Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 20 21 This bill addresses the sale of shark fins and the inclusion of rays and skates in the Seafood Traceability Program. The Seafood Traceability Program has data reporting and recordkeeping requirements at the time of entry for imported fish or fish products entered into U.S. commerce. The bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, or sell shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins. A person may possess a shark fin that was lawfully taken consistent with a license or permit under certain circumstances. Penalties are imposed for violations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Department of Commerce must revise its regulations to include rays and skates as species that are subject to the Seafood Traceability Program.
Helping Homeless Veterans Act of 2021 This bill permanently extends the following Department of Veterans Affairs programs and services: homeless veterans reintegration programs, financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing, a grant program for homeless veterans with special needs, treatment and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, housing assistance for homeless veterans, and the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.
Toxic Exposure in the American Military Act or the TEAM Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand health care, benefits, and resources for veterans with conditions related to exposure to toxic substances. Specifically, the bill expands eligibility for VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to include veterans who (1) were exposed to toxic substances, radiation, or other conditions, and were awarded certain medals (e.g., the Armed Forces Service Medal); (2) are eligible for inclusion in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry; or (3) have been identified by the Department of Defense to have been possibly exposed during service to an open burn pit, toxic substance, or specified hazardous sites. (A burn pit is an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment.) The bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain toxic substances and that become manifest within a certain time period; the VA must specify such diseases and requirements through regulations. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. The bill also requires the VA to take specified actions to (1) evaluate scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to toxic substances; (2) train its health care personnel on identifying, treating, and assessing illnesses related to such exposure; and (3) provide resources to veterans exposed to toxic substances.
This bill expands eligibility for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to members of the National Guard who perform certain full-time service at the request of the President or the Secretary of Defense (i.e., full-time National Guard duty). Specifically, the bill eliminates the existing requirement that eligible full-time service must be in response to a declared national emergency. The bill also specifies that training is not included as full-time service for purposes of eligibility for these members.
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.
This bill designates the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Facility Expansion of the Department of Veterans Affairs Alvin C. York Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as the Sergeant John Toombs Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Facility.
Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act This bill establishes a process for the admission of Puerto Rico into the union as a state, on an equal footing with all other states, based on a majority vote of the people of Puerto Rico.
Foreign Funding Accountability Act of 2021 This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) to disclose additional information related to gifts and contracts from foreign sources. Under current law, an IHE is required to disclose in a report to the Department of Education (ED) a gift or contract that is from a foreign source and is valued at $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with a foreign source. The bill instead requires the IHE to disclose such a gift or contract that is valued at $25,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts or contracts. In-kind gifts, gifts to foundations, and gifts to other legal entities that operate substantially for the benefit of the IHE are included in this limit. An IHE must disclose additional information in its report, including the intended purpose and function of the gift or contract. Further, an IHE must disclose gifts and contracts from foreign agents. Next, the bill authorizes ED to impose civil penalties on an IHE for failing to comply with disclosure requirements. An IHE that has violated these disclosure requirements three or more times shall be ineligible to enroll foreign students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program and shall lose its tax-exempt status. An IHE must submit to ED a report for every qualifying event (e.g., each time it received a gift or contract valued at $25,000 or more) that occurred since October 7, 1998.
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.
Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2021 This bill eliminates certain restrictions relating to Medicare coverage of mental health services that are provided through telehealth. Current law allows for coverage of such services regardless of the geographic location of the originating site (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, as long as the beneficiary previously received in-person services and continues to receive in-person services at specified intervals. The bill eliminates these in-person requirements.
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2021 This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility services.
Metropolitan Statistical Area Preservation Act This bill prohibits the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from establishing, for purposes of designating areas as metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), a minimum population for the urban area of such MSA that is more than 50,000. The OMB may, for statistical purposes only, establish other statistical area designations with higher minimum population requirements for such urban areas.
