Stop Wasting All our Money on Palaces Act or the SWAMP Act This bill prohibits the construction by the General Services Administration or any other federal department or agency of a new federal building in the District of Columbia for a two-year period beginning on the date of this bill's enactment.
This resolution supports the designation of National Dyslexia Awareness Month and calls on Congress, schools, and educational agencies to recognize that dyslexia has significant educational implications that must be addressed.
Long-Term Care Pharmacy Definition Act of 2021 This bill establishes a statutory definition for long-term care pharmacy under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Currently, there is no statutory definition. Regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) define a long-term care pharmacy as a pharmacy that is owned by or under contract with a long-term care facility to provide prescription drugs to the facility's residents. Additional requirements are set out in CMS guidance relating to the Medicare prescription drug benefit; pharmacies are also subject to regulations and guidance from other agencies (e.g., packaging requirements from the Food and Drug Administration). The bill defines a long-term care pharmacy as a state-licensed pharmacy that is able to provide enhanced pharmacy and clinical services to individuals who have certain comorbid and medically complex chronic conditions and who reside in skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, or any other applicable setting (as determined by the CMS). The term enhanced pharmacy and clinical services includes medication dispensed in special packaging, drug utilization review, and 24-7 availability of medication delivery and on-call pharmacists.
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.
Compact Federal District Act This bill cedes certain portions of the District of Columbia to Maryland while retaining particular portions of the District (the Federal District) under the exclusive legislative authority and control of Congress to serve as the permanent seat of the federal government. Maryland must accept this retrocession for it to take effect. The Federal District shall consist of a designated geographic area and specified properties including, the principal federal monuments; the White House; the U.S. Capitol; the U.S. Supreme Court Building; the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the U.S. Capitol; and the Frances Perkins Building, including any portion of it north of D Street NW. The bill also maintains the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. In addition, the bill (1) applies current Maryland criminal laws and laws that regulate Maryland vehicular traffic to the Federal District, (2) continues pending judicial proceedings, and (3) repeals requirements providing for participation of the seat of the federal government in elections of the President and Vice President. The bill also temporarily continues certain federal authorities and responsibilities that pertain to the District of Columbia, including regarding employee benefits, agencies, courts, and college tuition assistance.
Streamlining Research on Controlled Substances Act of 2021 This bill makes changes to the registration process for conducting research on controlled substances that are included in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Among the changes, the bill does the following: exempts from the registration requirements an agent or employee of a registered researcher, permits a single registration for contiguous research sites, and requires the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services to review and issue guidance on the processes to obtain or modify federal authorization to conduct research with controlled substances.
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.
Revising and Expediting Actions for the Crisis Hotline for Veterans Act or the REACH for Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to update training and procedures for call responders of the Veterans Crisis Line. Specifically, the VA must enter into an agreement with an outside organization to review the training for crisis line call responders. The VA must update the training if any deficiencies are identified after the review. Among other requirements, the VA must develop guidelines on retraining and quality management for when a call responder has an adverse event or needs improvement, annually perform a common cause analysis for identified callers to the crisis line who died by suicide in situations where the crisis line was the last point of contact, develop enhanced guidance and procedures to respond to calls to the crisis line related to substance use and overdose risk, review the current emergency dispatch standard operating procedure of the crisis line, and solicit feedback from veterans service organizations on how to conduct outreach regarding the move to 988 as the new suicide and mental health crisis hotline. Each call responder must be subject to at least two calls per month that are silently monitored by a supervisor to check for quality of conduct. The Veterans Crisis Line, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention of the VA, and National Center for Patient Safety of the VA must establish quality management processes and expectations for staff of the crisis line.
Veteran Peer Specialist Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make permanent and expand the program that establishes at least two peer specialists in patient aligned care teams at VA medical centers to promote the use and integration of services for mental health, substance use disorder, and behavioral health in a primary care setting.
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel. In addition, the State Department must report on options for U.S. international efforts to promote the strengthening of ties between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. The State Department must also report on the status of the normalization of relations with Israel, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) evidence of steps taken by Arab governments toward permitting or encouraging normalized relations between their citizens or residents and Israeli citizens.
