Vanessa Guillén Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act This bill modifies the process and policy related to the disposition of charges and convening of courts-martial for certain sexual assault cases and other specified offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Among other elements, the bill provides that the determinations on the preferral, disposition, and referral of charges for specified offenses under the UCMJ must be made by a commissioned officer of the Armed Forces who is designated as a court-martial convening authority (in grade O-6 or higher) and who is available for detail as trial counsel, has significant trial experience, and is outside the chain of command of the member subject to the charges.
Foreign Gain-of-Function Research Prevention Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to conduct or support gain-of-function research involving potential pandemic pathogens by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or other foreign adversaries. Gain-of-function research is any research that is anticipated to confer an attribute on a pathogen to enhance its pathogenicity or transmissibility in mammals. If the Department of State finds that an entity has used funds for prohibited research, the entity may not receive any federal funding for a period of five years.
Promoting Responsible and Effective Virtual Experiences through Novel Technology to Deliver Improved Access and Better Engagement with Tested and Evidence-based Strategies Act or the PREVENT DIABETES Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow online or virtual diabetes prevention programs that meet standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to participate in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program Expanded Model. The model provides CDC-approved training on dietary changes, physical activity, and other behavioral strategies for beneficiaries who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Retain Skilled Veterans Act This bill modifies the restriction related to the appointment of retired members of the Armed Forces to certain civil service positions in the Department of Defense. Under the bill, the 180-day waiting period before a retired member may be appointed to a position only applies to those positions in the excepted or competitive service classified at or above GS-14 of the General Schedule (or equivalent).
Regional Ocean Partnership Act of 2021 This bill allows the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to designate and support Regional Ocean Partnerships between coastal states that share a common ocean or coastal area. Specifically, NOAA may designate a partnership as a Regional Ocean Partnership if it (1) is established to coordinate the interstate management of coastal resources; (2) focuses on the environmental issues affecting the ocean and coastal areas of the coastal states participating in the partnership; (3) complements existing state coastal and ocean management efforts on an interstate scale, focusing on shared regional priorities; (4) does not have a regulatory function; and (5) is not duplicative of an existing Regional Ocean Partnership. The bill designates the following entities as Regional Ocean Partnerships: the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, and the West Coast Ocean Alliance. Each partnership must maintain mechanisms for consultation and engagement with the federal government, tribal governments, and nongovernmental entities, such as academic organizations. A partnership may use provided federal funds to award grants and enter into contracts for certain purposes, including to monitor the water quality and living resources of multistate ocean and coastal ecosystems.
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.
Donald Payne Sr. Colorectal Cancer Detection Act of 2021 This bill provides for Medicare coverage and payment, subject to specified frequency limits, of certain colorectal cancer screening blood-based tests.
Cover Outstanding Vulnerable Expansion-eligible Residents Now Act or the COVER Now Act This bill establishes a demonstration program to allow local governments to provide health benefits to the Medicaid expansion population in states that have not expanded Medicaid. Under the program, local governments may provide coverage for individuals who are newly eligible for Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e., the Medicaid expansion population) for a maximum of 10 years, or until their respective states expand Medicaid. The bill provides a 100% federal matching rate for the first three years of program participation. The bill prohibits states from taking certain actions against participating localities, such as withholding funding, increasing taxes, or restricting provider participation. States that violate these requirements are subject to certain funding penalties.
This resolution congratulates the University of Mississippi women's golf team on winning the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women's golf championship. The resolution also recognizes the University of Mississippi for its excellence as an institution of higher education.
Physician Shortage GME Cap Flex Act of 2021 This bill excludes certain hospitals that establish shortage specialty programs from the cap on full-time equivalent residents that is otherwise applicable, and provides for a new building period, for purposes of graduate medical education payments under Medicare.
Juneteenth National Independence Day Act This bill establishes Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19, as a legal public holiday.
Metropolitan Statistical Area Preservation Act This bill prohibits the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from establishing, for purposes of designating areas as metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), a minimum population for the urban area of such MSA that is more than 50,000. The OMB may, for statistical purposes only, establish other statistical area designations with higher minimum population requirements for such urban areas.
