This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services.
No Mandates for Healthcare Workers Act This bill prohibits the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from requiring any drug or vaccine or other biological product to be administered to employees of health care providers as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation. On November 5, 2021, the CMS issued a rule titled Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination . The rule requires health care providers, as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, to ensure that staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Restore Parental and Consumer Medical Rights in the Nation's Capital Act This bill nullifies the following actions of the government of the District of Columbia: Order 2021-148 issued by the Mayor on December 22, 2021 (relating to vaccination requirements for entrance into certain indoor establishments and facilities); and the Coronavirus Immunization of School Students and Early Childhood Workers Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-285), enacted by the District of Columbia Council on January 12, 2022.
Coronavirus Origin Validation, Investigation, and Determination Act of 2022 or the COVID Act of 2022 This bill requires the President to impose sanctions and take other actions related to COVID-19 if certain conditions are not met. Specifically, if the President is unable to certify within 90 days of this bill's enactment that China's government has allowed a transparent international forensic investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and certain laboratories in the city of Wuhan, the President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against (1) individuals with leadership positions in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); and (2) officials of the Chinese Communist Party, China's military, or China's State Council who were involved in concealing or restricting information about the initial COVID-19 outbreak in China. If the certification cannot be made, the President must also (1) prohibit federal funding for collaborative projects between U.S.-based researchers and CAS researchers in any academic field, and (2) prohibit U.S.-based researchers and institutions that receive federal funding from engaging in certain research on viruses with individuals or institutions based in China.
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.
Medical Student Education Authorization Act of 2022 This bill establishes matching grants awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to expand and support medical education with a particular focus on training students to serve as primary care physicians in tribal, rural, or medically underserved communities. HRSA must award the grants to public institutions of higher education located in states that rank in the top quartile of states based on projected unmet demand for primary care providers. In awarding the grants, HRSA must give priority to recipients that (1) are located in states with two or more federally recognized Indian tribes, and (2) demonstrate a public-private partnership. Recipients must use grant funds for specified activities that include developing curricula, expanding partnerships with health care providers and community-based organizations, and providing scholarships.
This concurrent resolution calls for honoring the 236th anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Religious Freedom Day, January 16, 2022. The resolution affirms that religious freedom includes the right of individuals of any faith and individuals of no faith to live, work, associate, and worship in accordance with their beliefs; all people of the United States can be unified in supporting religious freedom because it is a fundamental human right; and the American people will remain forever unshackled in matters of faith.
Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2022 This bill requires states, as a condition of federal payment under Medicaid for family planning services, to report certain abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Currently, reporting is voluntary.) The CDC must develop standardized questions for states with respect to specified variables (e.g., maternal demographics and methods of abortion).
Medical Student Education Authorization Act of 2022 This bill provides statutory authority for the Medical Student Education Program, through which the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awards matching grants for expanding and supporting medical education with a particular focus on training students to serve as primary care physicians in tribal, rural, or medically underserved communities. HRSA must award the grants to public institutions of higher education located in states that rank in the top quartile of states based on projected unmet demand for primary care providers. In awarding the grants, HRSA must give priority to recipients that (1) are located in states with two or more federally recognized Indian tribes, and (2) demonstrate a public-private partnership. Recipients must use grant funds for specified activities that include developing curricula, expanding partnerships with health care providers and community-based organizations, and providing scholarships.
Inflation Prevention Act This bill establishes a point of order that, when the annualized rate of inflation exceeds 4.5%, prohibits the Senate from considering legislation that provides new budget authority and is estimated to result in an increase to the rate of inflation. The prohibition may be waived by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senate.
Tribal Medical Supplies Stockpile Access Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to deploy drugs, vaccines, biological products, medical devices, and other supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile directly to health programs or facilities operated by the Indian Health Service (IHS), tribes, or tribal organizations. Such supplies from the stockpile are used to respond to public health emergencies. Specifically, if HHS distributes pandemic or epidemic products (e.g., drugs or medical devices) to states or other entities, HHS must also deploy such products directly to health programs or facilities operated by IHS or other tribal entities. HHS must coordinate with states, programs, and facilities to ensure supplies and products are distributed to such tribal entities.
SRES 485 is a Senate resolution honoring the late Senator Harry Mason Reid, Jr., of Nevada, who died in 2021. The resolution expresses the Senate's sorrow at his passing, extends condolences to his family, and directs the Secretary of the Senate to communicate the resolution to the House of Representatives and provide a copy to Reid's family. The Senate also adjourned in his memory as a mark of respect. This is a ceremonial tribute with no policy changes or legal effect.
