Rep. Tom Cole

Increasing Access to Osteoporosis Testing for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2021 This bill specifies that certain Medicare payment rules applicable to imaging services shall apply to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry services used in bone mass scans beginning in 2022. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish national minimum payment amounts for such services.

Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2021 This bill requires interagency coordination to respond to zoonotic diseases through a One Health Program. A One Health Program recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. Specifically, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Agriculture must develop a framework to coordinate federal activities to reduce hazards to human and animal health under the One Health Program. These departments must work with other federal entities on the framework, including the Department of Commerce. This framework must establish goals, identify activities necessary to achieve those goals, and recommend legislation or other actions to advance One Health efforts. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must evaluate this framework and its implementation.

Stop Child Hunger Act of 2021 This bill establishes a permanent program and provides funds for electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to cover meals for children during extended school closures. Specifically, the Department of Agriculture must establish a program to provide EBT cards to cover meals for children who are enrolled in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program when a school is closed, operating remotely, or a combination of both for a period of five days or more. Cards may be used to purchase food from approved retailers under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Coordinated Action To Capture Harmful Emissions Act This bill increases the applicable dollar amount of the carbon oxide sequestration tax credit for taxable years after 2021.

Air America Act of 2021 This bill establishes the service of Air America employees as qualifying service for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement System. (Air America was a government-owned airline that provided air transport for certain covert operations in Southeast Asia, including Laos and Vietnam, between 1950 and 1976.) The bill applies to U.S. citizens who were employees of Air America or another affiliated company, as specified, between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1976. Benefit applications must be filed within two years of the date of enactment of this bill.

Agricultural Security Risk Review Act This bill expands the membership of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to include the Secretary of Agriculture. (The committee reviews the national security implications of certain foreign investments in U.S. businesses or real estate, including critical infrastructure or technologies.)

Rehabilitating Economic Success Through Overcoming Rural Emergencies Act or the RESTORE Act This bill expands the Department of Agriculture's Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) to include coverage for losses of crops due to high winds or derechos, polar vortexes (including losses to dairy cooperatives due to power outages or curtailments), hailstorms, freeze, and droughts occurring in the 2020 and 2021 calendar years, with specified limitations. Under current law, the program provides disaster payments to agricultural producers who suffered crop, tree, bush, and vine losses resulting from hurricanes, wildfires, and other qualifying natural disasters that occurred in the 2018 and 2019 calendar years.

Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act This bill revises the requirements for the verification of prescriptions related to the purchase of contact lenses. Specifically, online sellers of prescription contact lenses must provide consumers with a method to transmit a digital copy of their prescriptions to such sellers. Online sellers also must encrypt protected health information they send by email. Additionally, the bill prohibits any seller of prescription contact lenses from using telephone calls with an artificial or prerecorded voice (i.e., robocalls) to verify a consumer's prescription.

Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2021 or the CHANGE Act of 2021 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Labor to award grants to certain national youth-serving organizations for comprehensive workforce readiness programs provided to youth that take place before or after school, during summer vacation or holiday, or on the weekend (i.e., out-of-school-time programs). Such grants must be used to develop and implement youth workforce readiness programs, including for activities such as on-the-job and leadership opportunities, internships, and other supportive services. The bill also requires local workforce development boards to establish youth councils as subgroups of the boards.