Sen. Cory A. Booker

Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2021 This bill expands coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Among other provisions, the bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain restrictions, such as restrictions on the types of technology that may be used; permanently removes geographic restrictions on originating sites (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) and allows the home of the beneficiary to serve as the originating site for all services; permanently allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); and allows the CMS to generally waive coverage restrictions during any public health emergency. Additionally, the CMS must report on the effects of expanded telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including with respect to the utilization, quality, and outcomes of services. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation may also test alternative payment models relating to expanded telehealth services.

Transit to Trails Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish the Transit to Trails Grant Program to award grants to certain governmental and private entities for projects that increase transportation access and mobility to public lands, inland and coastal waters, parkland, or monuments for critically underserved communities. For example, DOT must (1) prioritize approving certain projects, such as projects that use low-or zero-emission vehicles and those that provide free or discounted rates for low-income riders; (2) develop transportation planning procedures for projects conducted under the program that are consistent with metropolitan and statewide planning processes; and (3) ensure that all new transportation connectors and routes developed under the program are accessible to people with disabilities. The bill requires grant awards to be at least $25,000 and not more than $500,000. Further, the bill requires publicized schedules and routes for transportation systems that are developed after the receipt of a grant under the program.

Community Broadband Act of 2021 This bill prohibits states from blocking the provision of broadband by public providers, public-private partnership providers, or cooperatively organized providers. Further, public providers and state or local entities participating in a partnership must administer applicable ordinances and rules without discrimination against competing private providers.

Freedom for Families Act This bill prohibits using federal funds for facilities used to detain noncitizen families and addresses related issues. Specifically, no funds made available may be used to operate or construct a family detention center, whether operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or a contractor. This prohibition shall also apply to funds made available before this bill's enactment. Funds obligated to operate such centers must instead be used for implementing and developing nondetention programs that are community-based and consistent with international best practices. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may place an apprehended noncitizen family into such a nondetention program if DHS makes an individualized determination that doing so will facilitate the family's compliance with immigration laws. The programs must provide to participants a legal orientation and meaningful access to counsel.

Military Hunger Prevention Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to pay a basic needs allowance to certain low-income members of the Armed Forces. Specifically, those eligible for the basic needs allowance are members who (1) have completed initial entry training, (2) have a gross household income that did not exceed an amount equal to 130% of the federal poverty guidelines of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and (3) do not elect to decline the allowance. In situations where a household contains two or more eligible members, the bill specifies that only one allowance may be paid per year to one member they jointly elect. The amount of the allowance must be the aggregate amount equal to 130% of the HHS federal poverty guidelines minus the gross household income of the covered member during the preceding year divided by 12. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) of DOD must notify, in writing, individuals determined to be eligible for the allowance. The notice must include information regarding financial management and assistance programs administered by DOD for which the individuals are also eligible. Individuals who seek to receive the allowance must submit specified information to DFAS.

USTR Inspector General Act of 2021 This bill requires the President to appoint an Inspector General of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Among other responsibilities, the Inspector General shall (1) conduct and supervise audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the USTR, (2) recommend policies for preventing and detecting fraud and abuse in those programs, and (3) provide a means for keeping the USTR and Congress informed about problems and deficiencies in those programs and operations.

Support, Treatment, and Overdose Prevention of Fentanyl Act of 2021 or the STOP Fentanyl Act of 2021 This bill addresses data collection, treatment, harm reduction, and other issues related to substance misuse and addiction. It particularly focuses on opioids, fentanyl, and related substances. Specifically, the bill expands surveillance of fentanyl and related substances. This includes establishing a pilot program to screen for contaminants in illicit drugs and a grant program to collect data on fentanyl-involved overdoses. The bill also specifies requirements concerning the collection and use of information about drugs seized by law enforcement. Additionally, the bill establishes and modifies requirements to increase access to treatment and prevention services. For example, the Bureau of Prisons must make certain services, including medication-assisted treatments, available to individuals in its custody. The bill also repeals a provision that requires dependence on opioids for at least one year before an individual may be admitted to certain treatment programs; allows providers to prescribe medications to treat substance use disorders following a telehealth evaluation; creates grant programs for treatment and harm reduction activities; and addresses issues pertaining to opioid overdose reversal drugs. Furthermore, the bill limits civil and criminal liability under specified laws for individuals who administer opioid overdose reversal drugs to an individual who reasonably appears to be experiencing an overdose, as well as for individuals who seek medical attention for themselves or on behalf of another for a drug overdose. The bill also requires multiple reports, including a report by the Department of State on foreign sources of certain drugs.

Coronavirus Housing Counseling Improvement Act This bill authorizes additional housing counseling services provided through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. Funding priority is given to counseling organizations that target low-income and minority homeowners, renters, individuals experiencing homelessness, and individuals at risk of homelessness.

Safeguarding America's Future and Environment Act or the SAFE Act The bill requires the development of an integrated national approach to help fish, wildlife, and plants adapt to extreme weather changes and climate change. Specifically, the bill requires the President to establish an interagency National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy Joint Implementation Working Group. The working group must adopt the 2013 National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, which addresses the effects of extreme weather and climate change on fish, wildlife, and plants. After the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences releases a periodic scientific assessment required under the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the working group must use sound science to review and revise the strategy to incorporate new information and advances in the development of strategies to help fish, wildlife, and plants adapt. Each federal agency must integrate the strategy into agency plans, environmental reviews, and programs. The Department of the Interior must establish a National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center to assess and develop scientific information, tools, strategies, and techniques to support the working group and other interested parties in addressing the effects of extreme weather and climate change. Interior must establish an Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Sciences to advise the working group.

Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Act of 202 1 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Pilot Program to award grants to local educational agencies for (1) projects that hire qualified, full-time food and nutrition educators to carry out programs in schools that have the goal of improving student health and nutrition; and (2) projects that fund school gardens or other evidence-based interventions relating to student health and nutrition, aligned with the latest school nutrition standards, to create hands-on learning opportunities for students. In awarding grants under the program, USDA must prioritize projects that serve schools or districts (1) in which not less than 40% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, or (2) that include neighborhoods with high rates of childhood obesity or other diet-related diseases. Additionally, it must give priority to projects that provide programming in summer months and those that are joint partnership projects.