Rep. Lori Trahan

Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2022 This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.

This resolution condemns Azerbaijan's September 2022 military attack on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and calls for an end to all U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan.

Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022 This bill extends a payment increase under Medicare's physician fee schedule through the end of 2023 (currently set to expire at the end of 2022).

This resolution honors the life of William "Bill" Felton Russell (basketball player and coach with the Celtics and civil rights activist) and expresses condolences to his family and friends.

Expanding Veterans' Options for Long Term Care Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a three-year pilot program to assess the effectiveness of providing assisted living services to eligible veterans, including by assessing the satisfaction of veterans participating in the pilot program. Eligible veterans are those who (1) are eligible for assisted living services as determined by the VA; and (2) are already receiving nursing home level care paid for by the VA, are eligible for such care from the VA, or exceed the requirements for domiciliary care paid for by the VA but do not meet the requirements for nursing home level care paid for by the VA. The Inspector General of the VA must report to Congress on the pilot program, and the VA must submit a follow-up plan to address any deficiencies that are identified in the report.

Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022 This act extends death and disability benefits under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program to certain public safety officers and survivors of public safety officers who suffer or suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, or trauma and stress-related disorders following an exposure to one or more traumatic events while on duty. The PSOB program provides death, disability, and education benefits to public safety officers and survivors of public safety officers who die or become disabled as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury in the line of duty. The act specifies that post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, or trauma and stress-related disorders suffered by a public safety officer following an exposure to a traumatic event while on duty constitutes a personal injury in the line of duty if exposure to the traumatic event was a substantial factor in the disorder. Further, for the purposes of death and disability benefits, the act creates a presumption that an officer's death or permanent disability was directly caused by a personal injury in the line of duty if the officer took an action intended to bring about his or her death and exposure to a traumatic event was a substantial factor in that action or that action occurred within 45 days of an exposure and was consistent with a psychiatric disorder. Finally, the act requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the details of benefits issued pursuant to this act, including recommendations to improve the PSOB program.

Reese's Law This act requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish a product safety standard with respect to batteries that pose an ingestion hazard (i.e., button cell or coin batteries) and consumer products containing the batteries. Specifically, the batteries and consumer products with these batteries must include a warning label that clearly identifies the hazard of ingestion and instructs consumers to keep the batteries out of the reach of children, seek immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested, and follow any other consensus medical advice. Consumer products containing the batteries must also include a battery compartment that eliminates or adequately reduces the risk of injury from battery ingestion by children who are six years of age or younger. Additionally, such batteries, if sold separately or included separately with a product, must comply with federal child-resistant packaging regulations. The act exempts from these requirements (1) toy products that are in compliance with certain existing battery accessibility and labeling requirements, and (2) batteries that are in compliance with the marking and packaging provisions of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Safety Standard for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries. The act also provides for compliance with the requirements by relying on a voluntary standard that is approved by the CPSC before it establishes the standard required by this act.

Madeleine K. Albright Democracy in the 21st Century Act This bill establishes programs to promote democracy abroad, authorizes Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) democracy programs from FY2023 through FY2027, and addresses related issues. The State Department must establish programs (1) to defend democracy globally, including by enhancing the ability of the State Department and USAID to respond quickly and flexibly to democratic openings and backsliding; (2) to support efforts to enhance government transparency and other activities related to reducing corruption; and (3) for democracy research and development, such as activities to drive innovation in State Department, USAID, and National Endowment for Democracy (NED) responses to complex challenges to democracy. The bill establishes the Democracy in the 21st Century Fund, to be administered by the State Department, to support the programs established by this bill and other related activities. U.S. government assistance for democracy programs shall not be subject to the prior approval of any foreign government. The bill also protects the identities of implementing partners of certain State Department, USAID, and NED assistance programs in countries that are undemocratic or have engaged in gross violations of civil and political rights, including by exempting the names of partners for democracy programs in such countries from Freedom of Information Act requests. The President must report to Congress a comprehensive strategy to promote democracy abroad.

Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the legacy of Harriet Tubman as an abolitionist. The Secretary may issue coins under this bill only during the period of January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins must be paid equally to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. in Auburn, New York, for the purpose of accomplishing and advancing their missions.

National World War II Memorial Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the National World War II Memorial in the District of Columbia. The design of the coins shall be emblematic of the memorial and the service and sacrifice of American soldiers and civilians during World War II. All surcharges received from the sale of such coins shall be paid to the Friends of the National World War II Memorial to support the National Park Service in maintaining and repairing the memorial, and for educational and commemorative programs.