Expand Medicaid Now Act This bill temporarily increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for states that elect to participate in Medicaid expansion (pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) if they have not already done so.
Abandoning Online Censorship Act or the AOC Act This bill repeals Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, which protects a provider or user of an interactive computer service (e.g., social media company) from liability for screening or blocking objectionable content.
Education for New Dispositions on Stigma Act or the END Stigma Act This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to institutions of higher education to educate students about substance use disorders.
Essential Worker Pandemic Compensation Act of 2021 This bill compensates specified essential workers who die or are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) or related complications. Specifically, the bill provides death benefits to survivors of essential workers equal to the amount available under the public safety officer benefits program. Essential workers include those identified in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency guidance or by a Special Master appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Such death benefits include additional payments to a surviving spouse or child enrolled in qualified postsecondary education. Further, essential workers who are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 receive one half of the base death benefit amount.
Donna M. Doss Memorial Act of 2021 This bill designates the Rocksprings station of the U.S. Border Patrol located on West Main Street in Rocksprings, Texas, as the Donna M. Doss Border Patrol Station.
Climate Action Planning for Ports Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants for developing climate action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or other air pollutants at ports or port facilities or implementing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at one or more ports or port facilities. Climate action plans must demonstrate that the measures proposed to be implemented through the grants will do at least two of the following: improve energy efficiency at ports or port facilities, deploy technology or processes that reduce idling of vehicles at ports or port facilities, or reduce the direct emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants with a goal of achieving zero emissions.
Alerting Localities of Environmental Risks and Threats Act of 2021 This bill requires the owner or operator of a facility where hazardous chemicals are produced, used, or stored to hold a public meeting within 72 hours of the release of an extremely hazardous substance. The owner or operator must publish a notice in a local newspaper, giving at least 24 hours of notice before the public meeting. Such notice must be posted at a local library, other local government buildings, and on the facility's public website. The bill also requires the owner or operator of a facility to hold an annual public meeting, where specified information regarding the extremely hazardous substances at the facility must be disclosed. Notice for such meeting must be published in a local newspaper at least a week in advance of the meeting. The bill provides for a civil penalty if such public meeting and notice requirements are not met.
Disclosure; and Encouragement of Verification, Innovation, Cleaning, and Efficiency Act of 2021 or the DEVICE Act of 2021 This bill addresses design changes and reprocessing of medical devices. Specifically, medical device manufacturers must notify the Food and Drug Administration (1) before making changes to the design or reprocessing instructions of a device, and (2) no more than five days after widely disseminating to health care providers in a foreign country communications regarding changes to the design or reprocessing instructions of a device or regarding a safety concern about a device. (Reprocessing of medical devices is the process for cleaning and sterilizing or disinfecting devices for reuse.) A device may not be sold if the manufacturer violates these notification requirements.
High Speed Rail Corridor Development Act of 2021 This bill revises and reauthorizes through FY2025 the high-speed rail corridor development competitive grant program of the Department of Transportation (DOT). In awarding grants, the bill requires DOT to prioritize (1) projects that involve the purchase of electrified next generation passenger rail equipment, and (2) applications for projects that provide for a greater non-federal share of the cost of such projects. DOT must also for each fiscal year set aside 50% of funds for projects with a federal share that does not exceed 50% of the project net capital cost.
National Broadband Plan for the Future Act of 2021 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update the national broadband plan, which establishes benchmarks to meet the goal of ensuring that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability. This update must include (1) an assessment of the progress in achieving the goals of the original national broadband plan; (2) an examination of the effects of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic on how people learn, work, receive medical information and treatment, and participate in civic communications; and (3) an analysis of the change in reliance people will have on services enabled by broadband internet access service as a result of COVID-19. The FCC must report annually on its progress toward achieving the goals of the updated national broadband plan.
You Must Be Alive To Vote Act of 2021 This bill requires each state, in order to receive certain education and transportation funds, to annually certify that the state has an agreement with the Social Security Administration to share death information for the purpose of removing the names of ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters.
Reinforcing Impaired Driving Education Act of 2021 or the RIDE Act of 2021 This bill requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a two-year pilot program to create and study the effects of a public marketing campaign to raise awareness on driving while under the influence of prescription and over-the-counter medications. The program shall be implemented in states or territories that are most affected by the opioid epidemic.