Global Autism Act This bill establishes the Global Autism Assistance Program within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support developing countries in addressing autism spectrum disorders (ASD). To carry out this program, the USAID must designate at least two regions in developing countries that (1) need assistance addressing ASD, and (2) have sufficient familiarity with issues concerning ASD to make effective use of the program. The USAID must then award a grant to a nongovernmental organization with experience with ASD to implement the program. The implementing organization must award grants to local service providers and other groups in the designated regions and offer specialized training for health and education professionals who treat or teach youth with ASD. The organization must also conduct (at biomedical conferences in the designated regions) training on interventions and strategies to improve the health and well-being of individuals with ASD for parents, health care professionals, and others who serve those with ASD.
Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2021 This bill imposes a limitation on the tax deduction for qualified conservation contributions made by certain partnerships if the amount of the contribution exceeds 2.5% times the sum of each partner's relevant basis in the partnership. This limitation also applies to other pass-thru entities, such as S corporations.
Saving Hazardous And Declining Environments Act or the SHADE Act This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to award grants for government entities and nonprofit organizations to plant trees in low-income communities and in communities meeting designated minority or limited English-proficiency thresholds.
U.S.-Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act of 2021 This bill authorizes programs to provide defense-related assistance to Greece and addresses related issues. The bill authorizes providing to Greece from FY2022-FY2026 (1) assistance through the European Recapitalization Incentive Program to help Greece meet its defense needs and transition away from Russian-produced military equipment; and (2) International Military Education and Training assistance for various purposes, including to train future leaders and to establish rapport between the U.S. Armed Forces and Greece's military. The President may expedite the delivery of future purchases of F-35 aircraft by Greece. The bill also establishes a group consisting of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives to meet annually with representatives from Cyprus, Greece, and Israel to discuss various issues such as maritime security, defense cooperation, and energy.
Resident Education Deferred Interest Act or the REDI Act This bill allows borrowers in medical or dental internships or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.
Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act of 2021 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of germline mutation testing for individuals with a personal or family history of a hereditary cancer gene mutation or suspected history of hereditary cancer, as well as for associated coverage of risk-reducing surgeries and screenings.
Non-Opioid Directive Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a non-opioid pain management directive. This is a form that an individual may use to inform health care providers of the individual's choice to avoid opioid medications for pain management. The bill also sets out requirements for the execution, use, and revocation of these forms. HHS must make the form available on its website, and health insurers must make it available to their plan enrollees. Insurers must also share an enrollee's choice about opioid treatment with health care providers during pre-authorization processes. The bill allows health care providers to override a patient's form in specified circumstances. It also extends liability protections for providers who reasonably and in good faith administer or prescribe an opioid to a patient with an executed form in place.
Safe Skies Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to modify a specified DOT final rule relating to flight crew member duty and rest requirements so that the requirements under that rule apply to all-cargo flight crew members to the same extent they apply to air passenger flight crew members.
Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021 This bill revises the evidentiary standard for age discrimination by establishing an unlawful employment practice when the complaining party demonstrates that age or participation in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation related to an age discrimination claim was a motivating factor for an adverse practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice (thereby allowing what are commonly known as mixed motive claims). The bill (1) permits the complaining party to rely on any type or form of admissible evidence, which need only be sufficient for a reasonable trier of fact to find that an unlawful practice occurred; and (2) declares that the complaining party shall not be required to demonstrate that age or retaliation was the sole cause of the employment practice (thereby rejecting the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. , which requires the complainant to prove that age was the but-for cause for the employer's decision). The bill applies this evidentiary standard to other employment discrimination and retaliation claims, including claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In a claim in which age discrimination is shown, but where the employer demonstrates that it would have taken the same action absent the motivating factor of age, the bill authorizes courts to grant declaratory and injunctive relief, but prohibits the court from awarding damages or issuing an order requiring any admission, reinstatement, hiring, promotion, or payment. This limitation also applies to claims of discrimination based on disability. The bill also includes reporting requirements for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor.
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and revises several programs and activities relating to newborn screening for certain conditions and genetic, endocrine, and metabolic diseases. Among its changes, the bill reauthorizes and makes mandatory the Hunter Kelly Research Program at the National Institutes of Health, and national surveillance activities conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bill also aligns statutory requirements for research on non-identified newborn blood spots with federal regulations governing research on human subjects. These blood spots are collected as part of newborn screening programs, and some states make them available for biomedical and public health research. Under current regulations, research on non-identified bio-specimens such as blood spots is not considered to be research on human subjects, to which additional protections apply.
This resolution reaffirms the goals of World Refugee Day and the commitment of the United States to promote the safety and well-being of refugees.
Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to entities such as educational agencies, schools, and local governments to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs that assist at-risk students in developing cognitive skills and promoting social-emotional learning to prepare them for success in high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce.
