Rep. G. K. Butterfield

Helping Kids Cope Act of 2021 This bill provides funding through FY2026 to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for grants to enhance access to and provider training in pediatric behavioral health care. Specifically, HRSA must award grants to pediatricians, children's hospitals, and other providers to support pediatric behavioral health integration and coordination within communities. Grant-funded activities may include hiring community navigators to assist families in accessing appropriate services, incorporating behavioral health services in pediatric practices, and delivering services via telehealth. In addition, HRSA must award grants to children's hospitals to expand training for providers in the pediatric behavioral health workforce.

This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Black women and its impact on women, families, and the nation, and reaffirms Congress' support for ensuring equal pay and closing the gender wage gap.

Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act of 2021 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take certain actions to increase diversity of ownership in the broadcasting industry and establishes a related tax incentive. Specifically, the bill requires the FCC to report to Congress regarding (1) recommendations for increasing the total number of broadcast stations that are owned or controlled by members of minority groups or women, (2) the total number of broadcast stations that are owned or controlled by members of minority groups or women, and (3) whether there is a nexus between diversity of ownership or control of broadcast stations and the diversity of the viewpoints expressed on the stations. In addition, the bill allows companies engaged in the qualifying sale of a broadcast station to receive favorable tax treatment by electing nonrecognition of the gain or loss resulting from the sale. To qualify for this treatment, the sale must result in or preserve ownership and control of a broadcast station by socially disadvantaged individuals.

The Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions To End Up surging Resistance Act of 2021 or the PASTEUR Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enter into subscription contracts for critical-need antimicrobial drugs, provides $11 billion in appropriations for activities under the bill, and contains other related provisions. A manufacturer of a Food and Drug Administration-approved antimicrobial drug may apply to HHS to have the drug designated as a critical-need antimicrobial, and HHS may enter into a subscription contract for such a critical-need antimicrobial. The bill imposes certain requirements related to such contracts, including a mechanism to lower payments under the contract in certain instances to limit the manufacturer's revenue from the drug. Furthermore, HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shall award grants to support efforts to encourage the appropriate use of antimicrobial drugs and efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance. The CDC shall also track and assess data relating to antibacterial resistance and human antibiotic use and make such data publicly available. HHS shall also establish a Committee on Critical Need Antimicrobials. The committee shall develop a list of prioritized infections for which new antimicrobial drug development is needed, among other duties. Within six years of the bill's enactment, the Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress a study on the bill's effectiveness in developing priority antimicrobial drugs.

Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act of 2021 This bill requires certain medical devices with a digital interface to meet nonvisual accessibility standards established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Specifically, the FDA must establish regulations to require a Class II or Class III medical device with a digital interface to provide a blind or low-vision user access to the same services and information, and generally the same ease of use, as provided to a user who is not low-vision or blind. (The FDA classifies medical devices in three classes. Class I devices are low-risk, Class II devices are moderate-risk, and Class III devices are high-risk.) A Class II or Class III medical device that does not meet the nonvisual accessibility standards established under this bill may not be sold.

Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act This bill provides rights and protections for domestic workers (e.g., housekeepers, nannies, caretakers, personal assistants, and chauffeurs), including pay and leave rights, and health and safety protections. Specifically, the bill repeals the exemption of domestic live-in employees from certain minimum wage and maximum hour requirements. Employers must provide written notice of termination and provide at least 30 days of lodging and two weeks of severance pay to terminated live-in employees. Live-in employees also must be provided with reasonable access to telephone and internet service during their employment. The bill requires employers to provide domestic workers with a written agreement covering wages, sick leave, benefits, and other matters. Further, domestic workers may request and be granted changes to work schedules due to personal events. The bill also provides domestic workers with certain privacy rights, extends to domestic workers protections against discrimination in employment, and increases the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid-funded medical services provided by domestic workers. The Department of Labor must (1) award grants for a domestic worker national hotline for reporting emergencies, training on hazards facing domestic workers, and workforce investment activities for domestic workers; and (2) establish a Domestic Worker Wage and Standards Board to investigate standards in the domestic workers industry. Labor must publish online a document that describes the rights and protections for domestic workers under this bill.

Protecting Renters from Evictions Act of 2021 This bill extends through December 31, 2021, the order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention titled Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID–19 and published on September 4, 2020.

Performing Artist Tax Parity Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax deduction for the expenses of performing artists (including commissions paid to managers or agents) to provide for a phaseout of such deduction for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 ($200,000 for joint return filers). The $100,000 phaseout threshold is adjusted for inflation annually for taxable years beginning after 2021.

Grace Hopper Code for Us Act This bill establishes a program through which the Department of Education must award grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to develop and implement courses of instruction related to critical legacy computer languages (e.g., COBOL, Assembly, and PL/I). In addition, the Government Accountability Office must report on the critical legacy computer languages that (1) are used by the federal government, and (2) are not commonly taught in a course at an IHE.

Medicare Dental Coverage Act of 2021 This bill expands Medicare coverage to include dentures and dental and oral health services, in accordance with specified limitations. Covered services include basic and major treatments (as determined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) as well as specified preventive and screening services.