Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky

Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act This bill allows expanded importation of eligible prescription drugs and addresses related issues. Current law allows the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to authorize the importation of certain eligible prescription drugs from Canada if HHS certifies to Congress that doing so would pose no additional risk to public health and safety and would result in significant cost savings for consumers. The bill removes this certification requirement and requires HHS to issue regulations that permit the importation of qualifying prescription drugs from Canada. After a certain amount of time, HHS may authorize importation from certain other countries if it determines that importation from Canada has resulted in cost savings for consumers and increased access to safe medication. The bill also expands the types of prescription drugs eligible for importation to include, for example, biologics such as insulin. Furthermore, the bill allows individuals to use an eligible licensed foreign pharmacy to fill a U.S.-issued prescription for a qualifying drug for personal use. Currently, an individual seeking to import a prescription drug generally must acquire a waiver from HHS. The bill imposes various requirements related to certification of foreign sellers, labeling of imported drugs, and supply chain security. The bill also (1) prohibits certain acts that discriminate against foreign sellers, such as charging higher prices to foreign sellers than to other sellers in the same country; and (2) imposes criminal penalties for online websites that sell counterfeit drugs or dispense drugs without a required prescription.

Safe Hydration is an American Right in Energy Development Act of 2021 This bill requires hydraulic fracturing operations to test for and report on underground sources of drinking water that are contaminated by such operations. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the formation. Specifically, this bill revises requirements governing state underground injection control programs. In order to obtain primary enforcement responsibility for such programs, states must prohibit the underground injection of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities unless the hydraulic fracturing operations agree to test for and report on contamination of drinking water. Hydraulic fracturing operations are exempted from those testing and reporting requirements if there is no accessible underground source of drinking water within a radius of one mile of the site where the operations occur. The Environmental Protection Agency must establish and maintain a publicly accessible and searchable database of the testing results.

Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act of 2021 or the FRESHER Act of 2021 This bill addresses stormwater runoff from mining, oil, or gas operations. Specifically, it eliminates a prohibition on the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for discharges of certain collected, uncontaminated stormwater runoff from mining operations or oil and gas operations. In addition, the Department of the Interior must study stormwater runoff associated with oil or gas operations, including an analysis of (1) measurable contamination, (2) groundwater resources, and (3) the susceptibility of aquifers to contamination from stormwater runoff associated with the operations.

CLEANER Act of 2021 or the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the exemption of waste associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy from regulations governing the disposal of hazardous waste. Within a year of enactment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must determine whether such waste meets the criteria for hazardous waste, promulgate regulations concerning the disposal of such waste if the EPA determines it is hazardous, and revise regulations applicable to solid waste management and disposal facilities (e.g., landfills) to address such waste that is nonhazardous.

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act This bill makes a series of changes relating to the prices of prescription drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage (MA) prescription drug plans (PDPs). Under current law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may neither negotiate the prices of covered drugs nor establish a formulary. The bill repeals these restrictions and instead specifically requires the CMS to (1) negotiate the prices of covered drugs; and (2) either establish a formulary for covered drugs, or require changes to PDP formularies that take into account CMS negotiations. If the CMS is unable to negotiate an appropriate price for a drug in accordance with certain criteria, the price must be the lowest of three specified options (e.g., the median price in other countries). The CMS must identify drugs that are subject to negotiation, with priority given to certain categories of drugs based on usage and cost. Additionally, drug manufacturers must issue rebates to the CMS for drugs dispensed to eligible low-income individuals. Subject to civil monetary penalties, a Medicare or MA PDP sponsor must report, both to drug manufacturers and to the CMS, specified information related to the determination and payment of such rebates.

Children and Media Research Advancement Act or the CAMRA Act This bill requires the National Institutes of Health to fund research regarding the effects of media on infants, children, and adolescents. Such research must examine the impact of media (e.g., social media, television, video games) on cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development.

Quit Because of COVID-19 Act This bill provides for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage of certain tobacco cessation services. Specifically, the bill provides for coverage, without cost-sharing, of diagnostic, therapy, and counseling services and pharmacotherapy, including prescription and nonprescription tobacco cessation agents, that are provided under medical supervision and in accordance with specified guidelines. It also applies a 100% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for such items and services during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 and for two years after the emergency period ends.

This resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to men and women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation and reaffirms Congress' commitment to supporting equal pay and to narrowing the gender wage gap.

This joint resolution eliminates the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The amendment was proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.

Safe Step Act This bill requires a group health plan to establish an exception to medication step-therapy protocol in specified cases. A medication step-therapy protocol establishes a specific sequence in which prescription drugs are covered by a group health plan or a health insurance issuer.  A request for such an exception to the protocol must be granted if (1) an otherwise required treatment has been ineffective, (2) such treatment is expected to be ineffective and delaying effective treatment would lead to irreversible consequences, (3) such treatment will cause or is likely to cause an adverse reaction to the individual, (4) such treatment is expected to prevent the individual from performing daily activities or occupational responsibilities, (5) the individual is stable based on the prescription drugs already selected, or (6) there are other circumstances as determined by the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The bill requires a group health plan to implement and make readily available a clear process for an individual to request an exception to the protocol, including required information and criteria for granting an exception. The bill further specifies timelines under which plans must respond to such requests.