states to include in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program covered outpatient drugs that are provided as part of physician or outpatient hospital services. The bill also generally modifies other provisions relating to the regulation and costs of generic and brand-name drugs. Among other changes, the bill prohibits the manufacturer of a brand-name, generic, or biosimilar drug from entering into certain agreements to resolve or settle a patent infringement claim in connection with the sale of a drug or biological product; permanently allows high deductible health plans to waive deductibles for insulin and associated products; and establishes the position of Chief Pharmaceutical Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Maximum Pressure Act This bill expands sanctions and economic penalties on Iran. It also restricts the President from unilaterally lifting or waiving the sanctions or penalties and increases congressional oversight of them. Specifically, the bill requires the President to impose visa- and asset-blocking sanctions. Additionally, it modifies existing sanctions, including by (1) providing statutory authority for executive orders imposing sanctions; (2) applying sanctions to additional sectors of Iran's economy; and (3) broadening sanctionable conduct to cover, for example, assisting Iran with the acquisition of ballistic missiles and the complicity of Iranian officials in human rights violations in specified countries. The bill also requires reporting on licenses that authorize activities subject to sanctions. The bill prohibits U.S. representatives at the International Monetary Fund from voting to allow Iran's access to special drawing rights (a currency support tool) and places restrictions on financial transactions with Iran. The restrictions include requiring domestic financial institutions to implement special measures with respect to foreign financial institutions that conduct significant transactions connected to the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (a European mechanism that bypasses U.S. sanctions when carrying out trade with Iran). The Department of State must maintain the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' designation as a terrorist organization and must designate Ansharallah (or Houthis), which operates in Syria, as a foreign terrorist organization. The bill also requires reports on U.S. sanctions concerning Iran, the status of Iran's nuclear weapons program, and other matters.

Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act This bill directs the Department of State to designate the Reynosa/Los Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel and the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas as foreign terrorist organizations and to submit a detailed report on those drug cartels and any other cartels it may identify. Based on this report, the State Department must designate as a foreign terrorist organization any such identified cartel (or faction thereof) that meets certain criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization.

Competition in Professional Baseball Act This bill removes the limited exemption from the antitrust laws for professional baseball clubs. For purposes of this bill, the term antitrust laws means laws to protect against unlawful restraints and monopolies (Clayton Act) and to protect against unfair methods of competition (Federal Trade Commission Act).

Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act This bill expands the E-Verify program by requiring all employers to use it and permanently reauthorizes the program. Currently, E-Verify use is voluntary for most employers, although some states mandate its use. All employers shall use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all recruited, referred, or hired individuals, including current employees who were never verified under the program. Failure to use E-Verify shall create a rebuttable presumption that the employer is violating immigration law. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall generate weekly reports about individuals who have received a final nonconfirmation of employment eligibility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall use the report to enforce immigration laws. DHS shall establish a program to help certain small businesses verify employee eligibility. DHS shall also update E-Verify's design to help prevent and detect fraud and identity theft. The bill increases civil and criminal penalties for hiring unauthorized aliens. DHS shall debar repeat offenders and those criminally convicted from holding federal contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements. The Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, and DHS shall jointly establish a program to share information to help identify unauthorized aliens. The bill establishes the Employer Compliance Inspection Center within Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The center's duties include processing I-9 employment eligibility verification forms and ensuring compliance with employment eligibility laws. DHS shall report to Congress on ways to simplify procedures relating to I-9 forms and on whether the I-9 process should be eliminated.

Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2021 This bill allows certain individuals to sue and recover damages for harm from exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. This action is available only to individuals who were exposed to contaminated water for at least 30 days. The bill prohibits the U.S. government from asserting specified immunity from litigation in response to such a lawsuit. The bill also prohibits an individual who brings such an action from bringing a separate tort action against the United States based on the same harm.

End Child Trafficking Now Act This bill imposes restrictions related to adult aliens being admitted into the United States with a minor. An adult alien shall not be admitted with a minor unless the adult (1) presents documents or witness testimony proving that the adult is a relative or guardian of the minor, or (2) submits to a DNA test that proves such a relationship. The Department of Homeland Security shall request a DNA test only if the required relationship cannot be established by documents or testimony. An adult alien who does not consent to a requested DNA test shall be inadmissible. If the required relationship cannot be established and the immigration officer believes the alien is guilty of a felony offense, the officer may arrest the alien adult. The bill makes it a crime for an alien adult to knowingly use a minor to whom the adult is not a relative or guardian to enter the United States.

Stopping Illicit Trafficking Act of 2021 or the SIFT Act of 2021 This bill adds five fentanyl analogues and the entire category of fentanyl-related substances to schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill also creates a process to remove from schedule I certain fentanyl-related substances that do not have a high potential for abuse.

Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from requiring a financial institution to report the transfers into and out of a financial account. This prohibition does not apply to laws or regulations in effect on October 1, 2021.

National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture from restricting certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activities pertaining to border enforcement and addresses related issues. Specifically, neither department may impose restrictions on CBP actions taking place on federal land under their respective jurisdictions and located within 100 miles of an international border if the CBP actions involve search and rescue operations and the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States. CBP shall have immediate access to such federal lands to conduct various activities, including the installation and maintenance of roads, barriers, and surveillance equipment. Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may waive the application of certain legal requirements on such federal lands if DHS determines that the waiver is necessary to ensure the expeditious construction of border barriers and roads. DHS may waive only specified laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Historic Preservation Act, and certain provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.