This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that, if it creates a presumption of service-connection between the occurrence of a disease and exposure to an herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces between January 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976, at a military base in Thailand, such presumption must also apply to exposure at any military base in Thailand, regardless of where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed.
Improving Medicare Beneficiary Access to Innovative Diabetes Technologies Act of 2021 This bill establishes the Task Force on Innovative Diabetes Technologies and Services to address the accessibility of innovative diabetes technologies and services to Medicare beneficiaries. The bill defines innovative diabetes technologies and services as medical technologies and services for diabetes treatment that are not covered under Medicare. Among other activities, the task force must (1) recommend ways to improve access to innovative diabetes technologies and services through new or alternative payment models and existing policies, and (2) propose changes to foster collaboration between the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to streamline approval and coverage.
Promoting Effective and Empowering Recovery Services in Medicare Act of 2021 or the PEERS Act of 2021 This bill specifies that peer support specialists may participate in the provision of behavioral health integration services with the supervision of a physician or other entity under Medicare. The bill defines peer support specialists as individuals who are recovering from a mental health or substance-use condition and have certain national or state credentials, as specified, to provide peer support services.
Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Organic Standards Act This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to undertake rulemaking and other activities to implement certain recommendations of the National Organic Standards Board (a federal advisory board that considers and makes recommendations concerning the production, handling, and processing of organic products). Specifically, USDA must issue within a specified time line final rules for implementing recommendations approved (1) by the board between December 31, 2000, and the date of the bill's enactment; and (2) with at least two-thirds of the votes cast at a meeting where a quorum was present. If USDA determines issuing rules for such recommendations is not practicable, it must identify and report to Congress about the specific constraints that preclude rulemaking. In addition, the bill sets out a process and time line for USDA to implement through rulemaking future recommendations of the board that are approved by at least two-thirds of the votes cast at a meeting where a quorum was present. The bill also requires state officials or entities that certify organic farms or handling operations to report annually concerning the implementation of and compliance with any new rule or guidance.
Puppy Protection Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to expand standards that govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals to include new requirements for commercial dog dealers. Specifically, the standards must require dog dealers to provide to dogs adequate housing, exercise, and veterinary care; appropriate and nutritious food; continuous access to potable water; and meaningful socialization with humans and compatible dogs for at least 30 minutes each day. The standards must also include requirements for breeders to use safe breeding practices and make all reasonable efforts to find humane placement for retired breeding dogs.
No PFAS in Cosmetics Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue and finalize a rule to ban the use of intentionally added perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances in cosmetics.
Jury Access for Capable Citizens and Equality in Service Selection Act of 2021 or the Jury ACCESS Act This bill prohibits the exclusion of individuals from jury service on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Personal Care Products Safety Act This bill requires cosmetics brands and manufacturers to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), provides the FDA with various regulatory authorities, and addresses related issues. Cosmetics brand owners and contract manufacturers must annually register their manufacturing facilities with the FDA. Certain entities and facilities, such as manufacturers with gross sales below certain thresholds, are exempted. Registrants with gross annual sales above certain thresholds must pay a registration fee. Each registration must contain certain information, including an ingredient list for all cosmetic products from a registered facility, with different requirements for registrants that qualify as small businesses. The FDA may suspend a registration for various reasons, including if the registrant's product has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences and the problem cannot be isolated to a single product. The FDA must annually conduct a safety review of at least five cosmetics ingredients or nonfunctional constituents and, if appropriate, issue a final finding on the safety of that ingredient or constituent. The FDA must also implement regulations for good cosmetics manufacturing practices. The bill also requires cosmetics brand owners and manufacturers to report to the FDA any serious adverse event associated with their products. The FDA shall have various authorities to regulate cosmetics, including to (1) order a mandatory recall of a product, (2) inspect the records of manufacturers and processors, and (3) require warning labels for certain products. The FDA must issue a proposed rule to ban using intentionally added perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances in cosmetics.
Student Assisted Vaccination Effort Act or the SAVE Act This bill expands the types of medical personnel authorized to administer or use a covered countermeasure (i.e., a qualified pandemic or epidemic product, a security countermeasure, certain drugs, biomedical products, or medical devices, or a respiratory protective device) during a federally-declared public health emergency to include specified health profession students with appropriate training in administering vaccines and supervision by a licensed health professional.
United States–Israel Artificial Intelligence Center Act This bill requires the Department of State to establish the United States–Israel Artificial Intelligence Center to leverage the experience, knowledge, and expertise of institutions of higher education and private sector entities in the United States and Israel to develop more robust research and development cooperation in specified areas (e.g., machine learning, object detection, and speech recognition).
Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 20 21 This bill requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to disseminate to senior citizens and their families and caregivers information regarding mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud that targets senior citizens. This includes information about safe and smart financial practices, instructions for referring a fraud complaint to law enforcement, and a toll-free telephone number that connects to a live individual who answers calls from seniors seeking advice about scams or how to report instances of fraud. Further, the Department of Justice may award grants for the prevention of senior citizen fraud to state attorneys general, state or local law enforcement, senior centers, or nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to seniors. The FTC must provide education regarding legal obligations and industry best practices with respect to addressing financial exploitation and neglect of seniors to specified financial entities and to employees of financial institutions who may be able to identify elder financial abuse. The National Institutes of Health must research the increased vulnerability of seniors to scams and fraud due to age-related health and neurological conditions. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that a week in March of each year should be designated as National Senior Fraud Awareness Week.
This resolution recognizes the historical significance to the nation of Juneteenth Independence Day (commemorating the end of slavery in the United States).
