Ending Platform Monopolies Act This bill prohibits large online platforms, as designated by the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission, from offering certain products or services from another line of business that is owned or controlled by the platform. Specifically, such platforms are prohibited from owning or controlling another line of business that (1) uses the platform to sell products or services, (2) offers a product or service that the platform requires a business user to purchase or use as a condition for access to the platform, or (3) gives rise to a conflict of interest. Under the bill, a conflict of interest occurs when a platform operator's ownership or control of another line of business creates an incentive and the ability for the platform to provide an advantage to the platform's own products or services over those of a competitor on the platform, or exclude or disadvantage the products or services of a competitor on the platform. For example, under the bill, Amazon.com, Inc. may be prohibited from offering for sale on Amazon.com privately labeled products or services (e.g., Amazon Essentials, AmazonBasics, etc.) if designated as a large online platform. Finally, the bill prohibits a director, officer, employee, or agent of a platform from simultaneously serving in the same or a similar role with a formerly affiliated entity.
Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits operators of covered platforms from acquiring the stock or other share capital or the assets of another person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce. Covered platforms are online platforms that (1) have at least 50 million U.S.-based monthly active users or at least 100,000 U.S.-based monthly active business users, (2) are owned or controlled by a person with net annual sales or a market capitalization greater than $600 billion, and (3) are critical trading partners for the sale or provision of any product or service offered on or directly related to the platform. The Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice must designate whether an entity is a covered platform, and both must carry out enforcement activities. The bill provides for any person (other than a foreign state and any instrumentality thereof) who is injured by an activity forbidden under the bill to recover triple damages. (A foreign state may only recover actual damages.) Further, the bill specifies the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit as the judicial venue for a covered platform's appeals related to (1) the designation as a covered platform, (2) other administrative and enforcement proceedings, or (3) a final order issued in any district court.
Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act of 2021 or the ACCESS Act of 2021 This bill requires large online platforms (e.g., YouTube, Salesforce) to facilitate consumers and businesses switching from one platform to another. Specifically, the platforms must maintain interfaces that (1) securely transfer user data to other platforms (i.e., portability), and (2) allow other platforms to connect and communicate with their systems (i.e., interoperability). The bill provides the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice with the authority to designate specific platforms to which these requirements apply. After a platform is designated, the FTC must issue standards of interoperability specific to the platform. A platform may not change its interoperability interface without petitioning the FTC, and the platform must provide to competing businesses documentation for accessing the interface. Further, the FTC must establish a technical committee to assist with the implementation of these requirements. The bill provides the FTC with authority to enforce these requirements including through recovery of civil penalties and injunctive relief.
Elder Abuse Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for the Elder Justice Initiative, which coordinates activities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial fraud. The bill requires DOJ's Elder Justice Coordinator to serve as the head of the initiative. The bill also requires the initiative to establish a national elder fraud telephone hotline, promote civil legal aid to victims of elder fraud and elder abuse, and make resources available online in English and Spanish.
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.
Justice for Juveniles Act This bill exempts juvenile prisoners (i.e., inmates who are under 22 years of age) from various requirements of the inmate grievance procedure, including the requirement to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a federal lawsuit regarding the condition of their confinement.
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.
This resolution requires an analytical statement to be included in committee reports on whether, and the extent to which, the increased budget authority, outlays, or revenue produced by the enactment of a bill or joint resolution may have an inflationary impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national economy and the purchasing power of low- and middle-income families.
National Biomedical Research Act This bill establishes and makes deposits through FY2030 into the Biomedical Innovation Fund for initiatives at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. The fund supports (1) research for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment; (2) research for diseases that disproportionally account for federal health care spending; (3) the development, review, and post-market surveillance of medical products; and (4) other innovative medical research.
CHAMPVA Children's Care Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides that a child shall be eligible for medical care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) until the child's 26th birthday, regardless of the child's marital status.
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act or the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act This bill implements a program and a policy related to service dog therapy for veterans. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a five-year pilot program to assess the effectiveness of addressing post-deployment mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder through a method where veterans train service dogs for veterans with disabilities. The bill also authorizes the VA to provide service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses, regardless of whether they have a mobility impairment.
