Rep. Bobby L. Rush

Student Food Security Act of 2021 This bill expands the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and establishes programs to address food insecurity among college students. Specifically, the bill permanently modifies the eligibility requirements to allow additional college students to receive SNAP benefits, and it establishes a demonstration program to allow college students to use SNAP benefits on college campuses instead of meal plans. The bill also advances implementation of certain data-sharing agreements and notifications to help students who apply for federal financial aid to also apply for and receive other federal means-tested benefits (e.g., Section 8 tenant-based housing assistance, Medicaid, and Supplemental Security Income). In addition, the bill (1) requires questions about food and housing insecurity to be incorporated into the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, and (2) establishes a grant program to support research and address incidences of food and housing insecurity among college students.

Making Essentials Available and Lawful (MEAL) Act of 2021 This bill repeals a lifetime ban that prohibits individuals convicted of certain offenses related to the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or assistance under programs funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants. Any state law that imposes conditions on eligibility for SNAP benefits or TANF assistance based on an individual's conviction of such an offense shall have no force or effect. In addition, individuals who are incarcerated and scheduled to be released within 30 days shall qualify as individual households for purposes of SNAP eligibility. Under current law, unless specifically excepted, individuals residing in institutions do not constitute a household.

Taskforce Recommending Improvements for Unaddressed Mental Perinatal & Postpartum Health for New Moms Act of 2021 or the TRIUMPH for New Moms Act of 2021 This bill temporarily establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services the Task Force on Maternal Mental Health. The task force must develop a national strategy for maternal mental health and report on best practices, policies, and programs to prevent, screen for, diagnose, treat, and reduce disparities in maternal mental health conditions. The report must identify opportunities for state- and local-level partnerships to address maternal mental health, and the task force must share those opportunities with state governors.

This resolution urges the President to facilitate private medical supply donations and to deliver urgently needed medical supplies, including oxygen generator plants, to India and countries neighboring India that are facing the spread of COVID-19.

Medicare Vision Act of 2021 This bill expands Medicare coverage to include eyeglasses, contact lenses, and vision services, in accordance with specified limitations. Covered services include routine eye examinations and contact lens fittings.

Better Care Better Jobs Act This bill establishes programs and provides funds for state Medicaid programs to improve home- and community-based services (HCBS), such as home health care, personal care, case management, and rehabilitative services. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to award planning grants, develop quality measures, and provide technical assistance to states regarding specified HCBS improvements, particularly with respect to access, utilization, and the associated workforce. The bill also increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for HCBS in states that develop plans and meet specified benchmarks for improvements. The bill also makes permanent (1) the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program (a grant program to help states increase the use of HCBS for long-term care and decrease the use of institutional care), and (2) certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of HCBS.

Allergy Testing Access Act of 2021 This bill requires equal coverage of two types of allergy tests under Medicaid and Medicare. Specifically, in vitro specific IgE tests (blood tests) and percutaneous tests (skin tests) must be treated equally with respect to (1) medical necessity or other coverage requirements, (2) frequency limits, and (3) allergen unit limits.

Insulin Access for All Act of 2021 This bill prohibits cost-sharing (e.g., copayments) under Medicaid and the Medicare prescription drug benefit for insulin and associated medical supplies.

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.

Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act or the STURDY Act This bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to revise the safety standards for freestanding clothing storage units such as a dressers, bureaus, or chests of drawers. Such standards must include specified testing related to tip overs and new warning requirements for all such products entering the U.S. market.