Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. The commission shall identify (1) the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African Americans and society.
This resolution honors the memory of U.S. Capitol Police Officer William Francis "Billy" Evans for the selfless acts of heroism he displayed on April 2, 2021.
Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act of 2021 or the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act This bill creates grants for state and local governments to combat hate crimes. It also authorizes additional penalties for hate crime offenses. Specifically, it establishes grants for states to create state-run hate crimes reporting hotlines. It also authorizes grants for states and local governments to implement the National Incident-Based Reporting System and to conduct law enforcement activities or crime reduction programs to prevent, address, or respond to hate crimes. Finally, in the case of an individual convicted of a hate crime offense and placed on supervised release, the bill allows a court to order that the individual participate in educational classes or community service as a condition of supervised release.
Protecting Married Seniors from Impoverishment Act This bill makes permanent certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of home and community-based services. Under current law, these provisions expire on September 30, 2023.
Access to Assistive Technology and Devices for Americans Study Act or the Triple A Study Act This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study issues related to health insurance and other coverage for assistive technologies, such as prosthetic devices and custom orthoses, for those who experience amputations or live with a limb difference. In conducting this study, the GAO must include comparisons of claims and other data from Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and commercial health insurers.
Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the troops from the United States and the Philippines who defended Bataan and Corregidor, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service during World War II.
Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 20 21 This bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, sell, or transport shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins. A person may possess a shark fin that was lawfully taken consistent with a license or permit under certain circumstances. Penalties are imposed for violations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.The maximum civil penalty for each violation shall be $100,000, or the fair market value of the shark fins involved, whichever is greater.
Making Imperiled Communities Resistant to Outages with Generation that is Resilient, Islandable, and Distributed Act or the MICROGRID Act This bill allows a new tax credit for investment in qualified microgrid property. The bill defines qualified microgrid as an electrical system that incorporates a microgrid controller, includes equipment that is capable of generating not less that 4 kilowatts and not greater than 50 megawatts of electricity, is capable of operating in connection with the electrical grid and as a single controllable entity with respect to such grid, and is capable of operating independently (and disconnected) from such grid.
Healthy Families Act This bill provides for paid and unpaid sick leave for employees to meet their own medical needs and those of their families. It requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide their employees with at least one hour of earned paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours of paid sick leave in a year. An employer with fewer than 15 employees may also provide the same amount of paid sick leave, but may opt out of such requirement, in which case such employer must provide its employees at least 56 hours of unpaid leave in a year. An employee may use sick leave for absences (1) resulting from a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition; (2) resulting from obtaining professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive medical care; (3) to care for a child, parent, spouse, a domestic partner, or other blood or close relative; and (4) resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of an employee's right to accrue sick leave as provided by this bill. An employee may take legal action to enforce the right to sick leave granted by this bill and the Department of Labor must investigate complaints of violations of the requirements of this bill. Labor is authorized to conduct a public awareness campaign to educate and inform the public of the requirements for paid sick leave provided by this bill.
Resetting the Impact Act of 2021 or the TRIA Act of 2021 This bill requires certain data collection and recommendations relating to a Medicare post-acute care prospective payment system to incorporate the effects of COVID-19 on providers and patients. Current law requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to develop a prototype for a unified Medicare payment system for post-acute care that is based primarily on patient characteristics (e.g., cognitive ability, functional status, or impairments) rather than the provider setting (e.g., skilled nursing facility, home health agency, inpatient rehabilitation facility, or long-term care hospital). The bill requires the prototype to account for the role of post-acute care providers during public health emergencies, particularly in light of the COVID-19 emergency and the related effects on such providers and their patients. The bill also delays the development of the prototype until two years after the later of January 1, 2022, and the date by which the CMS has collected eight calendar quarters of data after the emergency ends and other changes have been implemented.
Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Act of 20 21 This bill prohibits private health insurance plans from imposing higher cost-sharing requirements on breast cancer diagnostic examinations than initial breast cancer screening examinations. Diagnostic examinations are generally required after an initial screening detects an abnormality and typically require additional mammogram images (e.g., x-rays).
Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act This bill modifies the requirements for calculating taxable income to exclude from gross income payments under the federal veterinary medicine loan repayment program or any state loan repayment or forgiveness program that is intended to provide for increased access to veterinary services in such state.
