World Bank Integrity Preservation Act of 2021 This bill requires the U.S. Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to oppose any extension of financial or technical assistance by the bank to a country that both exceeds the graduation threshold of the bank and is designated as a country of particular concern for religious freedom.
Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2021 This bill allows a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. A qualified individual must (1) be eligible to possess, transport, or receive a firearm under federal law; (2) carry a valid photo identification document; and (3) carry a valid state-issued concealed carry permit, or be eligible to carry a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence.
Net Price Calculator Improvement Act This bill establishes requirements concerning the information that must be provided to prospective students about the cost of attendance at an institution of higher education (IHE). Specifically, the bill establishes the minimum requirements for the net price calculator that an IHE must include on its website. An IHE's net price is the average yearly price actually charged to first-time, full-time undergraduate students receiving student aid at the IHE after deducting such aid. The bill also authorizes the Department of Education to develop a universal net price calculator that enables users to answer one set of questions and receive net prices for several IHEs and compare those prices.
Health Care Prices Revealed and Information to Consumers Explained Transparency Act or the Health Care PRICE Transparency Act This bill provides statutory authority for requirements for hospitals and health insurance plans to disclose certain information about the costs for items and services. Specifically, hospitals must publish in their list of standard charges certain rates negotiated with insurers, discounts for cash payments, and billing codes. Further, hospitals generally must publish the standard charges for the services provided by the hospital that may be scheduled in advance. Additionally, insurance plans must publish the in-network and out-of-network charges for covered items and services and the negotiated prices for covered prescription drugs. Plans must provide a tool for consumers to search for this cost information. Consumers also may request additional information about the costs of specific items or services under their plans.
Understanding the True Cost of College Act of 2021 This bill requires standardized financial aid terminology and offer forms. Specifically, the Department of Education (ED) must develop standard terminology and a format for financial aid offer forms based on recommendations from representatives of certain groups, including students, veterans, and institutions of higher education (IHEs). The consumer-friendly form must include specified details and disclosures, including the estimated cost of attendance, the net price that a student or family is estimated to pay, and the terms and conditions of financial aid. In addition, ED must (1) test the form with representatives of students, students' families, IHEs, secondary school and postsecondary counselors, and nonprofit consumer groups; and (2) use the results to develop the final form. Each IHE that participates in federal student-aid programs must (1) use the standard form when offering financial aid to students, and (2) use the standard terminology and definitions developed by ED for all communications related to financial aid offers.
Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act of 2021 This bill expands lender disclosure requirements and revises loan counseling requirements. First, the bill requires a lender to provide a quarterly statement to a Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan borrower during a period when loan payments are not required. The statement must include specified information on the loan and interest amounts and explain the option to pay accrued interest while in deferment or forbearance. In addition, the bill requires an institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student-aid programs to provide pre-loan counseling to a student borrower of a federal student loan upon or prior to the first disbursement of each new loan. Currently, an IHE must provide one-time entrance counseling to a student who is a first-time federal student loan borrower. The bill also revises and expands required elements of pre-loan counseling to include an estimate of the borrower's monthly payment amount compared to the borrower's estimated monthly income after taxes and other expenses, a statement to borrow the minimum necessary amount, a warning that a high debt-to-income ratio makes repayment more difficult, options to reduce borrowing, and an explanation of the importance of on-time graduation. Prior to certifying a Federal Direct Loan disbursement to a student, an IHE must ensure that the student manually enters the exact dollar amount of the loan.
Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement Act of 2021 or the IDEA Act This bill requires the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to request demographic information from the inventor on each patent application submitted to the USPTO. Inventors shall not be required to provide the requested information, which shall include gender, race, and military or veteran status. The USPTO shall (1) publish an annual public report about the collected data, including the collected data broken down by the types of technology covered by the patent applications; and (2) make the underlying data publicly available.
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.
Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980, as radiation-exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment declaring that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. The amendment prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
This resolution condemns all manifestations of expressions of racism and anti-Asian and Pacific Islander or ethnic intolerance. The resolution calls on federal law enforcement officials, working with state and local officials, to expeditiously and vigorously investigate all reports of hate crimes and threats against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States; work to improve the reporting of such hate crimes; and hold the perpetrators of those crimes, incidents, or threats accountable and bring the perpetrators to justice.
This resolution supports the designation of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
