Artificial Intelligence for the Military Act of 2021 This bill requires the implementation of training and education related to emerging technologies and artificial intelligence for certain military personnel. The bill requires expansion of the curriculum for military junior leader education to incorporate training material related to focuses that include problem definition and curation and a conceptual understanding of the artificial intelligence life cycle. Such training and education should include the use of existing artificial intelligence-enabled systems and tools. The Department of Defense (DOD) must ensure that the curriculum for professional military education is revised in each of the military services to incorporate periodic courses on militarily significant emerging technologies. DOD must establish a short course on emerging technologies for general and flag officers and senior executive-level civilian leaders. The course must be taught on an iterative, two-year cycle and address the most recent and relevant technologies and the application of these technologies to military and business outcomes in DOD. DOD must ensure that the military services code appropriate billets to be filled by emerging technology-qualified officers and develop a process for qualification of officers in emerging technologies. The process for qualifying officers for emerging technology-coded billets must be modeled on a streamlined version of the joint qualification process and may include credit for serving in emerging technology-focused (1) fellowships, (2) talent exchanges, (3) government positions, and (4) education courses.
Schools and State Budgets Certainty Act of 2021 This bill modifies how states, counties, and Indian tribes are paid for mineral extraction on their land. The Department of the Interior shall pay to eligible states, counties, and Indian tribes an energy transition payment as calculated in accordance with this bill. An energy transition payment received by a state or county pursuant to the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 must be used for certain authorized uses, such as coastal protection and mitigation of damage to wildlife.
COVID - 19 Hate Crimes Act This bill requires a designated officer or employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to facilitate the expedited review of hate crimes and reports of hate crimes. DOJ must issue guidance for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies on establishing online hate crime reporting processes, collecting data disaggregated by protected characteristic (e.g., race or national origin), and expanding education campaigns. Additionally, DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services must issue guidance aimed at raising awareness of hate crimes during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The bill 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.
Opportunity To Address College Hunger Act This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that receive grants to operate work-study programs to notify a student receiving work-study assistance that the student may be eligible for participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Department of Education must provide guidance to states and IHEs on how to identify and communicate with students who are potentially eligible for SNAP.
Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services Act of 2021 or the Midwives for MOMS Act of 2021 This bill establishes grants within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for establishing or expanding midwifery programs at institutions of higher education and nursing schools. HRSA may prioritize funding for institutions that focus on increasing the number of midwife professionals from underrepresented groups and that promote practicing in areas with limited access to professional health care.
Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2021 or the CHANGE Act of 2021 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
This resolution urges an immediate cease-fire to prevent further loss of life and escalation of the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and it supports diplomatic efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, uphold international law, and protect human rights.
Birth Access Benefiting Improved Essential Facility Services Act or the BABIES Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a Medicaid demonstration program to improve freestanding birth center services for women with low-risk pregnancies. Among other things, the CMS must (1) publish criteria for freestanding birth centers to participate in the program, including specified accreditation, licensure, and service requirements; (2) publish guidance for states to establish prospective payment systems under Medicaid for program participants; and (3) award planning grants for states to develop program proposals. The CMS may choose up to six states to participate in the program.
Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act of 2021 or the HAVANA Act of 2021 This bill specifically authorizes the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and other agencies to provide payments to agency personnel who incur brain injuries from hostilities while on assignment. Specifically, the bill allows agency personnel and their families to receive payments for brain injuries that are incurred (1) during a period of assignment to a foreign duty station; (2) in connection with war, insurgency, hostile acts, terrorist activity, or other agency-designated incidents; and (3) not as the result of willful misconduct. The bill's authority applies to injuries incurred before, on, or after the date of the bill's enactment. Agencies must submit classified reports on the bill's implementation, including the number of payments made and the amount of each payment. Since 2016, some intelligence, diplomatic, and other governmental personnel have reported experiencing unusual cognitive and neurological impairments while on assignment (particularly abroad), the source of which is currently under investigation. Symptoms were first reported by personnel stationed in Cuba and have since been collectively referred to as Havana Syndrome .
Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services Act of 2021 or the Midwives for MOMS Act of 2021 This bill establishes grants within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for establishing or expanding midwifery programs at institutions of higher education and nursing schools. HRSA may prioritize funding for institutions that focus on increasing the number of midwife professionals from underrepresented groups and that promote practicing in areas with limited access to professional health care.
Artificial Intelligence Capabilities and Transparency Act of 2021 or the AICT Act of 2021 This bill addresses artificial intelligence capabilities related to national defense and security. The bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to designate a chief digital recruiting officer within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to oversee a digital recruiting office. The office must be responsible for (1) identifying DOD needs for specific types of digital talent, (2) recruiting technologists, (3) integrating federal scholarship for service programs into DOD civilian recruiting, and (4) partnering with human resource teams in the military services and DOD components to use direct-hire authorities to accelerate hiring. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Energy must also designate chief digital recruiting officers to be responsible for the same objectives in those departments. DOD must carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of establishing the Artificial Intelligence Development and Prototyping Fund. DOD must plan for the development of a modern digital ecosystem to enable development, testing, fielding, and continuous update of artificial intelligence-powered applications at speed and scale from headquarters to the tactical edge. The National Institute of Standards and Technology within the Department of Commerce must establish a program to provide accreditation to organizations that are determined to be competent at evaluating the specified effects of artificial intelligence systems used by persons in DOD, an element of the intelligence community, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Birth Access Benefiting Improved Essential Facility Services Act or the BABIES Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a Medicaid demonstration program to improve freestanding birth center services for women with low-risk pregnancies. Among other things, the CMS must (1) publish criteria for freestanding birth centers to participate in the program, including specified accreditation, licensure, and service requirements; (2) publish guidance for states to establish prospective payment systems under Medicaid for program participants; and (3) award planning grants for states to develop program proposals. The CMS may choose up to six states to participate in the program.
