The COVID-19 Hospital and Health Provider Loan Conversion Act of 2021 This bill establishes and otherwise modifies requirements for the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The program provides Medicare payments in advance to eligible providers experiencing claims or cash flow disruptions, such as during national emergencies; the program was specifically expanded in response to COVID-19 to encompass more types of providers, subject to certain recoupment and repayment provisions. The bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to waive recoupment and repayment for providers who meet specified requirements. Among other criteria, providers must not have engaged in surprise billing practices with respect to COVID-19 patients. Providers must still repay any amounts not used for COVID-19 expenses; the bill caps the interest rate on such repayments at 2% upon a demonstration of hardship. The bill also requires private health insurers to treat out-of-network COVID-19 services as in-network for purposes of payment and cost-sharing.
Arctic Refuge Protection Act This bill repeals the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas program. The bill designates approximately 1,559,538 acres of land within Alaska in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Protecting American Energy Production Act This bill prohibits the President from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that states should maintain primacy for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production on state and private lands.
Coronavirus Containment Corps Act This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop, within 21 days, a nationwide contact tracing strategy for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) that addresses issues including workforce needs. To implement that strategy, the bill establishes grant programs in the CDC and the Indian Health Service (IHS). It also expands programs in the Department of Labor. The CDC must award grants to state and local health departments to, among other purposes, hire and train individuals for contact tracing positions and related roles. The IHS must award similar grants to tribes and tribal organizations. Additionally, Labor must award grants for states and other jurisdictions to support recruitment and employment of dislocated workers and other individuals in public health roles. Grants and contracts that include contact tracing in their scope of work must comply with prevailing wage requirements that apply to federal service contracts. Employees who work under such grants or contracts must receive similar compensation to that prevailing in the locality where work is performed. The CDC and Labor must report certain information on specified timelines, and the Government Accountability Office must evaluate the activities of grantees.
Thin Blue Line Act This bill expands the list of statutory aggravating factors in death penalty determinations to also include killing or targeting a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or other first responder.
Birthright Citizenship Act of 2021 This bill limits birthright citizenship by redefining what it means to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Currently, a person born in the United States and subject to U.S. jurisdiction is entitled to citizenship. Under the bill, a person is subject to U.S. jurisdiction if he or she is born to a parent who is (1) a U.S. citizen or national, (2) a lawful permanent resident residing in the United States, or (3) an alien performing active service in the Armed Forces. The bill does not affect the citizenship or nationality status of any person born before the bill's enactment date.
Jurists United to Stop Trafficking Imitation Child Exploitation Act of 2021 or the JUSTICE Act of 2021 This bill broadens the prohibition on importation or transportation of obscene materials. Specifically, the bill makes it a crime to import, or knowingly use a common carrier or interactive computer service to transport, a child sex doll.
Hearing Protection Act This bill removes silencers from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also treats persons acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of such Act. The Department of Justice must destroy certain records relating to the registration, transfer, or making of a silencer. The bill also revises the definitions of firearm silencer and firearm muffler under the federal criminal code and includes such items in the 10% excise tax category.
Legal Workforce Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after and to replace the E-Verify system, which allows employers and recruiters to verify the immigration status of individuals. The bill also mandates the use of such a system, where currently only some employers, such as those with federal contracts, are required to use E-Verify. The bill specifies documents that can establish an individual's identity and employment authorization. During the period starting when a job offer is made until three business days after hiring, the individual must attest to his or her employment authorization, and the employer or recruiter must attest that it has examined the individual's required documents. Employers shall reverify certain types of employees who were not previously verified using E-verify. The Social Security Administration shall notify employees if their Social Security number has been used multiple times in an unusual manner. DHS shall establish programs for blocking and suspending misused numbers. Employers that are required to use the verification system shall not be liable for any employment-related action based on a good-faith reliance on the information from the system. The bill establishes a phased-in participation deadline for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers. The bill increases civil penalties related to hiring individuals without work authorization. It also preempts state laws relating to hiring and employment eligibility verification, but states may use their authority of business licensing to penalize employers for failing to comply with the bill's provisions.
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the carry or possession of concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, an individual who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may carry or possess a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. It sets forth requirements for the lawful concealed carry across state lines. The bill preempts most state and local laws related to concealed carry and establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by interference with a concealed-carry right established by this bill.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of Rare Disease Day.
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that school administrators should safely reopen schools for in-person instruction as soon as possible.
