Rep. Scott H. Peters

Advancing FASD Research, Services, and Prevention Act or the FASD Respect Act This bill expands and establishes programs for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Specifically, it directs the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and the Health Resources and Services Administration to carry out and coordinate research, surveillance, and related activities to diagnose, prevent, and treat FASD. Furthermore, the bill establishes various grant programs to support FASD coalitions and develop systems of care; provide services for individuals affected by FASD and other conditions related to prenatal substance exposure; identify and implement best practices for educating children with FASD; and establish centers for excellence to build relevant capacity for preventing, treating, and responding to the needs of individuals with FASD. The bill also directs the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to develop and disseminate trainings and best practices related to FASD in schools and correctional facilities, respectively.

Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 20 21 This bill prohibits commercial conversion therapy, which is a practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or otherwise change behaviors, thoughts, or expressions related to gender or sexual attraction. This prohibition does not apply to treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition or facilitates identity exploration and development.

Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021 This bill revises the evidentiary standard for age discrimination by establishing an unlawful employment practice when the complaining party demonstrates that age or participation in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation related to an age discrimination claim was a motivating factor for an adverse practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice (thereby allowing what are commonly known as mixed motive claims). The bill (1) permits the complaining party to rely on any type or form of admissible evidence, which need only be sufficient for a reasonable trier of fact to find that an unlawful practice occurred; and (2) declares that the complaining party shall not be required to demonstrate that age or retaliation was the sole cause of the employment practice (thereby rejecting the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. , which requires the complainant to prove that age was the but-for cause for the employer's decision). The bill applies this evidentiary standard to other employment discrimination and retaliation claims, including claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In a claim in which age discrimination is shown, but where the employer demonstrates that it would have taken the same action absent the motivating factor of age, the bill authorizes courts to grant declaratory and injunctive relief, but prohibits the court from awarding damages or issuing an order requiring any admission, reinstatement, hiring, promotion, or payment. This limitation also applies to claims of discrimination based on disability. The bill also includes reporting requirements for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor.

Healthy Future Students and Earth Pilot Program Act of 2021 This bill establishes a pilot program for providing 100% plant-based food and milk options in school meals. The Department of Agriculture must award up to 50 grants to school food authorities. Recipients may use funds for activities including training food service personnel on serving 100% plant-based options and covering additional costs of buying plant-based foods and milks.

Protecting Airport Communities from Particle Emissions Act This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to jointly contract with an institution of higher education to study the characteristics, distributions, sources, and potential human health effects of airborne ultrafine particles.

Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act of 2021 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of medical devices that are approved under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Breakthrough Devices Program. (Under the program, manufacturers work with the FDA to expedite the review and approval of certain medical devices that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating human diseases or conditions.) The bill allows designated medical breakthrough devices to be temporarily covered under Medicare during a four-year transitional period. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must assign payment codes for such devices within three months of FDA approval. The CMS must also establish a process to allow for continued coverage after the transitional period has expired, taking into account any additional evidence or data the CMS deems necessary. The CMS must also provide for temporary and, where appropriate, permanent Medicare coverage of breakthrough devices for which there is no existing benefit category (i.e., classification).

Efficient Grid Interconnection Act of 2021 This bill establishes requirements concerning (1) the equitable allocation of costs for electric grid upgrades; and (2) the deployment of grid enhancing technology or equipment that increases the capacity, efficiency, or reliability of a transmission facility or transmission system. Specifically, it directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue regulations that require public electric utilities to allocate the cost of upgrades to the electric grid, such as upgrades to interconnect renewable generation projects, among all customers that benefit from the upgrades. In determining which parties benefit, FERC must consider all material benefits of the network upgrade, including environmental benefits and those that cannot be directly quantified. In addition, FERC must issue regulations that apply to regional transmission organizations, independent system operators, or transmission planning coordinators when they are processing requests to interconnect generation projects or energy storage projects to the electric grid. The regulations must require such organizations, operators, and coordinators to study deploying technology or equipment that increases the capacity, efficiency, or reliability of a transmission facility or transmission system.

Conceding Our Veterans' Exposures Now And Necessitating Training Act of 2021 or the COVENANT Act of 2021 This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain illnesses related to exposure to airborne hazards or open burn pits and addresses the care available through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans with illnesses they assert to be related to exposures during their service. Specifically, the bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain illnesses becoming manifest in covered veterans to a degree of 10% or more. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. A covered veteran is any veteran who served on or after August 2, 1990, in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates; or served on or after September 11, 2001, in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, or other countries the VA determines to be relevant. Among other elements, the bill requires the VA to provide medical examinations for veterans who submit a claim for disability compensation for an illness not listed in the bill but that is asserted to be related to airborne hazard or open burn pit exposure; authorizes the VA to stay pending claims for disability compensation related to the service and illnesses covered by this bill until the implementation of the bill; and provides VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to covered veterans.

Puppy Protection Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to expand standards that govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals to include new requirements for commercial dog dealers. Specifically, the standards must require dog dealers to provide to dogs adequate housing, exercise, and veterinary care; appropriate and nutritious food; continuous access to potable water; and meaningful socialization with humans and compatible dogs for at least 30 minutes each day. The standards must also include requirements for breeders to use safe breeding practices and make all reasonable efforts to find humane placement for retired breeding dogs.

This joint resolution nullifies the Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review rule published by the Environmental Protection Agency on September 14, 2020. The rule finalized amendments to new source performance standards under the Clean Air Act for the oil and natural gas sector, such as an amendment that removed limitations on methane emissions from such sector.