504 Modernization and Small Manufacturer Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill modifies the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Loan Program, which provides a small business with SBA financing—through a certified development company (CDC) intermediary—for expansion or modernization. Specifically, the bill adds policy goals, at least one of which a CDC must demonstrate to be eligible for assistance. These include (1) enhancing the ability of a small business to reduce costs by using energy efficient products and generating renewable energy, and (2) aiding the revitalization of any area for which a disaster has been declared or determined. The bill also authorizes a CDC to take specified actions to facilitate the closing of a 504 loan, such as correcting borrower or lender information on loan documents or reallocating up to 10% of the cost of a project. For small manufacturers, the bill (1) increases the maximum loan amount from $5.5 million to $6.5 million, (2) reduces the amount that they must contribute to project costs, (3) increases job retention requirements, and (4) revises collateral requirements and debt refinancing considerations. Further, each SBA district office must partner with a resource partner to provide certain training for small manufacturers.
Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act of 2021 This bill modifies reporting requirements related to the Small Business Administration's (SBA) disbursement of certain financial assistance. Specifically, the bill requires the SBA to report certain metrics related to the disbursement of microloans to small businesses, including (1) the number, amount, and percentage of such loans that went into default in the previous year; (2) the extent to which microloans are provided to small businesses in rural areas; and (3) the average size, rate of interest, and amount of fees charged for each microloan.
Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in health care, social service, and other sectors. Specifically, Labor must issue an interim occupational safety and health standard that requires certain employers to take actions to protect workers and other personnel from workplace violence. The standard applies to employers in the health care sector, in the social service sector, and in sectors that conduct activities similar to those in the health care and social service sectors. In addition, Labor must promulgate a final standard within a specified time line.
Public Housing Fire Safety Act This bill creates a grant program, to be administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for public housing agencies to install automatic sprinkler systems in certain public housing projects.
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2021 This bill establishes several requirements for prescription drug plans under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires prescription drug plans to allow any pharmacy located in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area to be included as an in-network pharmacy if the plan already has other in-network pharmacies in the same area. The bill also establishes certain standards for prescription drug plans regarding pharmacy reimbursements and related disclosures. Among other things, the bill prohibits prescription drug plans from reimbursing a pharmacy in an amount that is less than the amount the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) reimburses an affiliated pharmacy (i.e., a pharmacy that has a shared ownership interest with the PBM) for the same services.
Colorectal Cancer Payment Fairness Act This bill eliminates Medicare coinsurance requirements with respect to colorectal cancer screening tests, regardless of the code billed for a resulting diagnosis or procedure, beginning in 2023 (rather than 2030).
FDA Modernization Act of 2021 This bill allows an applicant for market approval for a new drug to use methods other than animal testing to establish the drug's safety and effectiveness. Under this bill, these alternative methods may include cell-based assays, organ chips and microphysiological systems, sophisticated computer modeling, and other human biology-based test methods.
American Heritage Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from changing the name of or altering in any way the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, the Theodore Roosevelt Island, or the Washington Monument; or moving, or altering in any way, any statue located on federal land related to the War of 1812, the Civil War, or the Revolutionary War.
This resolution mourns the death of former Senator William "Bill" Emerson Brock III and requests that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the family of the Senator.
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) clean water is a national priority, and (2) the 2020 final rule titled The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States" should not be withdrawn or vacated.
Screening Partnership Reform Act This bill revises the Screening Partnership Program of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Specifically, the bill authorizes the operator of an airport to select a qualified private screening company with which the operator prefers the TSA enter into a contract for screening services at that airport. The TSA must enter into a contract with a private screening company only if the cost of providing screening services at the airport is equal to or less than the cost to the federal government of providing the same screening services, and entering into the contract would not compromise aviation security or the effectiveness of the screening of passengers or property at the airport. A private screening company may use screening supervisors who have been trained and certified at a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to administer comparable on-site training and certification to private security screeners at an airport that is participating in the screening partnership program. Finally, the bill requires a private screening company that is participating in the program to annually submit recommendations to the TSA on new approaches to screening processes and procedures that would enhance the screening of passengers and property at the airport.
Protect Funding for Women's Health Care Act This bill prohibits federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America or its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or clinics.
