Afghanistan Withdrawal Oversight and Liability Act or the AWOL Act This bill prohibits using federal funds appropriated for FY2021 to provide support to the Taliban. The bill also requires reports and certifications related to Afghanistan. Specifically, no FY2021 funds may be used to (1) make payments or contributions of material support to the Taliban, or (2) provide relief from sanctions against the Taliban or its leaders. The bill requires the President to report to Congress on efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents from Afghanistan. The President must also certify to Congress when all such individuals seeking evacuation from Afghanistan have been evacuated. The Department of State must periodically report to Congress on any agreements between the United States and the Taliban. Within seven days of the United States reaching an agreement with the Taliban, the State Department must provide to Congress all materials relevant to that agreement. The bill also requires the Office of the Inspector General of the State Department to report to Congress about the State Department's compliance with legal requirements in connection to agreements with the Taliban. Specifically, the office must assess compliance with a law that requires the State Department to provide certain information to Congress when the United States enters certain international agreements. The Department of Defense must report to Congress concerning U.S. equipment, property, and classified material that was destroyed, surrendered, or abandoned in Afghanistan during a period starting from February 29, 2020.
Strengthening Innovation in Medicare and Medicaid Act This bill makes a series of changes to requirements for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, including additional testing parameters, procedural steps, and reporting requirements for models.
Next Generation Fuels Act of 2021 This bill supports the use of biofuels (e.g., gasoline blended with ethanol) in vehicles, including by establishing a minimum octane standard for gasoline as well as making related biofuel requirements for vehicles, their fuels, and fuel infrastructure.
This resolution condemns the President's failure to heed military and intelligence advisors about the speed and nature of the Taliban offense in Afghanistan and urges the President to commit to maintaining the evacuation operation as long as necessary to evacuate any U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or Afghan partner who requests evacuation assistance .
This bill increases the cap on the number of days reserve component members performing active duty or full-time National Guard duty may serve before counting against active duty end strengths from 1,095 days out of 1,460 days to 1,825 days out of 2,190 days.
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to report daily on the efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents from Afghanistan until the President certifies to Congress that all such individuals who sought evacuation have been evacuated. Until such certification is submitted, DOD may not use FY2021 funds for activity which would have the effect of reducing the total number of service members deployed to Afghanistan, except in specified circumstances.
Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act This bill specifically includes pharmacy services as part of covered home infusion therapy under Medicare, and specifies that certain payment components still apply regardless of whether or not a qualified supplier is physically present in the beneficiary's home. The bill also allows nurses and physician assistants to establish and review the plan of care for home infusion therapy.
Keep Physicians Serving Patients Act of 2021 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to use specified data regarding physician wages and office rent when determining certain geographic adjustment factors for the payment of physician services under Medicare. With respect to such payment, the bill also makes permanent certain minimum adjustments to the work geographic index and extends to all localities certain minimum adjustments to the practice expense index.
Shift Back to Society Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Education to establish a pilot program that awards matching grants to historically Black colleges and universities to provide educational programs for eligible offenders to facilitate reentry into the community. An eligible offender is a convicted criminal offender who has been released from incarceration for not longer than one year or who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within one year. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the results of the pilot program.
Border Security for America Act of 2021 This bill addresses border security and related issues. For example, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume all activities to construct a border barrier system along the U.S.-Mexico border that were underway or planned prior to January 20, 2021; requires DHS to deploy, in addition to physical barriers, tactical infrastructure and technology to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the southwest border; authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out a program to acquire innovative commercial items through a competitive selection of proposals; imposes certain requirements for DHS border security technology acquisition programs that have a total expenditure of at least $300 million; requires CBP to implement certain technologies, including a program to establish a biometric exit data system at ports of entry; requires CBP to increase or maintain certain staffing levels for agents, officers, processing coordinators, and other positions; requires CBP to implement a workload staffing model for the U.S. Border Patrol and for CBP's Air and Marine Operations; and provides statutory authority through FY2026 for Operation Stonegarden, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that provides grants to states and territories involved in certain active CBP border security operations.
Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act or the HERO Act This bill establishes and authorizes behavioral health programs for law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, 9-1-1 operators, and other public safety officers. Specifically, the Fire Administration within the Federal Emergency Management Agency must develop resources for educating mental health care providers about treating firefighters and emergency medical services personnel. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must develop best practices and resources for identifying, preventing, and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and co-occurring disorders in public safety officers. HHS must work with relevant federal departments to incorporate these resources into federal training programs for public safety officers. The bill also authorizes HHS to set up a public safety officer suicide-reporting system and a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies.
9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act This bill increases funding for and otherwise modifies a federal program that provides medical monitoring and treatment to responders and survivors who suffer from health conditions related to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. Among the changes, the bill allows certain health care providers other than physicians to determine whether an individual's health condition is related to the attacks, and it establishes a research program to study the impacts of the attacks on health and educational outcomes of individuals who were 21 years of age or younger when the attacks occurred.
