Space National Guard Establishment Act This bill establishes a Space National Guard as the reserve component of the U.S. Space Force.
Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Harlem Hellfighters, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I.
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act or the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act This bill implements a program and a policy related to service dog therapy for veterans. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a five-year pilot program to provide canine training to eligible veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as an element of a complementary and integrative health program. Eligible veterans are those who are enrolled in the VA health care system and have been recommended for participation by a qualified mental health care provider or clinical team. The VA must seek to enter agreements containing specified elements with accredited nongovernmental entities that have demonstrated ability to provide canine training. Veterans who participate in the program are authorized to adopt the dog they assisted in training if their health provider determines it is in the best interest of the veteran. The VA must establish processes to document and track the progress of participating veterans with respect to health benefits and improvements. The Government Accountability Office must brief Congress and submit a report on the program. The bill also authorizes the VA to provide service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses, regardless of whether they have a mobility impairment.
Diversifying Investigations Via Equitable Research Studies for Everyone Trials Act or the DIVERSE Trials Act This bill requires activities to increase diversity in clinical trials. It also expands reporting by laboratories that test for and diagnose COVID-19 and requires a study on data collection and data sharing during public health emergencies. Specifically, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must issue guidance on decentralized clinical trials to promote meaningful demographic and geographic diversity in patient engagement, enrollment, and participation. Decentralized clinical trials include those executed through telemedicine or other digital technologies to allow for the remote collection and assessment of clinical trial data. The FDA may also work with foreign regulators to harmonize international regulations governing decentralized clinical trials and the use of digital health technology. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may support community education, outreach, and recruitment activities for clinical trials of treatments for conditions that disproportionately impact populations underrepresented in clinical trials. The bill also specifies that drug or device manufacturers may provide, subject to some limits, free digital health technologies and other remuneration to patients in approved clinical trials without violating laws that address fraud and abuse in federal programs. Furthermore, laboratories that test for and diagnose COVID-19 must report additional demographic data, including information about social determinants of health. HHS must also contract with the National Academy of Medicine to study and propose a design for an interoperable platform to facilitate data sharing during public health emergencies.
Fire Information and Reaction Enhancement Act or the FIRE Act This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in collaboration with the U.S. weather industry and such academic entities as NOAA considers appropriate, to establish a program within NOAA to improve wildfire forecasting and detection. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of NOAA shall establish a program to create one or more weather research testbeds, in partnership with industry and academic partners, to develop improved detection of and forecast capabilities for wildfire events and their impacts.
Shift Back to Society Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Education to establish a pilot program that awards matching grants to historically Black colleges and universities to provide educational programs for eligible offenders to facilitate reentry into the community. An eligible offender is a convicted criminal offender who has been released from incarceration for not longer than one year or who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within one year. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the results of the pilot program.
Leadership in Global Tech Standards Act of 2021 This bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a program that supports the participation of U.S. small businesses in meetings and proceedings of standards development organizations to develop voluntary technical standards. To carry out this program, the SBA must award grants to small businesses for the reasonable costs of participation in standards development organizations. These grants may only be awarded to small businesses that (1) demonstrate technical expertise in key emerging technologies and technical standards (e.g., artificial intelligence), (2) commit personnel with such expertise to regular participation in global bodies responsible for developing standards for those technologies, (3) agree to coordinate between the public and private sectors to ensure protection of national security interests in the setting of global standards, and (4) provide a plan detailing the relationship between the above activities and the proposed standards to be adopted.
Community Vehicle Charging Act of 2021 This bill establishes a grant program to expand access to electric vehicle infrastructure in communities that consist primarily of minority, low-income, or tribal populations that experience (or are at risk of experiencing) greater adverse human health or environmental effects than other populations. The Department of Transportation must award the grants to community-based organizations; nonprofits; state, tribal, regional, or local governments; metropolitan planning organizations; or other entities responsible for local transportation planning and projects. Grant funds may be used for projects that include (1) developing or implementing plans to install publicly available electric vehicle charging infrastructure, (2) supporting shared electric mobility and micro-mobility options (e.g., electric bicycles), and (3) providing electric vehicle chargers and funding for their installation to community residents.
VA Emergency Transportation Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse a veteran for the reasonable value of emergency transportation by a non-VA provider (1) to a facility for emergency treatment, or (2) from a non-VA facility where the veteran was treated to a VA or other federal facility for additional care.
Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act This bill makes the America the Beautiful-National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available, without charge, to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and Gold Star Families. The pass covers the entrance fee and standard amenity recreation fee for all federal recreational lands and waters.
