Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act This bill requires the Department of Transportation to establish a grant program to support operating projects for public transportation (e.g., service expansion) and related capital improvements, particularly in underserved communities and areas of persistent poverty.
Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2021 This bill makes physical therapists eligible for the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. This program assists primary care, mental health, and dental providers in repaying eligible student loans in exchange for working in areas with shortages of such providers.
Katherine's Law for Lung Cancer Early Detection and Survival Act of 2021 This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover, without cost sharing, screenings for the detection of lung cancer for certain high-risk individuals.
Nullifying Opportunities for Variants to Infect and Decimate Act or the NOVID Act This bill establishes the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Program to coordinate and carry out the U.S. government's global health response to COVID-19, its variants, and other pathogens with pandemic potential. As part of the program, the bill requires, within 30 days, the development of a comprehensive strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy must outline efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccinations worldwide, including through the immediate release of the COVID-19 vaccine doses that the United States committed to sending abroad. The bill also requires a long-term strategy for the program to prevent future pandemics.
Paycheck Fairness Act This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex, which is defined to include pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. Specifically, it limits an employer's defense that a pay differential is based on a factor other than sex to only bona fide job-related factors in wage discrimination claims, enhances nonretaliation prohibitions, and makes it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages. The bill also increases civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs must train EEOC employees and other affected parties on wage discrimination. The bill directs the Department of Labor to (1) establish and carry out a grant program to provide training in negotiation skills related to compensation and equitable working conditions, (2) conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and (3) make available information on wage discrimination to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination. The bill establishes the National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. It also establishes the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force to address compliance, public education, and enforcement of equal pay laws. Finally, the bill requires the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation and other employment data according to the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in enforcing laws prohibiting pay discrimination.
This resolution commends domestic and international efforts to combat human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and calls for additional actions to address the disease.
Armed Forces Transgender Dependent Protection Act This bill expands the policy of the Office of Special Needs within the Department of Defense to address transgender dependents. Specifically, the bill codifies the definition of a medical or educational special need to include gender dysphoria. Under the bill, the policy of the office must prohibit the assignment of a military family with special needs to a permanent duty location where the law restricts medically necessary treatment for a medical or educational special need. A member who is serving at a location when such a law is established may elect to be reassigned.
State and Local General Sales Tax Protection Act This bill restricts the source of revenue for airport spending to local fuel excise taxes. Under current Federal Aviation Administration policy, state and local governments must also use general sales taxes collected on aviation fuel for airport spending.
Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act of 2021 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop requirements and incentives to limit the discharge of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into certain waters of the United States. PFAS are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain the compounds, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing. Within two years, the EPA must publish water quality criteria for each measurable perfluoroalkyl substance, polyfluoroalkyl substance, and class of PFAS. The water quality criteria must determine how much of these substances can be present in water before it is likely to harm human health. Within four years, the EPA must publish a final rule that establishes, for each priority industry category specified in the bill, effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the discharge of each measurable perfluoroalkyl substance, polyfluoroalkyl substance, and class of PFAS. Under the Clean Water Act, effluent limitations restrict the quantities, rates, and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, and other constituents which are discharged from point sources (e.g., a discernible source such as a pipe) into navigable waters, the ocean, or other specified waters. In addition, the EPA must award grants to owners and operators of publicly owned treatment works for implementing the effluent limitations guidelines and standards.
This resolution recognizes the significance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States. The resolution also recognizes that the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities enhance the rich diversity of the United States.
