Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act This bill provides for Medicare coverage and payment with respect to certain pharmacist services that (1) are furnished by a pharmacist in a health-professional shortage area, and (2) would otherwise be covered under Medicare if furnished by a physician.
Lady Liberty Act of 2021 This bill sets a floor of 125,000 for the maximum number of refugees who may be admitted into the United States each fiscal year. Under current law, the President sets the annual cap on refugee admissions at the beginning of each fiscal year. (The cap for FY2021 is 15,000, and the cap for FY2020 was 18,000.)
Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act of 2021 This bill makes trafficking in firearms a stand-alone criminal offense. A person who commits or conspires to commit a gun trafficking offense is subject to criminal penalties—a prison term of up to 20 years (or up to 25 years, if the person also acted as an organizer), a fine, or both.
Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2021 This bill establishes new requirements regarding firearm transfers at gun shows. Specifically, the bill requires the following: a person who operates a gun show must meet certain requirements (e.g., minimum age and registration); and a firearm transfer between private parties at a gun show must be facilitated by a licensed gun dealer, importer, or manufacturer in compliance with certain background check and recordkeeping requirements.
NICS Review Act of 2021 This bill revises the amount of time that the national instant criminal background check system retains certain information about an approved firearm transaction. Currently, identifying information about an approved firearm purchaser must be destroyed within 24 hours. This bill requires identifying information about an approved firearm purchaser to be retained for at least 90 days before it can be destroyed.
Firearm Risk Protection Act of 2021 This bill establishes requirements for gun purchasers and gun owners to be covered by a qualified liability insurance policy. A qualified liability insurance policy, with respect to a firearm purchaser, is a policy that covers losses resulting from use of the firearm while it is owned by the purchaser. A person who fails to comply with the requirements is subject to a criminal fine of up to $10,000.
Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 This bill directs multi-agency efforts to improve maternal health, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups, veterans, and other vulnerable populations. It also addresses maternal health issues related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other specified departments must address the social determinants of maternal health, which include child care, housing, food security, transportation, and environmental conditions. The bill also extends to 24 months postpartum eligibility for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children. Additionally, HHS and other agencies must take actions to grow and diversify the maternal health workforce. To increase access to maternity care, HHS and other agencies must (1) award specified grants; (2) test an alternative payment model for perinatal care under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); and (3) support training, technology, and telehealth initiatives. The bill also increases research and data collection on maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly among tribal populations and minority groups. The Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice must establish programs to improve maternity care for incarcerated populations. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission must also report on the impact of Medicaid ineligibility for pregnant and postpartum prisoners. Additionally, as a condition for certain grants, states and territories must have laws limiting the use of restraints on pregnant individuals in prisons. The bill also directs activities to mitigate adverse maternal health outcomes associated with climate change and to improve maternal vaccination rates.
Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a voluntary Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Certification Program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners. A voluntary environmental credit market is a market through which agriculture and forestry credits may be bought or sold. Entities eligible to participate in the program are (1) providers of technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, or private forest landowners in carrying out sustainable land use management practices that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, or sequester carbon; or (2) third-party verifiers that conduct the verification of the processes described in the protocols for voluntary environmental credit markets. Among other requirements, USDA must publish (1) a list of protocols and qualifications for eligible entities; (2) information describing how entities may self-certify under the program; (3) information describing how entities may obtain the expertise to meet the protocols and qualifications; and (4) instructions and suggestions to assist farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners in facilitating the development of agriculture or forestry credits and accessing voluntary environmental credit markets. USDA must also establish an advisory council to make recommendations regarding the list of protocols and qualifications, best practices, and voluntary environmental credit markets. The bill also rescinds certain funds provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and makes the funds available for the certification program.
Child Care for Working Families Act This bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. The bill also allocates program funds for states to provide services and supports to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. Further, the bill revises the program to require each state to create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; ensure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of its household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as increasing the supply of child care providers. The bill also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must make grants to Head Start agencies to provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or enhance the quality of existing services. Finally, the bill requires, and provides funds for, HHS to assist Head Start agencies with ensuring their teachers and staff are paid a living wage.
Clean Commute for Kids Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises the Clean School Bus Program. Under the revised program, the Environmental Protection Agency must provide financial assistance to replace existing school buses with clean school buses that do not emit specified pollutants, including greenhouse gases.
